Hard disks and Consoles

[Hagan]

Been looking at buying a console, after man, many years of not owning one. Haven't decided on one yet, due to a small niggling question about hard drives.

"How much do I really need?"

I mean, I know you can supposedly do more with a console now, download video and freebie games etc, but that doesn't interest me right now. However, being able to upgrade the disk at a later sounds like a good idea.

So are console HDD's upgradeable (Without having to go to a service centre), and more to the point, is it worth getting a bigger drive now or later?

[AchemsDragon]

I was talking to someone years back about the difference in console and computer games; one of the things that was mentioned was that the hard disks in the xBox were easy to swap out. Someone who had one was not happy with the 20 gig they had (he would install the games direct to the disk I think was the reason) so he upgraded his to a larger size (I think to a 60 gig). I am not 100% positive if they are easy to swap or not, since I have not done it myself, but I have heard it is possible. As for more size; I try to look ahead of myself when I plan to purchase something. Will I ever need more space? I love a variety (games, music, video) so I prefer larger HD's in my systems. That way, if I take my laptop somewhere else, and haven't got an internet connection to use to play WoW, I can at least listen to music or watch a movie. Personal preference I guess.

If there is a possibility that you may decide to upgrade in the future, maybe it is better to just do it now...?


*Then again...I am an overly analytical type with some mild (okay, excessive) paranoia that try to decide if it will be hard to get an upgrade later down the road......

[Hagan]

Originally Posted by AchemsDragon

*Then again...I am an overly analytical type with some mild (okay, excessive) paranoia that try to decide if it will be hard to get an upgrade later down the road......

Same here. But I'm also a tight bastard when it comes to money.
Still, Hard drives (standard pc ones) cost bugger all £/per Gigabyte wise, and the cost between a 20gb xbox 360 to the 120gb version seems a little excessive to me. Plus the 120gig version comes with crap I'd probably never use (xbox live! stuff) and can't justify spending the money on.

I'd like to know just how much space the games take up too, as that would factor in to the decision.

[Johndg]

If you are not going to download any DLC the xbox pro 20gb is fine or you can wait a little while and get the upgraded pro which will have 60(it is about to be upgraded to a 60gb HD for it's old price of $350). Since all of them have HDMI now the Elite is basically just the 'it comes with the biggest HD' system and for those who must have a black system it is the only way to get one that color without having it altered yourself.

On the PS3 side of things some installs are manditory and as large as 4-5gb while most are optional but doing the install helps speed up load times(sizes are variable but none are larger than 5gb as far as I know). The existing 40gb PS3 is about to be upgraded to 80 with the old 80 being phased out. If you care about Backwards Compatibility then your only option right now is a used system or the MGS4 bundle out now(once these are gone it looks like there will be no new BC equiped systems manufactured).

If you have no plans to get any DLC then I would say getting the $300 20gb xbox360 pro is your cheapest option but you could get 40 more gb for a 'relatively' minor price increase sometime in the next month or so. If you have any interest in HD Movies then the PS3 isn't a bad option since it doubles as a BR player and is one of the cheapest out and the only one that I know of that has firmware updates to the latest BR version.

As far as upgradability goes the 360 can currently only take a HD built for the system so you already know the upgrade cost here since you can see the prices of the HDs. The PS3 on the other hand can take any HD of the correct physical size(it is said to be an easy install) so it's upgradability is not only to a larger max size but it is also cheaper per gb.

Just noticed you are in the UK......what I said about the models(not sure if the HD upgrades for both systems are worldwide or not, or if the 20gb price drop is where you are) might be a bit different for you so you might need to research that on your own to see what is and isn't available to you to verify.

[rabb1t]

I've never had an issue with my 40 gig PS3. I've downloaded a couple of games and several movie trailers.

I don't think it would ever be an issue, as they have to target the lowest common denominator. The only time it may be an issue is, later on down the line, when game saves/installed info (maybe downloaded expansion packs, etc.) get bigger, you'd only be able to have a few on there at a time.

I'd say, unless you are a data hoarder, go ahead and get the cheaper version and don't worry about it.

[Gameskeeper]

If you are not using the download services on whichever console you decide to get, you are not using the system to its fullest. I would advise to get as big a hard drive as you can get right from the beginning. That way you can avoid the hassle associated with moving your stuff to a new drive later on.

Both Xbox 360 and PS3 have introduced installation option (with XO's fall update, you can optionally install games on hard drive for faster loading, with PS3 some titles force you to install several gigabytes before you can play), so the space is not wasted even if you plan not to use any downloadable content.

[keisal]

it is incredibally easy to switch out the hard drive for the xbox 360. just push a button and it pops out. I believe there are 20gb, 60gb, and 120gb options for the 360. I wouldnt know for the ps3 as I dont own one and as I am sure you are aware but will mention in case you are not, the wii currently has no hard drive and there are no plans for one in the immediate future.

[XyberDAWG]

Both 360 and ps3 are upgradeable.. the ps3 uses a 2.5-inch SATA notebook drive.

Tutorial on how to upgrade here: http://www.cnet.com.au/games/ps3/0,2...9282375,00.htm

The 360 you can just buy a new hdd from microsoft at any retailer, the 120gb is the only available upgrade, (There is a 20GB which is now practically discontinued) with the NXE currently out it allows you to back up your games to the HDD (much like the PS3, and PC) allowing you to run the game with less load times, (You still need the disc to play, no no-cd cracks available for 360.)

You can also upgrade your 360 HD to a none standard size via dismantling your HDD (This will void the warranty of the HDD, not the 360).

Tutorial here: (Starts right after the picture of the Remote Control)
http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/5-cool-hack...gadgets/209198

Add Capacity to a 20GB Xbox 360
Difficulty: Hard; Time: 90 minutes
Microsoft expects you to pay close to $200 to upgrade your Xbox 360's hard drive from 20GB to 120GB. That's about $150 more than a 120GB SATA drive actually costs. But with this slightly tricky hack, you can save a bundle while boosting your game console's storage capacity to hold more music, video, and other media files.
You'll need a DOS installation on a writable flash thumb drive for this hack. (The utility doesn't work under Windows, and you'll also be disconnecting your PC's hard drive.) First, grab a spare USB thumb drive and copy the HP Drive Key Boot Utility to it. The utility is designed for HP flash drives, but it works on other types of flash drives, too. Also download and mount a DOS image file.
In Windows Vista, right-click the HP utility and run it as an administrator. Select the thumb drive, choose the FAT structure, click the Create a DOS startup disk check box, and pick the DOS files when prompted. Then download the DOS Xbox utility, HDDHackr, and copy it to the root level of the thumb drive.
This hack is designed to work with a specific drive, the 120GB Western Digital Scorpio, model number WDGWD1200BEVS. You'll be replacing the drive's native firmware with Xbox-recognized firmware. You can track down the firmware online by doing a search for "hddss.bin 120 Xbox 360." Place the hddss.bin file in the root of your DOS thumb drive.
With your PC turned off, unplug any other SATA devices and then connect the new Scorpio drive to one of the SATA cables and to a power lead. Afterward, boot from your DOS thumb drive (specify a boot drive in your PC's BIOS, if necessary). At the DOS command line, type run hddhackr -f and press Enter. You'll be prompted to make a backup of the original drive firmware; do so.
Continue with the process to flash the firmware on the new hard drive. After a few seconds, you'll be prompted to restart the computer. Once you have done so, run the "hddhackr -f" command again, and it should report that the hard drive has been formatted for the Xbox 360.

Once you've formatted your new hard drive to work with the Xbox 360, dismantle the drive enclosure and swap in your new drive for the old one.

Use Torx screwdrivers to remove the 20GB hard drive from your Xbox 360 and to remove the drive from its case. Swap the formatted Western Digital drive into the case, put it back together, and start the console. Follow the prompt under System, Memory to format the new drive; after formatting is complete, the drive will be ready for use.

Hope this information helped you at all.. (I am hoping to do both of these on my systems in the near future. First I need a SATA connection on my Mother Board before I attempt the 360 upgrade, and my PS3 I dont have quite yet. If I ever do these upgrades I will update this thread with the status and how well it works.

[Jaraj]

Thanks for the link XyberDAWG. I have been meaning to upgrade my HDD.