Sony Playstation 3 40 Gb Console
I will explain the title shortly.
First of all, I hope you know what this console is all about. "Next-Gen" gaming. This console can produce the utmost beautiful images on an HDTV, deliver Blu-Ray-Disc playback, connect wireless to your home network and interact with media sharing software, play on-line free of charge and the list continues.
However...a console is only as good as its games are. Fortunately, the PS3 has an acceptable games library by now - built of a few great, a few decent and a few bad titles out today. You will get to experience the much talked about multi platform titles such as Assassin''s Creed, COD4 and The Orange Box as well as get a taste of what is to come by the best PS3 exclusives so far; Uncharted: Drake''s Fortune plus Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction.
There clearly are enough games from both 1st- & 3rd-Party available and brand-bias aside, nobody should be considered sane when claiming the PS3 "has no games" nowadays.
As I mentioned "a taste of what is to come", I might as well tell you that MGS4, Haze and a few other mid-to-late-2008 PS3 exclusives are easily the most anticipated games these days.
Regarding the title of this review, I wanted to let you know that the 40GB PS3 is without a doubt the most advanced version. No, not because it lacks PS2 backwards compatibility. But because the Cell (the CPU inside every PS3) is manufactured following the 65nm standard. This decreases the power consumption to roughly 130W from 200W, thus making the PS3 40GB the most stable, quiet and cool "Next-Gen"-system on the market. Yes, I am referring to the Xbox360 RROD disaster here. You should however know that I owned an Xbox360 previously which broke thanks to mentioned fault.
Yes, the 40GB lost 2 USB ports. Yes, it lost the multi card reader. Yes, it lost the PS2 backwards compatibility. But it gained cutting edge technology inside that can make your purchase well worth it. You save money over the other models, too. You can also buy a stand with 2 more USB slots for around £12 so it is possible to have 4 USB slots, the same as the 60 and 80GB versions.
Unless you desperately need to play PS2 games on the PS3, I can wholeheartedly recommend this model over the other ones. The Hard-Disk-Drive inside the PS3 is upgradeable with any notebook (2.5") HDD without voiding the warranty.
Therefore you could build a 300GB-65nm-Cell-monster and install a Linux distribution as 2nd Operating System on it, which will allow you to use the PS3 as full blown computer.
Résumé: Choose the 40GB for PS3 games and healthy 65nm-technology. Choose the 60/80GB for PS3 games and PS2 backwards compatibility. The 40GB is a very excellent console for anyone looking to play games in HD, in the next gen.
I hope my view on this product helped you make a decision.
- Blu-ray playback -- the biggest reason to get a PS3 at this moment
- Its smaller chance of breaking (compared to the 360s annoying red ring of death and Sonys last predecessor, the PS2 slim)
- The 40GB hard drive is OK (better than nothing, which was the bad case with the PS2)
- The nice, customizable interface
- Free online play (with up to 16 players at a time)
- Good looks
- Its extremely high price while lacking any backward compatibility whatsoever
- Its easily scratchable case, which attracts dust
