Just so you know guys I'm an extremely heavy user of the Phat model - probably why I get YLOD. I do try to keep it dust free.

Well, the same could be said for....

Microsoft/360

20GB
4GB
No HDD (256 Meg internal)

Sony/PS3

40GB
12GB (SSD)

*Note

I choose only the lowest most popular denominators, yes we all know both consoles have larger HDD options PS3 (500GB) 360 (320GB)

Conclusion > You get what you pay for/PS3 is cheaper and easier to upgrade HDD.

I've got 2 phatties from the get go...20gb then an 80gb(when it came out). Swapped out the 20 for a 500gb drive. NEVER had an issue with either phatty or running games in general. People complain about performance, etc...don't notice it. I definitely think the original model was and is the most efficient version.

both phat 60GB launch model & slim work fine with heavy usage.. I do care for my machines with compressed air & micro fiber cloths..

Only issue I've ever had was when my 60GB original model died, not because of YLOD but because the BR Drive died.

Been running with the original 'Slim' for a while now and it runs very well indeed.

And if you dont have compressed air or a air blower use that free compressed air we all have in our lungs and give your console a nice blow job lol. Just make sure you are not spitting and its fine. I have blew threw a straw before to clean mines when I didn't have a air blower lol.

Hard drive speed would be the bigger culprit for slow boot-up speed and loading times. I would look into that, rather than blaming it on a supposedly "slower Cell."

Also, the writer claims he read somewhere that IBM claims Slim Cell processors are faster than the fat Cell processors. Where is the source for this info? As far as I know, all Cell processors in all versions of the PS3 run at the same clock speed (3.2GHz per core and SPU).

That may be true but it's as expected, in order to make the price drops possible. I'm still using my dino NTSC/J first party console with no single issue which is said to have the best quality among the other parties, and yes it has backwards compatibility. No bluray issue, no nothing. It still works like a charm.

I didn't have any wi-fi issues either as my 20 gig console didn't come with one. Use a wired connection, you'll get the best download speed possible with that.

The speed tests are kinda stupid tbh. As for games it does much more depend on the slow BD speed which is the same all the time and of course the HDD/SSD you're using. Also I didn't notice a difference in the XMB or booting times.

And about the downgrade thing, I think it is good that some unnecessary features that most users did not use and just cost more in some cases to implement have been dropped. I wouldn't call it downgrading, it's more like optimizing in an economical way. We should be happy that Sony is now able to produce a great PS3 at a good price.

Launch phatty still going strong, although it wasn't used much for the first few years of this gen. For what I paid, it should be better than it's cheaper counterparts.

When I was choosing which ps3 to get last month I was tempted to get the cheaper super slim model, but it really did look just that: cheap. I couldn't stand the sliding cover thing which just looked and sounded cheap as hell. I chose the Uncharted 3 original slim bundle.

The only thing I don't like about it is when it plays DJ with my game disc when loading.

Guess it really does do everything...

is it true that the super slim is very loud? because i sold my phat PS3 and i plan on buying the super slim

You can't deny that it has been downgraded from a feature standpoint. That said it also has come with smaller form factor so there is a trade off.

For me the middle PS3 slim is the best of the bunch. The biggest detractor on that console is the elimination of backwards compatibility across the board but for me atleast that wasn't a big deal at all.

I think the newest super slim is honestly not Sony's best foot forward.

I had the ps3 phat for years sold it a couple months ago & bought the black friday super slim. After selling the games from the black friday deal & the money i made from selling my phat i ended up making about $20 profit. Honestly the only difference i hear is the disc drive on the super slim is kinda noisey but i am already used to it. Its no big deal. Compaered to the noise from the fans i had on my phat the super slim disc drive is quiet. Im happy with it & i made money getting a new one!

I have the original 60 giger, the slim and the super slim.

I can safely say that it has been mostly a downgrade. The original 60 giger has all with 4 USB port, BC, Card slot etc.

The only advantage of the newer models is that they are smaller and quieter.

Surprised there wasn't any mention of the backwards compatibility in the article. I almost never play any PSX or PS2 games anymore, but it's nice to be able to pop one in whenever I feel like playing them.

Probably.
Luckily I've still got my launch model.

My launch 60G is on at least 5hrs a day, still great! Typing this on it now!

i have two slims.
120gb model- there is a light on the power eject button as well as the plastic makes cracking noises.

320gb model- no light on the power button, no light for the wifi indicator though it does not make that annoying cracking noise.;p

I sold my work 60gb for 150$ no controller.

I could care less about ps2 backwards compatability since I still have the ps2 in the closet.

I only have the slim now and it is running great.

Of course it has, we all know that. Sony has admitted it. PS3 phat was originally made in Japan, with high cost components, and included PS2 emulation, various types of memory card readers and 4 USB ports (for the high end model). They slimmed it, took out components, manufactured it in China with cheaper labour and used cheaper parts to make some money off it instead of selling at such a big loss.

But the myth of dodgy Chinese quality is dead. China makes plenty of high end products now, including almost all of Apple's product lines, a brand whose name is synonymous with hardware quality. The console quality has been generally maintained but it has stripped features out of it to save costs.

Sony took away BC and other OS. So yeah, its been downgraded.

Sony downgraded to stay competitive with price... MS added certain features just to stay competative (included wifi for example) but also did that 4gig BS which is starting to rear its ugly head with people...

Ive had my 80gig phat sine 08 no problems. I love it!!!!!!

P.s. I also bought the nyko media hub that I saw at e3 years ago stil use it. For 4 usb ports and memory card slots to make it like the 60gig without Backwards cmp ofcouruse.

Of course every newer model is a downgrade in quality because cheaper components are used to make it more affordable and profitable. Unfortunately there are countries where people prefer lower price over quality. Unfortunately some of those countries are big gaming markets, like the US. When I read opinions like "I don't care if it breaks if they replace it for free", I strongly disagree. I hope Sony doesn't go too far with that next gen. I'd rather have a choice to pay more for a higher quality product. I will never buy a superslim PS3.

I've still got a working 60GB console which hasn't given me any issues yet, although most of the time I only use it for playing PS1 and PS2 games, as well as watching DVDs and Netflix.

I wouldn't want one of the newer models, simply because they don't run PS2 games, I use that feature a lot.

The time it takes for installs and patches annoys me, as well as the fact that it's hard disk is only 60GB, so I do most of my current gen gaming on PC. It's easy to replace the HDD though so I may do that one day, but I'll probably just carry on using my PC.

Seems like a lot of people still have the older models. When a 4 gig model comes out that's pretty much useless, I'm sure some folks will let you know gadgetmill. (hope I got the name right)

The medium PS3 slim is the best. If you want to play on a shiny tombstone with Spiderman font (the original PS3) just so that you can play PS2 games as well that's your lookout. I'll get my PS2 out if I ever want to do that which is unlikely when there are so many PS3 games to play.

The medium PS3 slim has a beautiful matte surface and is the nicest design.

The super slim doesn't suck in your discs any more. That's not a cool kind of change and the design, whilst not horrid, is kind of generically 90s with its soft sweeping curve. Like all later versions of any consoles tend to do to broaden the market, it's feminised the design in a bad way. And, anyway, the Wii, anonymous in its tiny size, shows that slimming down a console too much doesn't make it any more of a design classic.