PlayStation 3 160GB System

Let me give a little bit of background before diving into a review. When the original NES came out, I was hooked. I didn't think anything could be better than Super Mario Bros. Then there was the Sega Genesis...and as I entered college, the original Playstation. Wow!After college I settled down, got married, had children, and stopped playing games for a while. Just 2 years ago I picked up a wii "for the family" and have enjoyed it since. Mario Galaxy 2 looks great and is a great deal of fun to play...and there are other great games on the wii as well. For the record, I'd never played a PS2, PS3 or Xbox.Don't get me wrong, the wii is great. There are a number of wii exclusives that I love. But I was still wanting something with some better graphics/games and thus began my research between xbox and ps3. Both are great systems! This was going to be harder than I thought. In the end, I felt like the game selection for the PS3 slightly outweighed that of the xbox for the family. The PS3 has LittleBigPlanet and Ratchet and Clank, as well as Uncharted/Metal Gear/etc. And while the xbox has some great exclusives as well, I was leaning toward the PS3.When I saw that the PS3 slim increased the hard drive from 120gb to 160gb I finally bit the bullet. I was wanting to get a blu-ray player sometime so I figured I'd just get the ps3. Just set it up last night. Set-up was a breeze and the graphics, wow, they truly are stunning. As I said, the wii is great and I'll continue to play and enjoy wii-exclusive games, but compared to xbox/ps3 graphics, there really is no comparison. I'm really looking forward to NHL 11 and Gran Turismo 5 (as the wii is lacking in these types of games).Overall, I'm thrilled with the PS3. I'm looking forward to getting my music and other media files loaded onto it and finally beginning the world of blu-ray movies and advanced gaming. While I do wish I could load files to it from a device formatted to something other than FAT, it's certainly not a deal-breaker. The PS3 works as it should, set-up is simple, has free online, great exclusive games, and so much more. Whether or not it's the right choice for you is up for you to decide. The Xbox is also a great system, but I'm happy with my final decision.Note: Extras you may need:- Extra controller, PS3 blu-ray remote control, and an hdmi or set of component cables depending on your video capabilities.

It's been two years since my purchase of a PS3 slim 160GB system, but better late than never to say the console was in excellent condition when purchased used. I opened it up recently to see not a spec of dust on any part of the casing or heat sink beside the power supply, but the power supply screw was stripped which meant I couldn't completely open the rest & check the motherboard for any aging or thermal paste replacements. I highly doubt it needed it though since it never overheated & the fans always stayed almost dead silent most of the time.It wasn't advertised as 'refurbished' anyways, just used 'good' condition which makes the actual condition of it so surprising. Slims & super slims definitely seem to be a safer option for PS3's these days if you're going to buy used. There's some sellers that are genuinely taking care of these consoles.The console ran super quiet with 0 issues throughout the time I used it with multiple hard drives & games. However it died on its own thanks to a power outage that completely killed the video/audio source & permanently stays idle when powered on these days. "Green light of death". All PS3's whether new or used are infamous for not being able to survive power fluctuations.But I wanted to come back to make sure to give personal feedback when it did operate excellently for what was an affordable price for the bundle ($143.99 before taxes). I would've paid a little more though if I knew the power cable the seller sold me was going to be a what looked like a few centimeters in length. That was the shortest power cable I've ever seen in my life. :P

I'll be honest and admit I wasn't at all in the market to buy a game console. Years ago, I had an XBox, loved Knights of the Old Republic on it, but hardly played anything else. Eventually I sold it to a friend.But this year we decided to get a new TV, and not only did the Sony Bravia make the top of the list of candidates for us, back during Cyber-Week, Amazon was offering BOTH the 3D accessory starter kit AND a Playstation 3 for free.Due to delivery scheduling, we got the PS3 before the television, so I hooked it up and began playing a few games with it -- at first just a few freebies from the PS3 network. Then, realizing I was having fun, I got a couple more, including LittleBigPlanet. When the TV finally arrived, it was like the two were made for each other, the Sony Bravia NX810 and the PS3. One thing Sony knows is product integration.Anyway, there are better PS3-oriented bundles out there, and more powerful models, and no, we don't (yet?) have the PS3 Move accessory, but what there is was way more than we expected from a promotional offer.Pros:- Excellent out-of-box experience and pain-free set-up.- Nice wireless rumble & tilt-equipped controller (wish it came with 2 though)- Much faster in loading DVDs and blu-ray discs than our older Sony blu-ray player.- Picture quality (1080p) is amazing.- The PS3's 3D capabilities are also really great.Cons:- While blue-tooth makes for a nice controller, it makes for a lousy remote control set-up and impossible therefore to use a universal remote unless you have extra hardware to do the translating. Still, one can get a PS3 blu-ray player style remote for under $20, so it's not so bad.- Sometimes integration can go too far, in that I can't always tell when I'm operating the TV or the PS3.- Buying the unit straight out, one can find better bundle deals or more powerful models than this.Recommendations:- Do use the HDMI output for maximum quality. It's a must-use if you're going to play 3D games or movies on the PS3.- Broadband internet suggested to get the most out of the online functions, as well as for software updates.- If you add 3D capabilities to your TV -after- having set up and running the PS3, you'll need to enable these functions on the PS3 video settings, otherwise the PS3 will claim there's no 3D hardware available, even if you've already done the firmware update.- If you recently bought a new Sony internet-capable TV, check the documentation for fliers and such. I found among ours an offer for several free downloadable 3D games.