Sony PS3 500GB Super Slim Console (PS3)

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Instead, the top of the drive slides open across the console's top, operated by a front-mounted button.

When we discovered that Sony had opted for an embedded chip rather than an SSD drive, we feared the worst, but generally speaking the 12GB unit performs well, outstripping expectations. PS3 is the most advanced computer system that serves as a platform to enjoy next generation computer entertainment contents in the home, realised through the combination of Cell and RSX processors.Available in Australia and UK now, we're still waiting for Sony to confirm a US release for this entry-level model. Essentially the flash chip data is copied across to the new drive, while any existing data on the HDD needs to be wiped to accommodate it. We find that there are some improvements here with the 12GB PS3's flash module too, but these are outweighed by some surprising dips in overall performance. This was probably to be expected bearing in mind that PS3 hard drives are all encrypted with a per-unit key.

Perhaps the extremely slow deletion rate on the NAND causes a bottleneck for the id game, which we suspect makes extensive use of the onboard cache. It's clear that the chip has its strengths and that in some cases it can out-perform a conventional hard drive. The balance is hived off by the PS3's GameOS, used extensively by devs for caching data while you play.The 4GB Xbox 360S allows players to retain access to the flash memory and use it simultaneously with the hard drive, and we would have liked the same function with the PS3. All models of the new PS3 super-slim are kitted out with all the same ports as the Slim - two USB ports at the front, HDMI and component video interfaces, optical (SPDIF) audio and Ethernet, although frustratingly there's still no HDMI cable included in the box. The ps3 works great has marks not noticeable and a crack shown in picture , jailbroken and can play any game for free.

With the overwhelming computational power of the Cell processor, PS3 is capable of playing back content from Blu-ray (BD) disc at a bit rate of multiplex 48Mbps with ease, the maximum bit rate defined in BD standards. The PS3 can’t match a dedicated budget Blu-ray deck such as Sony’s own BDP-S390 or Panasonic’s DMP-BDT220, but detail levels are good, colours are nicely judged and motion is handled well enough.

The chip found inside the new model - Samsung NAND identical to that used in the Kindle Fire HD - actually has 16GB of storage, but only 12GB is available to the end-user (Microsoft take note). It looked a premium product, but in terms of size it could give some home cinema amps a run for their money. With no storage device in the hard drive bay, we took apart the 12GB PS3 to unearth its secrets - like the fact it actually has a 16GB flash chip. Our drive had four tiny save games on it, but the process still took around 15 minutes to complete (our guess is that the 4GB cache portion was also ported across).