Sony Computer Entertainment Playstation 3 12GB System

For serious gaming, a hard drive in addition to the 12GB of memory may be needed as most PS3 games require an install, the side ranging from only megabytes of data up to 10 GB of data. The hard drive is easy to upgrade, although you will need to purchase a mounting bracket for the hard drive (which is not included) (games like Call of Duty or Uncharted won't suffer from this because they don't require installs on disk beyond 100 MB, but Grand Theft Auto 5 has at least an 8 GB install that would easy be two thirds of the available space, and do not forget software updates that can easily be 1 GB in size). The console makes it easy to set up a PSN account as well as set up Netflix and other streaming services. The top mounting disk tray is particularly interesting: instead of opening vertically, the disk tray opens horizontally which allows it to be placed in a snug location. Supporting CD, DVD, BluRay, DIVX, and MP3/MP4 formats (and others), this console can do quite a bit in terms of music and video playback. It supports external memory for console backup as well as for data transfer (save data, movies, etc. via USB). It has either wired or wireless internet via wifi as well. It does not come with an HDMI cable, that will also have to be purchased separately. This is a nice entry point for someone wants a PS3 at the end of its hay day, or if they want a second console or just a media center to stream content from their PC or to watch Netflix, Hulu Plus, or use other services such as those offered by the NHL. PlayStation Store also serves up movies and TV shows for either rent or purchase.

First off, if you found this review helpful in your decision-making, please click on the helpful button so this review may help others in their decision-making process. WARNING!!! Description is very misleading!!! The system has an EMBEDDED 12GB FLASH drive!!! It DOES NOT have a hard drive installed, only the 500GB models have the REMOVEABLE hard drive. This required me to expedite another order from ebay for the mounting brackets. which thankfully came in before the ps3 did. BE FOREWARNED!!! That aside, it does what I want it to, only AFTER upgrading the hard drive. I think Sony may have removed and/or added some of the ports on the rear side of the system, but I am not exactly sure which ports, so do your research on which model will suit your needs the most. It has a slide open feature on the top, which is where the discs get loaded into the system. Personally, I prefer this "top-load" method more than the previous "front-insert" method because I feel that less could go wrong internally (discs get stuck in the system, discs dont get "grabbed in" anymore, etc) and if the top slider breaks, i would just tape it shut to read the discs, which is an easier fix then getting a new ps3 disc reader or ps3 altogether. I had my hard drive from my last ps3, which was still good, so I opted for this model, because I liked the fact that there was an embedded flash drive installed and this was the only model I could afford at the time. This flash drive DOES NOT get used when you install a removable hard drive, so I have something to fall back on in case my hard drive fails, however, the wiser purchase would be to spend the little extra money to have the model with the hard drive installed already, because it would save you additional purchases, and with the constant required sony system updates, 12 GB will NOT even be enough to install gran turismo 5 from a physical copy (that is just 1 game!!!) However, since sony updated their system software, all playstation systems can now read external hard drives like the xbox does (which allows you to skip the hard drive swapping process altogether), but this also will require additional purchases, so the choice would be up to the buyer...

I was going to review this sooner and be harsher because I thought I clicked on a "Like New" and apparently looking back the one I ordered was "Very Good". Not the first time something I ordered on Amazon specifically for something stated in the quality and then it changed when I wanted to complain, but I guess until I remember to start taking screenshots oh well. I was going to be harsher because I ordered a drive bay and this 12GB PS3, expecting to use an old drive with it and call that good. It showed up with a drive bay and drive already in it and without the original packaging I thought I had selected it for. If it were still listed as "Like New" and still listed as coming with that packaging I could point at that and be much more dissatisfied, but relative to the current listing it is fair enough. Aside from the non-original packaging (listing at this time no longer suggests it would have come with that anyway) and it having a drive (less an issue and more an "I ordered something additional I did not need." sort of thing), the only real problem I had was a downright embarrassing Mini USB cable. I wound up using a different one I had lying around (I am the sort to have various cables lying around) because the one packaged was all weird-looking on the controller end and would not stay in. Thankfully those are less than a dollar apiece to replace, so not too concerned, but that combined with the inaccurate listing (the drive part, it was clearly listed as not having an HDD in it) and that I had to go fetch a file for a USB stick for it to start up enough to install the drive feels like enough to call it 4/5, although if we had a finer-grained rating system I would probably have done 4.5/5 instead. So far it seems to work just fine, replacement cable is charging the controller so no issues there, it connects to the network over wire or wireless. Have not bothered testing the older TV connection because HDMI is working fine and that is all I cared about anyway, but games are running just as well as on my brother's PS3 and what few other "apps" I would be likely to use seem to work as well as they should on such an "old" system (that it is a PS3, not this specific model, I know this model is physically newer). I will probably /someday/ swap out the drive for a faster one, but this definitely meets all the critical points I care about right now.

This is my second PS3...I love the system. I also ordered a mounting bracket and a 500GB hard-drive at the same time ($32 on Amazon). When they both arrived (and before I even used the PS3), I simply attached the hard-drive to the bracket (takes 5 minutes), inserted it into the PS3, and I instantly had a 500GB PS3 system. Really sweet deal. Personally, I wouldn’t pay a premium for a 250GB or 500GB system when you can do it yourself with ease. After you plug it into the system, turn the PS3 on and it properly formats the hard drive for you. If you have any reservations about doing this, there are tons of YouTube videos about this. It also does far more than gaming. The PS3 is an outstanding Blu-ray player. Also, watching Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube is easy. Now my son and I play games against each other on different TVs; really a lot of fun. One note is that you will probably want to get a PS3 remote control to go with it (and they’re not real cheap anymore). The game joystick that comes with the system will function as a remote control, but it’s a bit wonky for this purpose. Also, I understand that the PS3 uses a decent amount of electricity so you probably want to turn it off when not in use.

I honestly love this system it has made my life a little bit simpler being able to stream movies use of the apps that you can download from SONY and streaming music from my PC and because I ordered the caddy and I had 1tb hard drive that I ordered earlier I was able to upgrade it from 12gb to 1tb which was about 865 gbs free out of 931gbs so I really liked that I was able to take my Original Fat PS3 60gb and transfer my data from System A (60gb) to system B (12gb) and now I am able to have all my games plus any new ones that I have not get gotten to play due to I didn't want erase data so this was a really great feature Sony put in so I would be able to back up everything even copyrighted material unlike backing up through USB so this system is down in our finished basement with my old tube TV and my game being played now is GTA V which is another game that young adults should look at but that's all hope you can gain some benefits from my review we all know the power of the PS3 and the potential it has

This unit is much smaller than my original PS3, I paired it with a Sabrent 2.5" Hard Disk Drive Mounting Kit Bracket for PS3 Super Slim CECH-400x Series (BK-HDPS) and an Crucial MX300 275GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT275MX300SSD1 This Slim PS3 runs cooler than the original unit, takes up less space, and with an large SSD installed in the hard drive slot, seems like a rocket compared to my original "fat" PS3. The Crucial SSD was very easy to install once I had the Sabrent 2.5" Mounting kit, which I ordered along with the PS3, and installed in minutes. I run PS3 Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition , Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - PlayStation 3 , and Grand Theft Auto V - PlayStation 3 , which required the aftermarket SSD, but once all of this was setup it runs incredibly well, takes up less space, is cooler, and I estimate it will run longer than the original PS3, this represents an optimal value and paired up with the SSD and mounting kit runs better than I could have expected.

I bought the 12gig ps3 super slim to replace my tanked ps2 last May used but like new condishion I read some pelesent and non pelesent reviews about it I had to get a 50$ controller and 250 gig harddrive 30$ and mounting plate 5-15$ its been amazeing so far runs games amazeingly was fairly quiet when I bought I've put probley 400 -300 hours on it mabey more and only since i put 60 - 70 hours on it playing farcry3 and it fell off a table it was sitting on did it the fan get really loud but still plays great about to get the slim modelthen maybe the day would defnity but another super slim model agine amaseing buy only cons for me no after market cooling fans and av cabel get really hot pros the fan runs the entire length of the backside of the super slim and the fan is the same fan size that is in the slim the units other hardware is a bit smaller thou so fairly cool also fast to get disk out when the unit is off a contrast to other models

This was actually my 3rd PS3 I have bought. The first one my son broke when he was young and the 2nd is still going strong. I just wanted an extra system to use as a blu ray player, watch netflix and play an occasional game in another room. That being said I have always been a playstation fan until this 12GB system. When I first got it the controller did not work which luckily I had another system and used a controller for that. The system worked for a day then wouldn't turn on again. I contacted sony who sent a box to send it to get fixed. So after receiving it back the controller still did not work at all. Wouldn't charge wouldn't do anything. Turned on the system and at least this time it turned on but it would not stay connected. Contacted sony at first about the controller and they wanted me to ship it in when I asked them to send me something to ship it in they refused, and after finding out the system had issues still returned to amazon. Luckily amazon's return policy was great since it had been 4 weeks at this point between shipping it to get fixed and getting it back. The system itself just looks cheaply built when compared to other ps3's. The disc goes in on the top as it slides from right to left and it is very loud when starting up and running (heard this from other reviews and the one time my system did work this held true). Overall I wasn't happy with sony's customer service either they didn't really seem to care whether it was fixed the first time or if I sent it back in etc. I still love my other ps3 but stay far away from this model.

I bought this to replace my launch day Fat PS3 that had died... :( It doesn't have the same look, feel and weight to it that my old PS3 did, but even the PS3 Slims don't feel as good. The lack of a HDD that some reviewers complain about was not an issue. I bought a drive sled online for less than $15, put the drive from the old PS3 in and I was back in business. Very happy to have a working PS3 again and since the PS4 won't be backwards compatible, it's even more important for me to have a working PS3.

Waste of money.

The item came in early and was ready for christmas! We received a ps4 remote charger instead of a ps3 one other than that no issues

12GB of Flash-based hard drive will store all of your safe files if you opt for Disc-based games. I like the fact that anyone can easily slide in another 2.5 inch internal hard drive into this PS3 (in case you're looking for instructions, there are plenty on YouTube). It comes with a DualShock 3 controller, an analog AV output cable (the same one in PS 2), AC power cable, and a USB to micro USB Controller charging cable. This model doesn't come with a stand in the box though, which you can purchase on amazon for around $10. Again, amazon.ca offered the best pricing and the shortest delivery time. I would recommend this product to anyone.

The ps3 came with a slide that did not open fully (blocked 30% through opening), this meant I had to push it forward every time I had to put a disk, asked the seller for a return label, never got an answer till this day! (item ordered early august). The box also had a really bad smell that I didn't even mention because of how awkward it was for me to tell them they sent me a box that was rotting. 100% would not recommend to anyone. Really wish I had take a picture of the item before sending it back. Awful.