Hey guys, just wanted to throw a couple of questions out to PS3 owners in the hope of getting some feedback. I'm currently thinking about dropping some of my Christmas cash on a PS3 - I've been in the market for one for a while, and have finally decided that there are enough exclusives I'm interested in and the price is low enough for me to bite the bullet. I was initially looking at the 12GB Super Slim model, but I'm a bit concerned that the tiny hard-drive might not be big enough to cope with anything more than what might be considered casual use. So, here are my questions:

• Is 12GB going to be enough storage for somebody in my position? I play a fair amount of video games, although I don't do much downloading from online stores and I wouldn't be using my console to store anything like music or movies. To offer up a comparison, I've done most of my gaming these last few years on an Xbox 360 with a 20GB hard drive without any real problems. I'm quite happy to play games straight from the disc without installing to the hard drive, and I'm willing to delete surplus content that isn't in use to make way for new content that I want to play.
• If 12GB isn't sufficient, then do I have no option but to go for broke and pick up the 500GB model? Or does the PS3 support things like external hard drives or USB flash drives? If so, could I feasibly use something like that to expand the PS3's storage capacity to suit my needs?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and reply, duders. Happy New Year to y'all.

12GB is not sufficient. I don't know if the 12GB model has the ability to upgrade the hard drive but if that model does you can find a cheap laptop harddrive which could be cheaper overall then buying the 500GB model.

The main problem is a lot of PS3 games require mandatory installs so with only 12GB you would constantly deleting older installs which I think would be a hassle especially if I have to wait 10-15 minutes for an older game I had to delete to re-install because of the harddrive storage limit, and this is not considering PSN titles you may want to download or add ons for some games. 12GB is doable I would feel very constrained by that. I would just go with the 500GB and not have to think about it, but I place a high value on accessibility/convenience.

I don't think 12GB would be enough. Almost every PS3 game has a mandatory install and all of that can quickly add up.

The PS3 does support external hard drives and USB flash drives but it has to be in FAT32 format. Otherwise, the PS3 won't recognize it.

It would probably be easier to just get a 500 GB model.

You can stick a larger HD in, just need some bits from Sony to put your own drive in. Should be on their site.

They make 12GB PS3s? I have a feeling there is some confusion here.

Considering I just put a 1TB harddrive in my original model PS3, not very I'd say.

Not viable at all. Mandatory installs are very common.

Okay, viable if you don't mind constantly managing your space and remembering to delete game installs all the time, but is that hassle really worth saving a few bones? That's up to you, with the downloadable games you may end up getting, DLC and then anything else you might stick on there it will be a lot of space managing. Having multiple PS3 (retail) games downloaded from the PSN store will be impossible too if you buy them or use PS+

tl;dr - spring for either the 500GB or stick another HDD in yourself

Ok, so apparently 12GB Playstations are a UK/Europe thing.
 
No, don't buy that, it's worse than the 4GB 360s that they try to sell to people who simply don't know any better.

@Spoonman671 said:

Ok, so apparently 12GB Playstations are a UK/Europe thing. No, don't buy that, it's worse than the 4GB 360s that they try to sell to people who simply don't know any better.

And those fucking suuuuck.

Get a 500 GB HD. Hell I have a 320GB PS3 and I have just under 200 GB left despite never deleting any of my installs, saves, and downloads.

Do not do it. Many games have mandatory installs that are usually 2-4 gigs each.

@Spoonman671 said:

Ok, so apparently 12GB Playstations are a UK/Europe thing. No, don't buy that, it's worse than the 4GB 360s that they try to sell to people who simply don't know any better.

It's aimed at people who want a CoD/FIFA/Wonderbook/Skylanders machine, maybe play some BluRays, and is pretty well suited to that. And, well, it is a decent foot in the door for those who can upgrade the HDD themselves, better than paying for a redundant 250 GB drive at least.

@Spoonman671 said:

They make 12GB PS3s? I have a feeling there is some confusion here.

I was also wondering about this but apparently they do exist.

And my answer is an emphatic "no". A large number of games require installs, many require some pretty big updates, and even if those weren't factors then you'd be out of space from DLC or PSN stuff in a pretty short amount of time, not to mention that "12GB" probably means more along the lines of "8GB" because the PS3 will reserve some of that for itself.

Even if you never plan on connecting it to the internet, then those installs alone will eat up your hard drive space in no time flat. Just get a much bigger one.

Either buy that and immediately upgrade the hard drive and maybe save some money, or buy one with a bigger hard drive. You will probably run out of space with some games that have a mandatory install and major patches, like Burnout Paradise or Gran Turismo 5. And don't even think about getting PS+ with only 12 gigs, which is probably less then 12 with space reserved for the OS.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Sounds like I should be picking up the 500GB model, so I'll hold off until next month and drop the extra cash on that.

I just played a game that asked for a 5 gig mandatory install....so yeah I don't think that's enough