can i install an SSD into a fat ps3?

[Masychefx2]

thanks

[DevaVictrix]

… don’t see why not though I wouldn’t expect a performance boost.

[Phénomènes Mystiques]

Looks like it will support up to 1TB.

[Obsessive Power]

They are the same size as standard 2.5" drives so sure. But there will be pretty much zero speed improvement. The speed of an SSD is a combination of the drive itself, the interface and speed of the machine utilising it. If you're expecting much faster loading, temper your expectations!

[[☥] - CJ -]

Still faster than what the PS3 came with though i would think

[DevaVictrix]

Yeah… if the cpu and chipset can keep up.

Efit: a quick ddg suggests the controller is sata 1… theoretical 150mb/s.

[GOD RAYS ON ULTRA™]

Yes you can. The PS3 just doesn't support trim. There's also no gain for some reason.

I went with the 2T firecuda SSHD hybrid drive with solidstate media and large platter for my PS3 and it works great!

[Omega]

Yes. PS3s accept any 2.5" SATA drive be it HDD or SSD, it does not see any difference. I installed a cheap 250GB Kingston in mine.

[Cathulhu]

Originally posted by W O K E I S M:

Yes you can. The PS3 just doesn't support trim. There's also no gain for some reason.

That is due to the PS3 using the rather outdated SATA1 instead of SATA2 or even SATA3. Only 1.5Gigabit of bandwidth does limit your drive. In essence, while a SSD will work, it will be heavily throttled.

SATA3 provides up to 6 Gigabit of bandwidth. So, yeah, a LOT less due to Sony being cheap.

[_I_]

ps3 is sata2
it does not need the jumper to slow the drive to sata1 speeds
(sata 2-3 drives need the jumper to be recognized by sata1 devices)
(the ps3 works with sata 1-2-3 drives with upto 1.5tb with no problems)

ps3 does not support trim or other features that make the ssd quicker

but a ssd will speed up its download/install, load times and menus
also saving pics/video/music on the ps3 will be much more responsive


the ps3 is weird on how it partitions the drive
hybrid drive may not help as much as a standard ssd

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Not really worth doing. Now if it's a PS4 or PS4 PRO, definitely.

I have Samsung 860 EVO 2TB in my PS4 PRO since 2020. Works great

[76561199502155650]

yes you can, i just recently put a 250gb SSD into my ps3 it is a bit overkill 125gb would be enough, just download the ps3 update/ new install file from sony onto a USB stick, then mount the SSD into the ps3 , the ps3 will reboot and then start the installation.

follow the instructions on the sony ps3 websight.


you will need to resetup your ps3 after its reinstalled the software, you will need to goto the website and follow the onscreen instructions to log onto the play station network

the installation will be super fast on a SSD drive, i think mine reformated and installed in under 10 minutes

[Bad 💀 Motha]

The biggest step is making that Sony Installer USB ahead of time before you do anything else.

500GB or 1TB SSD are like $30-40 so it wouldn't make sense to buy small drives nowa days.

All PS3 use 2.5 inch SATA Drive; so basically any 2.5 inch SATA SSD would be fine.

Backup your saved games to Cloud before you swap drives. Then once you are backup and running, log into the same Sony PSN Account.

[_I_]

and use another usb stick to back up your gamesaves and everything else on the ps3

[Cathulhu]

Originally posted by _I_:

ps3 is sata2

https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/Harddrive
Nope, SATA-150 aka SATA1.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

It's still better over any of the mechanical HDD choices.
I had a PS3 Slim and installed a cheap 250GB Kingston SATA SSD and it made a big difference with GTAV back around 2013-2014

Another reason to do it is because of wanting to hold on to that PS3 now that it's very old. The original HDD could die at any time at this point, given its age. The SSD would outlast the console and could be re-used down the road for other purposes.