The PS3 FAQ
Here is the PS3 FAQ Finally ! To be Updated further Soon
1. Who is the company that makes the PS3?
Sony is the Company that Makes the PS3, It is their third Home Console and the Successor to the Highly Successful PS2 Console.
2. Who designed the PS3?
Sony Computer Entertainment Collaborated with Sony EMCS, Foxconn, ASUSTeK,Toshiba, and IBM.
Sony, Toshiba, and IBM also formed an alliance known as "STI". for the Design of the Cell Microprocessor. The architectural design and first implementation were carried out at the STI Design Center in Austin
3. What does the “PS3” stand for?
It Stands for PlayStation 3 (プレイステーション3 Pureisutēshon Surī?), officially abbreviated as PS3. It also references the Fact that it is sony's 3rd Home Console
4. What is the capacity of the hard drive?
The Ps3 HDD sizes varied from 20, 40, 60 , 80, 120 and 250 GB (now discontinued) & Most Recently 160 and 320 GB.
5. Is the PS3 Hard Drive internal?
Yes all ps3's have 2.5-inch SATA hard drives that are upgradeable
6. What disc formats does the PS3 drive support?
The PS3 drive supported Media Includes
Blu-ray Disc (PlayStation 3 game disc),DVD,Compact Disc, PS1 and PS2 discs (1st & 2nd gen only)
Super Audio CD (1st & 2nd gen only)
7. What is the cell that everyone always talk about ?
The Cell is a microprocessor architecture jointly developed by Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment, Toshiba, and IBM over a four-year period beginning March 2001 on a budget reported by Sony as approaching US$400 million. Cell is shorthand for Cell Broadband Engine Architecture, commonly abbreviated CBEA in full or Cell BE in part. Cell combines a general-purpose Power Architecture core of modest performance with streamlined coprocessing elements.The PS3 contains the first production application of the Cell processor, clocked at 3.2 GHz and containing seven out of eight operational SPEs, to allow Sony to increase the yield on the processor manufacture. Only six of the seven SPEs are accessible to developers as one is reserved by the OS.
Many people dont know that during development of the Cell, Microsoft approached IBM wanting a high performance processor core for its Xbox 360. IBM complied and made the tri-core Xenon processor, based on a slightly modified version of the PPE of the Cell.
8. What is Sixaxis?
Sixaxis is the motion Sensing Tehonology featured in the original PS3 standard wireless controller. The controller was based on the same basic design as the PlayStation 2's DualShock 2 controller but was wireless, lacked vibration capabilities, had a built-in accelerometer (that could detect motion in three directional and three rotational axes; six in total, hence the name Sixaxis) and had a few cosmetic tweaks.
9. What is Jailbreak?
PlayStation Jailbreak, often referred to as PS3 Jailbreak, was the first USB chipset that allows unauthorised code execution, such as homebrew, on the Playstation 3. It bypasses a system security check using a memory exploit which occurs with USB devices that allows the execution of unsigned code.
One of the most popular pieces of homebrew software used with the device is Backup Manager, which allows users to dump and then run games from the hard drive of the PlayStation 3, or from an external USB drive. Backup Manager can also be used to run homebrew applications that are created to run in native mode.
10. What is PSN?
PSN AKA PlayStation Network is the unified online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service provided by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, announced during the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing meeting in Tokyo. The service is always connected, free to a point, and includes multiplayer support. The network enables online gaming, the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home and other services. PlayStation Network uses real currency and PlayStation Network Cards as seen with the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Home.
On April 19, 2011 the PlayStation Network was taken offline due to a "compromise of personal information as a result of Hackers". At the time of the intrusion, the network consisted of "approximately 130 servers, 50 software programs and 77 million registered user accounts"
11. What OS does the PS3 use?
The XrossMediaBar (pronounced cross-media bar and officially abbreviated as XMB) is a graphical user interface developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The interface features icons that are spread horizontally across the screen. Navigation moves the icons, instead of a cursor. These icons are used as categories to organize the options available to the user. When an icon is selected on the horizontal bar, several more appear vertically, above and below it (selectable by the up and down directions on a directional pad).
The PS3 reserves 48 MB of RAM at all times for XMB functions.
PS3 XMB
12. What is the YLOD Yellow light of death ?
YLOD (Yellow Light of Death) or ALOD (Amber Light of Death) is a non-specific fault indicator on the Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) console. The fault in most cases occurs when the consumer attempts to turn the PS3 on. The console will display a green light followed by a brief yellow light before turning to red and shutting the console down.
In most cases the Yellow Light of Death is caused by BGA solder failure.
The YLOD relates to the cracking of the solder points (a common problem on all current gen consoles due to exessive heat) underneath the GPU and not the Cell processors which operate at a lower temperature.
13. Is the PS3 a computer?
The PS3 is not a PC in the sense of PC as a productivity tool. However, its hardware capabilities and technical specifications makes it as powerful as most desktop PC's available on the market
It also had pc like features such as Native Linux support and web browsing which the xbox 360 lacked, however the Linux support was removed due to an exploit which allowed hackers/modders to run unsigned code on the console which eventually culminated with the ps3 security system jailbroken.
14. Is the PS3 a Media Center PC?
No, however it can connect to a Windows XP or vista Ultimate MC PC to stream content, but it is more of a Media Center PC amplifier/extender than a Media Center PC substitute.
A Popular media xtender that people use with their ps3's is Tiversity
15. What are the physical dimensions of the PS3?
The phat ps3's dimensions 12.75 x 3.86 x 10.8 in. and slim dimensions are 11.42 x 2.56 x 11.42 in.
16. If the Ps3 does not come with a memory unit, how would I save games?
all ps3 models are fitted with hard drives even the budget launch ps3 had a 20 gigabyte drive
17. I have seen a Silver PS3, what is that ?
Silver PS3's are usually released as limited editions , an example would be that the japanese market received silver ps3's in limited quantities during feb 2011.
18. Why does the Ps3 HDD costs 10 times more than a PC HDD of the same size?
The Ps3 HDD is a 2.5” HDD, similar to those found in notebooks. The HDD that you buy for your PC are 3.5”. Considering that notebook parts are always more expensive than desktop PC components, it is reasonable that the Ps3 HDD costs more than a desktop PC HDD of the same size.
19. Will the Ps3 work on any TV ?
Yes, the ps3 will work on any TV. The Ps3 will also work with regular TV that has NTSC or PAL capabilites as all ps3 games are theoretically region free.
20. How many Ps3 variations are there ?
There are several original PlayStation 3 hardware models, which are commonly referred to by the size of their included hard disk drive: 20, 40, 60, 80 or 160 GB. Although referred to by their HDD size, the capabilities of the consoles vary by region and release date. The only difference in the appearance of the first five models was the color of the trim, number of USB ports, the presence or absence of a door (which covers the flash card readers on equipped models) and some minor changes to the air vents. In terms of hardware, the 80 GB model released in South Korea is identical to the 60 GB model released in the PAL regions, except for the difference in hard drive size.
The redesigned, slimmer version of the PlayStation 3 (commonly referred to as the "PS3 Slim" and officially branded "PS3") is currently the only model in production. It features an upgradeable 120 GB, 160 GB, 250 GB or 320 GB hard drive and is 33% smaller, 36% lighter and consumes 34% (CECH-20xx) or 45% (CECH-21xx) less power than the previous model, or one third of the original PS3 model. The Cell microprocessor has moved to a 45 nm manufacturing process, which lets it run cooler and quieter than previous models, and the cooling system has been redesigned. The RSX moved to a 40 nm process in the latest revision. The PS3 Slim no longer has the "main power" switch like the previous PS3 models, Support for emulation to play PS2 titles is also not present in the Slim version, however shortly after the release of the PS3 slim, Sony announced a new series of PS2 remasters called Classics HD as in PS2 and PSP titles remastered in HD for the PS3 with trophies added and sometimes Playstation move compatibility.
21.What connection do I need to play on The PSN?
384k,512k or a 4Mb line is needed. 3G and HSDPA are also fine for PSN but have inferior latency to ADSL.
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Originally Posted by Dohc-WP
