Man Cave Must Haves

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     Believe it or not I am still asked this question. Since its release my answer has always been “yes”. With the new price drop , new restyling and some great games as of late there is no reason not to have one.  For any guy or gal that’s into sports games, this is without a doubt the right system for you. MLB The Show is the best baseball game I have played in the past few years. The PS3 also offers other awesome exclusive titles along with a vast selection of movies to rent or buy.

      The Blu-Ray player is outstanding; the PlayStation store has really come on as of late and with constant updates it keeps the system fresh and enjoyable.  The system has come along way since it was released and it keeps getting better. Who cares if you have a xbox…you can enjoy both. For a quick comparison of the new PS3 slim AKA “PS3 120 GB” hit the read link…

PS3 SLIM vs. PS3 80/160GB

+ $100/200 less
+ Smaller
+ More energy efficient
+ Quiet operation
+ Cooler
+ Smaller Cell processor manufactured using a 45-nanometer manufacturing process
+ New, more advanced HDMI 1.3 chipset
+ Easier HDD upgrade

- No Linux support
- No on-off switch in the back
- Push rather than touch ‘On’ and ‘Eject’ buttons
- 2 USB ports instead of 4 
- Not as pretty

= Unchanged game-playing experience
= Same great Blu-ray player
= Same PSP integration
= Same WiFi, Bluetooth built-in
= Same Dualshock 3 rumble, motion sensitive controller
= Same I/O options

THE SLIM’S SPECS AND FEATURES

- 45nm, 7-core Cell processor CPU
- RSX – Based on NV47 Chip (Nvidia GeForce 7800 Architecture) for graphics
- Updated HDMI chipset (bitstreams hi-res DTS-HD, TrueHD)
- 256MB XDR Main RAM and 256MB GDDR3 VRAM memory
- 120GB Hard disk – 2.5″ SATA – can be replaced with any 2.5″ SATA and a compatible 500GB HDD can be had for about $90 at the time I write this review
- Blu-ray 2.0 player (possibly still the best) that also plays DVDs and CDs
- Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T wired networking
- WiFi 802.11 b/g (from 10 Mbps up to 54 Mbps) – wireless networking I couldn’t live without
- Bluetooth 2.0 for game controller, headsets, keyboards and so on
- Video resolution up to 1080p
- Audio supported: LPCM 7.1, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, AAC
- Other outputs: HDMI, Optical, Composite AV
- Other I/O: 2 High-speed USB 2.0 ports
- Power: dual 120/240V
- Power consumption: 250W
- Weight: about 7 lbs.
- Dimensions: about 12″ x 2.5″ x 12″ (my measurements)
- Included controller: DUALSHOCK 3
- Included cables: USB and Composite AV, power chord

Additional features:

- Displays JPEG stills.
- Multi-featured, surprisingly good slide show functionality.
- Plays MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4/h.264 videos.
- Bitstreams DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD to receiver
- Upconverts DVDs to 1080p over HDMI
- XMB in-game access.
- In-game and off-game text and voice chat (headset, keyboard or Eye are needed).
- Video chat with up to six people (PlayStation Eye is required)
- Can discover media servers on the home network and stream content from any DLNA-compliant device.
- Web browser (still has some usability and compatibility issues) but plays YouTube well.
- Google Web search.
- Remote play on a PSP connected to any wireless access point – play music, videos, show pics, turn on the PS3 remotely if on stand-by
- Upload PSP games purchased from the PSN Store to the PSP.
- Online software updates improve PS3 functionality and keep the Blu-ray player features current.
- Online third party updates.
- Online gameplay.
- Download and play PS3 games and demos from the PSN store.
- Download and play PSOne games.
- Download and play movies and shows from the PSN store.
- Supports HDMI Consumer Electronic Control (HDMI-CEC) – control the Slim through the remote of any CEC-enabled TV such as a Bravia.

Leave a comment and let us know what you think!!