PS3 Reliability

[wp34]

My mother is on her 3rd unit (two have died).  Tonight the Assassins Creed II disc we bought her was scratched very badly by her PS3.  I was able to get most of the scratches out so she could play it but I had never seen anything like that before.  It also frequently "forgets" her system settings.

I'm thinking about getting a PS3 but am wondering how reliable others have found them to be.  I am little hesitant to pull the trigger on a purchase.

[danny_galaga]

here's some food for thought:

http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25959-game-console-failure-rates-xbox-360-vs-ps3-vs-wii/

[DJ_Izumi]

Those statistics are too new to cover the PS3 slim though I guess even very recent stats, the machine is too new to get reliable information on it.

I'm honestly suprised to see 10% on the PS3.  Sony had announced the PS3 is failing at about 3% which is industry standard for any consumer electronic.

[wp34]

here's some food for thought:

http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25959-game-console-failure-rates-xbox-360-vs-ps3-vs-wii/

Thanks for posting that analysis.  We've had a Wii since day one and an XBOX 360 for about 18 months with no issues.  Sounds like my mom's experience may be an anomaly. 

[DJ_Izumi]

How is Sony at covering errors under warrenty?  I know they only give one year, but how's their customer service?  Despite the 360's issue, Microsoft is known to have remarkable customer service in reguards to it's problems.  How easy is Sony to use when exercising your warrenty?

[wp34]

How is Sony at covering errors under warrenty?  I know they only give one year, but how's their customer service?  Despite the 360's issue, Microsoft is known to have remarkable customer service in reguards to it's problems.  How easy is Sony to use when exercising your warrenty?

Good question.  She did not have to go through Sony so I don't have an answer for you.  She bought it at Best Buy and also purchased the extended warranty.  She does this with every piece of electronics she buys.  Right/wrong/indifferent it paid off for her this time.

I am curious if anyone else knows how Sony handles warranty service as I would prefer not to purchase the extended warranty.

[Samstag]

I've never dealt with Sony but I hear they're very quick and you can expect a PS3 (repaired or exchanged) within a couple of weeks.

I don't personally know anyone who's had a problem with their PS3, although I don't really know anyone who uses one for anything but movies either.

[phatmeat]

I have had only one issue with My PS3 . It would not recognize any discs .. A quick blow out of every orifice with canned air and it was up running again. All I use it for really is a Blu-ray player..

[DJ_Izumi]

Optical Disc drive failures seem to be the most common failure on any platform, including PCs.  Just all those moving parts, it's totally the weakest link.

[danny_galaga]

Those statistics are too new to cover the PS3 slim though I guess even very recent stats, the machine is too new to get reliable information on it.

I'm honestly suprised to see 10% on the PS3.  Sony had announced the PS3 is failing at about 3% which is industry standard for any consumer electronic.

It was really just to show that when it comes to breaking down, nothing beats microsoft!

[Malenko]

Im sure if more people actually used their PS3s the failure rate would go up. 

[Necroticart]

I've used my ps3 almost every day for the last 2 years I've owned it amazing system to say the least just look at the new titles coming out on it and not to mention GOW 3 which gives PC games graphically a run for their money and even if it did fail All you have to do is go out and buy a replacement drive it's not like the GPU and CPU overheat like some other system that is out on the market 

[Hoopz]

I've used my ps3 almost every day for the last 2 years I've owned it amazing system to say the least just look at the new titles coming out on it and not to mention GOW 3 which gives PC games graphically a run for their money and even if it did fail All you have to do is go out and buy a replacement drive it's not like the GPU and CPU overheat like some other system that is out on the market 

Holy cow, that's one long sentence.   

[hypernova]

All you have to do is go out and buy a replacement drive

A failure is a failure.  It's made even worse when you buy that replacement drive, only to find that wasn't the issue to begin with.  That would suck.

Holy cow, that's one long sentence.   

That's because it isn't one sentence.  Apparently the punctuation mark keys are too much trouble...except for the contraction "it's" and "I've".  I'd rather he hit the period and comma keys as opposed to the apostrophe.

[Malenko]

I've used my ps3 almost every day for the last 2 years I've owned it amazing system to say the least just look at the new titles coming out on it and not to mention GOW 3 which gives PC games graphically a run for their money and even if it did fail All you have to do is go out and buy a replacement drive it's not like the GPU and CPU overheat like some other system that is out on the market 

GOW3 comes out in march. Other then the Ratchet series and Uncharted there isnt anything system exclusive that *I* am interested in. I have a PS3, I play it less then my Wii *EXCEPT* as a blu ray player; its a great blu ray player. Also, its great that everytime I turn it on the system updates and that takes between 5 and 15 minutes, YAY!

[Nipedley]

I've used my US launch PS3 60gb pretty regularly in all the time i've owned it, both for games and blu-ray, and it's never given me a moments trouble. I swapped it a month ago for my mother's UK 40gb which is over a year old used often as a blu ray player and it's going fine, no problems.

I also got a 360 at launch, and am currently on my fourth; 3 rrod, 1 e74.

May I also direct your attention to this thread on the ps3 forums; http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&thread.id=4189832

[hypernova]

May I also direct your attention to this thread on the ps3 forums; http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&thread.id=4189832

I bet there's plenty of consoles of each type that would be able to do that. 

[Nipedley]

After having so many xbox rrod's, especially the particularly memorable one (I had just gone out to buy Bioshock) where I turned it on from stone cold, turned around to get the game out of the case, turned back and got a OMGWTFBBQ rrod-y screen.. I'm not sure I'd like to try that with one of those.

That said, I do love my 360, but it's reliability sucks. Track record with sony products so far flawless for me, including my 9 year old launch ps2 and .. 13?14? year old launch ps1

Though my brick of an xbox 1 kept on chugging until I got fed up being electrocuted by it (I'm still not sure how, something to do with the cables) and gave it away.

[Malenko]

May I also direct your attention to this thread on the ps3 forums; http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&thread.id=4189832

what? a PS3 fanboy on the official playstation forums? how on earth did ya find that!

Anyone who talks about having a wife buy him a new slim PS3 then shows pix of girls from his office dressed like hookers then saying they "got more comfortable" and he "cant post more pix or else someone will get fired" loses a lot of merit in my book.

I admit, I like my 360 WAY more then my PS3 and Wii; but I also like my dreamcast more then my PS3 and Wii, and my saturn too (dragonforce and guardian Heroes FTW!)


As for sony and perfect consoles....the PS1 and PS2 were known for lasers dying/needing adjustment; granted it was deep in their life-cycles but the problem was/is there. I went through about 4 PS1s (one was a really poor attempt at soldering in a modchip, I was rookie!) and 2 PS2s but my systems got abused, when I wasn't playing one my friends or family were.

 I was/am SUPREMELY happy with my PS1 I wasted a ton of life hours on that machine, I didn't play my PS2 that much, once I got an XBOX and modded it I spent more time playing SNES and the like then I did the PS2. In fact I bought my PS2 for Gran Turismo 3 (and later 4) and that was the biggest let down of the console. My GF got me my PS3 because I talked about getting one and she surprised me with it. We've made more use out of it as a Blu Ray then a game console but I can admit I havent picked up Uncharted or the R&C series (yet). I see they've released a ton of old school stuff on the PSN (of which membership IS free) so I might splurge some of this little holiday monies and get some DLC. Also, my GF hated little Big Planet I on the other hand just didnt like it :p

I must say my perspective is skewed, I fix RRoDs for people all the time. Once the Xclamp mod is done the failure rate is almost nill. I've personally RRoD fixed well over 100 consoles and only 1 failed after I fixed it. And it didn't have the traditional RRoD it had an E74 general hardware failure and Im 90% sure the kit "towel tricked" the box before bringing it to me.

so meh, tired of discussing this, my epeen is too tiny.

[Nipedley]

I know that there have been failures with sony units but personally I've never had one, neither has any of my family. That said we've never had a sega or nintendo console die either, with me and my brother's original gamecube's still going and our original snes, megadrive and saturn. My launch dreamcast gets played far too much and it works just as well the day I got it

And then I've had 4 xbox 360's in 3 or so years so.. yeah.. I did x-clamp fix the 3rd one, as it was out of warranty, and it worked! For 2 months and then I got the e74. Funny thing is, I took the x-clamp mod off and put the original hardware back in, and turned it on and it had the rrod again Excellent stuff.

After 4 360's, I got bitter and am now solely using my ps3 for most gaming and only using 360 for the exclusives now.

[hypernova]

I've had quite a few consoles.  The NES was the only one with the obvious issue.  SNESs both worked until we sold them.  N64 worked until I sold it.  Our work GC had a problem with the P4 port.  Gameboys worked until sold.  PSP still works.  PS1 worked until sold.  PS2 worked until stolen, and its replacement still works.  Wii worked until stolen.  Replacement works fine.  Dropped from about five feet, and only the reset button on the board needed replaced.

Old Atari 2600 and 5200s worked a long while as well.  Too long ago to remember their exact lifespans, though.

Not only that, but unless it was a third party controller, our controllers have generally lasted long amounts of time, with the exception of GC sticks.  Those things get worn when you're playing smash and mario kart alot, and apparently N64 sticks as well, but those seemed sturdier IMO.

My general experience with consoles has always led me to believe that maybe these failures people have aren't always necessarily due to "bad luck".

[Nipedley]

I've always tried to treat my consoles well and they've never really let me down until the 360, infact the only controller malfunction I've had was a ps2 pad about a year ago decided that half of the buttons would spontaneously activate even if you weren't holding the controller, and for 8 years of service I guess I can't complain.

My first 360 was on carpet under my desk, after that failed I thought I'd try and help it out more from then on and made a nice big open space on top of my desk, and failures 2 and 3 (and 3 1/2 with the e74) were all well ventilated flat surfaces. Only me playing them, no kids, probably not even moved between installation and taking it back to the shop.

Needless to say xbox 360 has definitely let me down, and the times that I do play it, it's always in the back of my mind that it could fail at any moment and that's not what you want from an entertainment device to be scared to use it

[wp34]

I've used my US launch PS3 60gb pretty regularly in all the time i've owned it, both for games and blu-ray, and it's never given me a moments trouble. I swapped it a month ago for my mother's UK 40gb which is over a year old used often as a blu ray player and it's going fine, no problems.

thread.id=4189832]http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&thread.id=4189832[/url]

This is good to know.  I've read a lot about the RROD on the XBOX but had not heard much pro/con about Sony's reliability. 

[northerngames]

my buddy got a ps3 about a year ago and is now on his 3rd one due to the other two overheating or something.

I also had a family member send me theirs to take a look at and the HDD went in that one in less then a year.

I never owned a ps3 and not taking side's but I have a launch 360 with cooling mod's and I never had any problems except I had to replace the laser with a new one due to playing it but that is a part that just goes eventually on any console.

funny that them dreamcast laser's and ps1 laser's still run strong today though but the ps2's laser's lasted how long again on average before they went goofy 

[DJ_Izumi]

Like I've said a million times, failure rates depend on models of the systems.  There have been three main revisions of the 360 and the failure rate has dropped signifigantly since.  The Jasper Xbox 360s that came out a year ago seem to be doing well.  The PS3 overall did well but we'll see if things change with the slim.

Of course, even if you own an original Xenon Xbox 360, if it hasn't died yet it's safe to assume it never will.

[crashwg]

The Jasper Xbox 360s that came out a year ago seem to be doing well.

Yes, but is there a reliable way yet to determine the revision before buying a console other than sticking to the Arcade or MW2 bundles?  Someday I'm going to get myself an Elite...

[Malenko]

you cant have your 5 minutes back, I should have been more specific "ugly hookers who wear victoria's secret casual gear"

[DJ_Izumi]

Yes, but is there a reliable way yet to determine the revision before buying a console other than sticking to the Arcade or MW2 bundles?  Someday I'm going to get myself an Elite...

All new 360's should be Jaspers, they've been making the Jasper since summer 2008, anything made after that should be a Jasper.  There's a hole on the 360's box that lets you see the serial and mfg date.  Also the Jaspers were the first models with HDMI, so if you have HDMI you have a Jasper

[Malenko]

More like "two regular women wearing regular clothes".  Guess those are "hookers" in your book.

more like "you take everything literally" or "you dont read sarcasim well" or "you are a  " or "I wasnt being serious" etc etc etc

[Samstag]

Also the Jaspers were the first models with HDMI, so if you have HDMI you have a Jasper

False.  HDMI came long before the Jasper.  HDMI was added even before the Falcon boards, which were the first to improve reliability (with little success).

I have 2 360s with HDMI that are not Jaspers.

[DJ_Izumi]

False.  HDMI came long before the Jasper.  HDMI was added even before the Falcon boards, which were the first to improve reliability (with little success).

I have 2 360s with HDMI that are not Jaspers.

In checking, we appear to both be wrong.  There were no Xenons with HDMI, HDMI was first introduced in early mid 2007 on the short lived 'Zephyr' motherboard which came between Xenon and Falcon.  My bad.

However anything manufactured since Summer 2008 and any time in 2009 is certianly a Jasper or newer.

[hypernova]

How was Samstag wrong exactly?

[DJ_Izumi]

How was Samstag wrong exactly?

It wasn't 'long' before the Jasper, only a year, where as the Xenons were in production for like two years before.

[Samstag]

How was Samstag wrong exactly?

It wasn't 'long' before the Jasper, only a year, where as the Xenons were in production for like two years before.

I stand corrected.  Long shall henceforth be defined as "a period of time between one year and two".  Now the thread can be considered accurate.

[emerica]

I love these 360 vs ps3 threads or at least any question related to either two gets turned into one is superior than the other debate. They both break. Actually, all things break if you don't take care of them. They both play games, get whichever has the games you want to play.

This is like arguing which way to cut your sandwich - triangles vs. rectangles. No matter how you cut it, its still a sandwich. 

[ChadTower]

This is like arguing which way to cut your sandwich - triangles vs. rectangles. No matter how you cut it, its still a sandwich. 

Not to a bunch of 6 year olds!  When working with kids I used to cut the PB+J sandwiches into funky shapes for laughs.  They would swap them around so everyone got the shape they wanted.  The sandwiches were all identical in ingredients but to them some were better than others because of the shape.   

[wp34]

I love these 360 vs ps3 threads or at least any question related to either two gets turned into one is superior than the other debate. They both break. Actually, all things break if you don't take care of them. They both play games, get whichever has the games you want to play.

My intent in asking the question was not to compare the PS3 to the 360.  I've owned video games systems going back to the Atari 2600 and have never had one fail.  So I was a little surprised when my mom went through two of PS3's so quickly (about a year).   I understand the newer systems are more complex and therefore more likely to fail than a cartridge system but was still a little surprised at her experience. 

[DJ_Izumi]

One thing I'd love to hear about the PS3 is what it does with the PS2 VGA cable.  The Xbox 360 has fairly simple VGA cable support, but not really on the PS3.  Though the PS3 doesn't have a VGA cable, the PS2 Linux Kit had a VGA cable that did RGsB instead of RGBHV.  These cables are uncommon but I'd love to hear what they do in the PS3.

[Bender]

I Have both, and I have to say I play the 360 a little more for games, but I end up using the PS3 a lot cause I use it to watch movies and stuff too
Plus the fact that my 360 just got the red ring of death and is on its way back to M$  

[emerica]

My intent in asking the question was not to compare the PS3 to the 360.  I've owned video games systems going back to the Atari 2600 and have never had one fail.  So I was a little surprised when my mom went through two of PS3's so quickly (about a year).   I understand the newer systems are more complex and therefore more likely to fail than a cartridge system but was still a little surprised at her experience. 

I understood what you were asking but I was referring to what these questions usually end up being. As for reliability, I can only speak from my own experience. All of my cartridge systems still work to some extent including my Atari 2600 which I have had since 1981. That being said, I owned both, at different times, a 360 and a PS3. I only own the PS3 because the 360 red ringed a few times and after getting annoyed with sending the unit back to microsoft every month, I sold it and bought a PS3. I hear things are getting better with 360 reliability so maybe my past issues are a moot point. My PS3 (40 gig model) has survived the past 2 years with constant use. I use it to stream netflix, play DVD and blu-ray, play games, and view avchd video files. I get an occasional freeze in game but nothing that has stopped the system from working yet.

I do miss the 360 controller though, I found it better for FPS type games with left and right triggers.

I think with these newer systems, it is just hit or miss with reliability. I think they do too much, which in my old way of thinking means more things to go wrong.