what's new
latest news
Podcast:E3 2008 wrapup with special guest Yahtzee
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 3 Wrap-up
News:Mainstream Media Hits - Matt on ABCs PM program
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 2 Wrap-up
Review:Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
News:Too beautiful to ignore..
Review:Monster Jam
News:Big trouble in little China
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 1 Wrap-up
News:E3 2008 ... it begins
News:Final Fantasy XIII announced for the Xbox 360
Update:A History Of Refusal
Interview:Firemint talk about their iPod game The Sims DJ
News:BtVS Sacrificing itself for that pesky hellmouth
News:Rock Band 2 Trailer and sneak peak at Rock Band 2 Drums
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 3 Wrap-up
News:Mainstream Media Hits - Matt on ABCs PM program
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 2 Wrap-up
Review:Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
News:Too beautiful to ignore..
Review:Monster Jam
News:Big trouble in little China
Feature:E3 2008 - Day 1 Wrap-up
News:E3 2008 ... it begins
News:Final Fantasy XIII announced for the Xbox 360
Update:A History Of Refusal
Interview:Firemint talk about their iPod game The Sims DJ
News:BtVS Sacrificing itself for that pesky hellmouth
News:Rock Band 2 Trailer and sneak peak at Rock Band 2 Drums
latest podcast
random quote
most recent on forum
Ebgames by EdgeCrusher at 4:55am
Duke Nukem Trilogy by EdgeCrusher at 4:52am
Global Warming by SniperXtreme at 4:52am
boom blox? by EdgeCrusher at 4:50am
Favourite Weapons by EdgeCrusher at 4:49am
DUN DUN DUN Dun dun by SniperXtreme at 4:48am
Second Is RE5 Really that Great. by EdgeCrusher at 4:44am
Hey, IT"S FRED!!!! by ArmTheBomb at 4:10am
Call Of Duty World At War by MickeyMOUSE at 2:33am
WoW player trades sex for gold by Schlen at 2:20am
PODCAST [ E3 2008 wrapup with special guest Yahtzee ] by Schlen at 2:14am
Harry Potter & the half blood prince trailer by Lord Halo Nerd at 1:35am
Unofficial Melbourne catchup with Yug by Vesuvious at 1:17am
Sword of the Stranger by Vesuvious at 1:02am
Site Errors by Vesuvious at 12:55am
Duke Nukem Trilogy by EdgeCrusher at 4:52am
Global Warming by SniperXtreme at 4:52am
boom blox? by EdgeCrusher at 4:50am
Favourite Weapons by EdgeCrusher at 4:49am
DUN DUN DUN Dun dun by SniperXtreme at 4:48am
Second Is RE5 Really that Great. by EdgeCrusher at 4:44am
Hey, IT"S FRED!!!! by ArmTheBomb at 4:10am
Call Of Duty World At War by MickeyMOUSE at 2:33am
WoW player trades sex for gold by Schlen at 2:20am
PODCAST [ E3 2008 wrapup with special guest Yahtzee ] by Schlen at 2:14am
Harry Potter & the half blood prince trailer by Lord Halo Nerd at 1:35am
Unofficial Melbourne catchup with Yug by Vesuvious at 1:17am
Sword of the Stranger by Vesuvious at 1:02am
Site Errors by Vesuvious at 12:55am
upcoming releases
PC
24 Jul
Aion: The Tower of EternityNDS
24 Jul
Cory in the HouseNDS
24 Jul
Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Circle of SpiesWII
31 Jul
Garfield Gets RealNDS
31 Jul
Garfield Gets Realrss feeds
Australian Gamer Content - All
Australian Gamer Podcasts - All
Australian Gamer Updates, Reviews, Previews, Features
feature :: xbox 360 vs ps3: harddrives / communications
Xbox 360 Vs PS3: Harddrives / Communications
Introduction : Hardware Comparison : Marketing : Storage : Connectivity
Harddrives : Communications : Controller : Styling : The Games : Conclusion
Hard Drives
It's hard to compare the hard drives in the two systems. Sony hasn't specified a size, and probably won't until they get far enough down the track that they can pick a number that's enough bigger than Microsoft's to be impressive, but they can actually put in without it getting too expensive. What they HAVE specified, however is that they're using a laptop standard 2" inch drive. This is unfortunate in a way. These drives are relatively bulky for a piece of consumer electronics. But more importantly, they're quite easy to get. Sony could find themselves in the same position as Microsoft, with hacked consoles with large replaced Hard Drives filled with pirated software.
Microsoft has chosen to go the other way this time. Probably because we suggested it. We're very influential. The Xbox 360 hard drive has not been specified exactly, but we DO know it's a 20 gig hard drive, we know it's removable, and from the position it's removed from, we do know it appears to not be very big at all. That probably suggests a 20 gig 1.8 inch drive from someone like Hitachi. This is the same type of drive used in iPod systems, so clearly (considering the screen and interface aren't needed) very small technology could be built around the drive. Unfortunately these drives are rather expensive, and would account for a very large percentage of cost of the unit. It's possible then that they're actually using a 2" inch drive as well, but we can't see clearly.
Communication
The networking of the two consoles is far more comparable. They both support standard Ethernet protocols and connections. They both support wired networking, and they both support wireless networking. Unfortunately while the PS3 includes wireless networking hardware built in, it will be an added accessory for the 360. It's hard to tell how many people will care. Many people prefer wired networks, and already have one set up for their current Xbox, and others possibly prefer a non-built-in (and therefore upgradeable) solution.
For the record, Microsoft actually has a wireless networking connection for the current Xbox, but it's not available in Australia. Bastards.
Another aspect of the Sony system that is a little above the standard set on the 360 is Bluetooth support. The PS3 uses Bluetooth as it's format of choice for the controllers. It's probable that the Bluetooth support will also extend to other relevant technologies such as mobile phones, PDA syncing etc. What the hell they'll do with that, who knows, but they have it, so they can.
The Xbox 360, just for completion, uses high speed RF for it's controller connections, and that's not really going to be used for communicating with anything else. RF isn't really inferior to Bluetooth in any way, and they're both entirely reasonable ways to connect wirelessly. Bluetooth is just a bit cooler, as well as more versatile.
We are a little disappointed in the number of controllers, though. The PS3 can support up to 7, which is pretty cool, while the Xbox 360 can only support the current 4. 7 controllers is nice, but 8 would have been a far more useful number. Sports games especially would benefit from 4 on 4 play. Though that being said, a 7 player game like Mashed, PowerStone, or Fusion Frenzy would be a true joy.
It's nice to see Sony joining the party, and in such a big way. Putting only two controller ports on the PS2 was almost unforgivable, considering every other console since the N64 has had 4, and MultiTap is a very inelegant solution to what should never have been a problem.
It's hard to compare the hard drives in the two systems. Sony hasn't specified a size, and probably won't until they get far enough down the track that they can pick a number that's enough bigger than Microsoft's to be impressive, but they can actually put in without it getting too expensive. What they HAVE specified, however is that they're using a laptop standard 2" inch drive. This is unfortunate in a way. These drives are relatively bulky for a piece of consumer electronics. But more importantly, they're quite easy to get. Sony could find themselves in the same position as Microsoft, with hacked consoles with large replaced Hard Drives filled with pirated software.
Microsoft has chosen to go the other way this time. Probably because we suggested it. We're very influential. The Xbox 360 hard drive has not been specified exactly, but we DO know it's a 20 gig hard drive, we know it's removable, and from the position it's removed from, we do know it appears to not be very big at all. That probably suggests a 20 gig 1.8 inch drive from someone like Hitachi. This is the same type of drive used in iPod systems, so clearly (considering the screen and interface aren't needed) very small technology could be built around the drive. Unfortunately these drives are rather expensive, and would account for a very large percentage of cost of the unit. It's possible then that they're actually using a 2" inch drive as well, but we can't see clearly.
Communication
The networking of the two consoles is far more comparable. They both support standard Ethernet protocols and connections. They both support wired networking, and they both support wireless networking. Unfortunately while the PS3 includes wireless networking hardware built in, it will be an added accessory for the 360. It's hard to tell how many people will care. Many people prefer wired networks, and already have one set up for their current Xbox, and others possibly prefer a non-built-in (and therefore upgradeable) solution.
For the record, Microsoft actually has a wireless networking connection for the current Xbox, but it's not available in Australia. Bastards.
Another aspect of the Sony system that is a little above the standard set on the 360 is Bluetooth support. The PS3 uses Bluetooth as it's format of choice for the controllers. It's probable that the Bluetooth support will also extend to other relevant technologies such as mobile phones, PDA syncing etc. What the hell they'll do with that, who knows, but they have it, so they can.
The Xbox 360, just for completion, uses high speed RF for it's controller connections, and that's not really going to be used for communicating with anything else. RF isn't really inferior to Bluetooth in any way, and they're both entirely reasonable ways to connect wirelessly. Bluetooth is just a bit cooler, as well as more versatile.
We are a little disappointed in the number of controllers, though. The PS3 can support up to 7, which is pretty cool, while the Xbox 360 can only support the current 4. 7 controllers is nice, but 8 would have been a far more useful number. Sports games especially would benefit from 4 on 4 play. Though that being said, a 7 player game like Mashed, PowerStone, or Fusion Frenzy would be a true joy.
It's nice to see Sony joining the party, and in such a big way. Putting only two controller ports on the PS2 was almost unforgivable, considering every other console since the N64 has had 4, and MultiTap is a very inelegant solution to what should never have been a problem.
