Add a bigger hard drive to your PS3

I always wondered why Microsoft and Sony added hard drives with low storage capacities to their gaming systems.

HD Movies, game trailers for instance, use so much space that the hard drive will sooner or later be filled to the rim; this leaves you with the option to delete trailers, games, demos or updates to free up space for new games or game updates.

There is a solution for Sony's Playstation 3 that allows you to add at least one 3,5" SATA drive to the console. The 3,5" will not fit into the PS3 obviously because it is using a 2,5" internally.

You will need the following hardware:

• 1 medium Phillips screw driver.
• 1 3.5" SATA HDD
• 1 3.5" SATA HDD enclosure.
• 1 Male SATA 7-Pin DATA to Female SATA 7-Pin Cable. (I'm using a 20")
• You may need a set of needle nose pliers or a pair of snips.

The author of the guide (no longer available) has linked to websites that aid you in the process. He recommend an external SATA case to add the 3,5" SATA drive to it. The case needs an external SATA connection as well as its own power supply to work flawlessly.

I do not own a PS3 yet which means I could not try this little hack on my own machine. It seems to me that you have to use the internal SATA connector to connect the external SATA drive. Here is what he is saying about this, rather vague unfortunately:

If you want cut, a hole in your PS3's HDD cover and run the cable through go ahead. However, I may at a later time make a male to male SATA cable. I will lilkely use the extension cable I already have and a cable from a SATA cable bracket like in the following pics. I will cut a hole of the appropriate size in the HDD cover and attach the bracket end to the cover. Figure this part out yourself. For now I'll keep the PS3 in a vertical position with the cable hidden running through a hole below to the drive enclosure.

Update: The article is no longer available. Sony has posted instructions online that walk you through replacing the internal hard drive of the system with a larger model.

Update 2: Sony's guide is no longer available. The guide to replace the internal PS3 hard drive however is. This may be the better option considering that it is a much simpler process as you simply have to replace the old drive with a -- larger -- new drive that fits in the drive slot.

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