Triple post... win!

Gonna go with the OCZ agility 3.... if the time comes i can then pull it out and use it on other things so its win win

Yes this is what I have. I don't plan on keeping it in my PS3. I would never have purchased it JUST to play Skyrim, but I plan on building a gaming PC pretty soon and I will need to get one.

For the record, I've been playing 8 hours straight almost 70 hours in with an 11MB file and my game is still super super smooth.

Awww can't wait my SSD to arrive.

P.S. I've ordered the same as yours.

so if the ssd fixes the problems that skyrim is having.. theres no real way that bethesda will be able to fix the game with a patch without somehow altering the way the game plays.. which i dont see them doing.. so basically the game wont be fixed right?

I have no idea. I imagine if they fix the memory leak/cache issue then regular HD will be able to handle it. I think right now it's just putting a huge and constant strain on the HD and it can't load fast enough which in turn lags the game? I don't know lol, but I bet it will be fixed...in two weeks...maybe.

cool thanks i dont know enough about any of this but the ssd sounds like it makes the game pretty awesome... albeit for a decent amount of money. i havent bought the game yet.. i was just so excited for it i started checking out forums and started hearing about the problems that are happening to the ps3 version.. hey glad the upgrade worked for you.. id almost rather do that than buy an xbox.. cheers

Just helped one of my friends install his SSD that he just got, and I had to do the install OS from USB thing as well. It seems that PS3 Slims need to do it following the link that Funkfactory posted earlier, whereas PS3 Phat users can just plug and play as it were.

I can also confirm that only copying some select saves work fine for Skyrim, there is no need to do a complete backup if you don't want to. I don't really know why you wouldn't want to but I recall someone asking about it so might as well confirm it.

Glad to hear that it sorted your game as well as it did mine, Funkfactory, and best of luck to you others who plan to do it the SSD way for now.


To clarify it up, yes the PS3s SATA controller is too old to properly harness the power of the new HDDs, so any SATA-III SSD will run at full breeze at all times, and most SATA-2 drives will be just as fast since the bottleneck is in the controller.

Personally I prefer intel SSDs, but Corsair and OCZ have been proved to work just as well, so any of those vendors will be absolutely fine! I imagine any SSD will make your gaming experience that much more enjoyable so take what is available/cost efficient.

I didn't do this modification just for Skyrim either, it's improved my other games as well (most notably Hyperdimension Neptunia in my own library) and I expect future games to benefit from it as well. If you don't feel that you need it after you're done with Skyrim, you can always pop it into your computer instead and make windows load in 15 seconds instead .

I registered just for this.

I read the whole thread, so what SSD would you guys recommend buying? A cheap 60GB one would suffice.

I found http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-vertex-plus-series-sata-ii-2-5-ssd.html. What do you think? I don't know too much about this stuff.

The OCZ should work just fine. I'd urge you to check your retailler for the intel 320 series as well (The 510 is better, but generally more expensive). I would help you look but I don't know where you're from so I can't really point you to any retailers.

Well I think I'm gonna order it online, I don't live close to any good component stores or anything (and even if I did, they'd be expensive as hell). I'll check how much the Intel 320 costs online though.

EDIT: Looks like the Intel 320 40GB one is more expensive than a 60GB OCZ Vertex. I'm kinda low on money so I think I'll go with the OCZ one IF I'm going to order one at all. One option would be to just buy Assassin's Creed: Revelations or Battlefield 3 (or both!) and just play them until a patch comes along. Only question is, would a SSD by any chance improve performance in those games? If so, I might consider it..

Would probably improve the loadtimes at least. I sadly can't vouch for either of them, but let's see if I can google that for you...

Doesn't look like they have much slowdown issues associated with them so the trial and error on those games are quite limited.

The ones that definitely benefit so far are Skyrim, Gran Turismo, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Bladestorm, Bayonetta and Soul Calibur (just a few seconds quicker loadtimes, but that's a reduction about 50%) which I have tested from my own collection. The only games I've really seen online with extreme load/slowdown issues are Gran Turismo and Skyrim, so most data is available on those two titles only, sorry.

Thanks for the effort, I really appreciate it. I guess I might just stick with this HDD for a while longer (160GB PS3 Slim), cause I just deleted all the crap I didn't need and I came up with 49GB of used space. Might be too much for the 60GB one, since the System takes some for itself as well.

Yeah, I might just buy one or both of those games (BF3/AC:R) and have lots of fun while waiting for a Skyrim patch, even though my game is nowhere near unplayable yet, strangely. Usually a restart helps for a few hours (9.1MB and 82hrs 57min). I guess I'm just a bit luckier than most. Still, sometimes the fps issues are worse and it's pretty annoying.

What Lag??!!!

Been playing all week, total lag...literally...2 seconds. (likely over 100 hours gameplay)

I think these issues are related to your own systems, not the game. Try cleaning up your systems. PS3's use the same HDD's as PC's, do you defrag & clean up your PC's??

K, that was meant to sound a bit harsh...Really, all I'm saying is if it's a software issue, it would affect all players, I can honestly say, I am amazed at how fast loads, saves and gameplay are.
You want lag: try Dark Souls, Blighttown......

If you are having lag issues, maybe try cleaning out obsolete game saves (from other, non-Bethesda games)
I cleaned up my system November 10th, and literally zero issues. Best of luck to you all, I hate to see anyone unable to fully appreciate such an amazing game.

Both the OCZ and the Intel drive are faster than your PS3 can even handle (which is fine they're backwards compatible). If you don't plan on putting it in your computer later on you can basically get any SATA2 or higher brand you want. You will notice no difference in performance. Some people prefer certain brands because of reliability etc, but OCZ, Intel any name company like that should have a 3 year warranty (not actually sure, but that seems standard with high end PC components).

Also, Asuka was pretty much right on about game performance. From what I've read the last few days performance is very game specific. Most games do not benefit significantly as far as gameplay is concerned, Skyrim seeming to be the biggest exception to this. However, most games benefit as far as load times go (again game specific) and DLC titles should see improved performance. If your PS3 is your primary source for gaming then you would probably really enjoy having the SSD in your machine.

In my opinion, this game is worth 60$+100$ for a SSD. It really is that amazing. However, I think you should wait for a few weeks and see if the patch does in fact fix the lag issues. Worst case scenario you buy the game and get a SSD later (plus by that time if lag isn't fixed there will be 100000 used copies).

Nope... I'm using (I think second generation) PS3 fat 40gig model with updated firmware and internet connection, so I don't know what the deal is with the updates.

This is exactly why Bethesda thinks it's the minority who are having problems. Believe me, YOU are the minority here. Just look around the forums, please and stop spreading this nonsense.

Yep, I've successfuly installed my brand new OCZ Agility 3 into my PS3.
I can confirm a noticable performance improvement over the stock HDD.
Everything became pretty smooth for me. You can still notice some very bare fps dropdown (but no stuttering or freezing at all!!) while some intensive graphics effect (for example thieves guild's fog in the sewers with lots of people on the screen) but it's nothing compared to what it was before.
Load times also improved vastly. I'm pretty happy though

Yep. Now imagine how happy you will be 4+ hours from now when it's still running that way. I like couldn't believe that the game was actually playing the way it was supposed to after 20+ hours of terrible performance. I really think anyone who can't upgrade to SSD should WAIT for Bethesda to fix the game. I really wish I would have waited.

Yay! Another happy critter <3. That's the reason I started this thread, even if just a few have the option to put an SSD in there, that's a few happy people that wouldn't have been happy otherwise.

Not to sound like an idiot.... but... I live in Alaska in a remote part, would cold weather cause any damage to the SSD?

my other issue is, if I order a SSD online, they could have a patch before it gets here.... /sigh maybe I should fly to Seattle for the weekend...

Extended exposure and operation in sub-zero environment will damage it in the long run, just like any electronics. I doubt you plan on playing the PS3 outside and have ample heating inside =). Just carrying it outside or letting it rest in a package outside is fine, though of course burying it in the snow just to test that theory is not only bad, but stupid as well .

As long as your residence is above 0 C, the SSD will be all hunky dory and happy.


Rule of thumb: If your PS3 will be allright in the cold weather, so will your SSD.

Hehe, it was mainly an issue of, if it sits on a tarmac/truck for a prolonged period of time would it become damaged. Normally I fly out (Anchorage/Fairbanks or Seattle) to get new electronics, and bring them back with me, but it seemed a bit excessive to do that for a SSD.

I'll put one on order and hope it gets here before the patch

Please relate your experience. Based from what I've seen here I may get it for the PS3 afterall instead of buying a 360.

it's not happening for you because your save has to be big like 8mb. so your save is probably small.