Best PlayStation system

[Flojomojo]

The first generation backwards compatible PS3 is the king of the hill amongst Playstations for me.

 

You get to play many PS1 and 2 games with the added quality of HDMI, you have a BluRay player and being able to use Youtube and many streaming services over Wifi. Only bummer is the limited HDD size.

 

The HDD was easy to swap out, though. I loved my fat PS3 until it died. Sigh. "Super slim" doesn't do as much, but you know what? No time for video games anyway. Sad face.

[Tanooki]

All these comments edging around a pick shouldn't be allowed I don't think. We're trying to navigate this on what the system does as far as its games and its library goes. Throwing in BC and extreme BC (early PS3 models) just seems a bit sketchy dodging a pick when you can have all 3 rolled into one.

[zzip]

The PS4 is the only one I ever owned, so... PS4

[Lost Dragon]

Owned every Playstation from the original to the current and it has to be the original Playstation in terms of sheer impact it had on myself.

 

I was literally blown away by the fact a home console could deliver visuals like those in Ridge Racer and Tohshinden. .plus i lost count of the number of times i ran the T-Rex demo

 

The term Next Generation had never seemed so apt.

 

However i wasn't one of those 'Graphics Tarts' that Sega Europe made reference of at times, either...

 

I was pouring hours into games like Xcom and Terror From The Deep, Command And Conquer, Capcom Generations, Strider, Bubble Bobble/Rainbow Islands etc, just as much as I was the likes of Wipeout 2097, Colony Wars Vengeance, G-Police etc.

 

I hated Tomb Raider..Soul Reaver was THE game for myself.

 

But also it was the PS1 that got me into Import gaming..Parasite Eve..Einhander, uncensored Silent Hill, Xenogears. ..

 

Sony also weren't complacent back then..which they were during the Playstation 2 era and i fear they are returning to with the Playstation 4 era..

 

They understood they were competing not just agains't rival hardware..be it the Saturn or N64 (Jaguar/Jag CD never seen as a real threat..3DO M2 had yet to appear) but a pair of designer trainers..or mixing decks or anything else the target age group would spend their disposable income on.

 

I miss the PS1 era Sony.

[digdugnate]

i had a PS1 in college- my roommate and I spent HOURS on that thing that probably we should've spent studying for classes, lol.

 

I also have lots of nostalgic feelings for the PS2 since that was the system we had when our daughter was born. That girl did. not. sleep, so my wife and i spent many many hours playing RPGs on it

[dj_convoy]

Probably the PS2 (unless you have a nice original fat PS3 as alluded to upthread). Ridiculous number of games, solid and reliable... also a stealth DVD player (when that was important)... a winner.

[0078265317]

3 because early 20gb ps3s were backwards compatible with 1 and 2 games.

[BawesomeBurf]

This may come as a shock to you, but I'm going to pick PS1. There were so many great RPGs on the system, and a lot of games that were the best in the series IMO, like Gran Turismo 2, Castlevania: SotN, Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears, Crash Bandicoot 2, Tomb Raider 2, etc.

[Zap!]

Looks like the PS2 has a slight lead over the PS1. The PS4 is way behind.

[+adamchevy]

PS1 gets my vote. I love the original ridge racer. Also, I really enjoyed Lunar and Final Fantasy 9.

Edited September 4, 2018 by adamchevy

[RetroLucky]

A modified original PS3 paired with a PS4 controller is about as close anyone could get to "best overall"

 

Otherwise it's not entirely optimal to pick any generation specifically as the best. Best revision of a generation, that's a bit different and easier to have a definitive best.

[boxpressed]

One of these days Ill get around to applying some Arctic Silver to the CPU and GPU of one of my CECHA PS3s. Such a PIA removing the heat spreader from those chips. But thats the only way to keep those backwards compatible PS3s alive before they start RLODing and then YLODing.

[+Black_Tiger]

The original is the only one that means anything to me and I wasn't crazy about it bitd. The rest are just generic "newer gen" consoles. The more time passes, the less interest I have in post-Dreamcast consoles and the more that 32-bit loses ground to everything that came before.

[RetroLucky]

One of these days Ill get around to applying some Arctic Silver to the CPU and GPU of one of my CECHA PS3s. Such a PIA removing the heat spreader from those chips. But thats the only way to keep those backwards compatible PS3s alive before they start RLODing and then YLODing.

Upgrading to a 19 blade fan helps further, and the biggest help is using a later model PSU, one of the enclosed ones that won't burn your hand

[boxpressed]

Upgrading to a 19 blade fan helps further, and the biggest help is using a later model PSU, one of the enclosed ones that won't burn your hand

 

I've heard that advice too, and I'll probably follow it because it couldn't hurt. But I read a pretty convincing blog post where the writers says that those are just myths, and the only thing that works is getting under the heat spreader before the RLOD/YLOD first happens. The writer tested each variable separately, timing when the system would overheat, and the only thing that mattered was changing the thermal compound.

[RetroLucky]

 

I've heard that advice too, and I'll probably follow it because it couldn't hurt. But I read a pretty convincing blog post where the writers says that those are just myths, and the only thing that works is getting under the heat spreader before the RLOD/YLOD first happens. The writer tested each variable separately, timing when the system would overheat, and the only thing that mattered was changing the thermal compound.

Well of course it's better to get upgraded before an issue actually happens, but sometimes that's not the case unfortunately

 

As far as the fan, yea a low priority but better cooling is better cooling and it definitely doesn't hurt if the airflow isn't negativity affected

 

Thermal paste is probably considered mandatory if there's any respect of the system involved, for the effort I'd say silver is a minimum with something better being a plus but not really required to improve the situation

 

PSU could be considered optional but we're considering stock original being 100w more than necessary and getting considerably hot and stuck inside a case with everything else. Peace of mind logic would say just do the later model PSU that provides adequate power and puts out less heat.

 

The most optional part of upgrades is an SSD. Definitely won't hurt the cooling pursuit, and they're not incredibly expensive.

 

Personally I'd go all out for my personal cecha PS3 as I'd want best experience possible with minimal risk to my hardware. More so if it's got cfw or an exploitable ofw. But that's just me.

[boxpressed]

I have 3 working CECHAs (and a couple of CECHEs), but I wont use them until I have time to do the maintenance. I picked up a CECHG just for the PSU, but its working so nicely that it would be a shame to cannibalize it. I may just buy the cooler PSU by itself, but theyre basically the same price as a CECHG. Which models have the 19 blade fan?

[RetroLucky]

I have 3 working CECHAs (and a couple of CECHEs), but I wont use them until I have time to do the maintenance. I picked up a CECHG just for the PSU, but its working so nicely that it would be a shame to cannibalize it. I may just buy the cooler PSU by itself, but theyre basically the same price as a CECHG. Which models have the 19 blade fan?

Not sure which had em but they're around as parts, I think my cecha is only 15 or 17 but it needs psu and preferably ssd before I mess with it. I already got some as5 on it and slightly bent the heatsink clips so it would be held on tighter. It also needs a new bluray drive since the refurbished one I put in a while ago didn't wanna work after sorting out hdd and cfw on it

[bubufubu]

PS2 is the only console I've ever pre-ordered and for very good reason.

 

When I heard that it could play CDs, DVDs, and was backwards compatible with PlayStation games, I was amazed. Had to have it. Absolutely worth the $330 (includes $30 pre-order, rough estimate, long time ago).

 

Combined with the awesome PS2 library, I've easily gotten the most entertainment and enjoyment out of this system than any other in my adult years.

 

I've never understood the craze/insanity over picture quality (HDMI, etc), so that doesn't factor in for me. Wireless controllers is a good point. However, I have no problem with cords as long as they're at least 6 feet long.

[boxpressed]

Got the IHS off the GPU. Not too difficult. Used a hair dryer for 30 seconds and was then able to pop it off with a screwdriver. Taking my time with the one over the CPU. Using a razor blade and painters knife. VERY easy to slip and cut some traces. But look at that paste. It is completely hardened. This is a CECHE that would work for 1-5 minutes before shutting down.

[Zap!]

Otherwise it's not entirely optimal to pick any generation specifically as the best. Best revision of a generation, that's a bit different and easier to have a definitive best.

 

Best in its day was the original intent of the question.

[JaguarVision]

CD-i.

 

But in all seriousness, BC PS3, because I can play three generations of PlayStation without spending thousands of dollars on collections and remasters.

[Nebulon]

I had issues with the look of the textures on the PS1 (although it was pretty amazing at the time).

 

And I had problems with the aliasing and moire patterns on the PS2.

 

The PS3 was a great machine so I was about to vote for it.

 

Instead I voted for the PS4 because of its very nice VR implementation and peripherals.

[akator]

My prefs:

1. PSP -- Portable Awesome. So many excellent PSP games. Plays most PS1 games. Easily modded for homebrew and emulation. This is the last system that made me feel like a kid on Christmas morning and I still play it regularly.
2. PS1 -- Renewed my love of gaming and I realized it wasn't something I "would outgrow."
3. PS2 -- The game library is insane. There are so many incredible and off the wall games for the PS2 it's almost unbelievable, that most aren't US titles doesn't matter. I love a console that lets me just play and doesn't require online, downloads, and updates.
4. PS3 -- Feels the most polished of the consoles. It's got a bit of everything and works well, if only the downloads and updates didn't get in my way.
5. PS4 -- Meh. It's just an appliance now, like a toaster or blender. This generation of gaming feels like the mid 90s again to me. And like then I've been gaming on my PC far more than consoles...

[Spike Danton]

Xperia Play. It can emulate pretty much all consoles except XBOX and Gamecube. Some PS2 and Dreamcast games may have issues though. It also has access to most of the Google Play Store games library, other than the games that require higher specs which is very few. It also has two analog sticks, circles, nubs, holes???? Anyway it had two of them, not just one like on the PSP, and it's a phone with cellular with vastly better wifi than the PSP's. I would like to point out that it's quick and easy emulation to, I don't have to go through 500 steps and the use of a desktop to get emulation on my XP. PSP wins with the screen though!

 

Following that, the PS2. PS3 has issues running PS2 games due to emulation bugs, and PS1 games seem to mess with the Boo-ray laser overtime, which shouldn't be a thing considering PS1 games are on CDs but what can you do? I also greatly prefer the PS2's library.

Edited September 13, 2018 by Spike Danton