PS3 Storage: Blu-ray Disc Capacity vs Internal Hard Drive Sizes

"What size disk?" refers to two different things on PS3.

1. Game Discs (Blu-ray)

• Single Layer: 25 GB (Most PS3 games)
• Dual Layer: 50 GB (Large titles: MGS4, GT5, The Last of Us)
• Console reads both. Cannot upgrade/change drive format

2. Internal Hard Drive (2.5" SATA)

• Stock Sizes: 20, 40, 60, 80, 120, 160, 250, 320, 500 GB (varied by model/region)
• User Upgradeable: Yes. Standard 2.5" SATA HDD (5400/7200 RPM) or SSD (SATA III, limited by SATA I/II bus)
• Max Supported: Officially 1TB (Firmware 4.00+). 2TB works on most Slim/Super Slim but may have formatting issues. >2TB not supported (MBR partition limit)
• File System: FAT32 (External USB) / Proprietary encrypted (Internal)

Recommendation

• Minimum: 250 GB (OS + few large games)
• Sweet Spot: 500 GB – 1 TB SSD (Faster XMB, quicker installs, quieter, cooler)
• External: USB HDD/SSD for media/backups (FAT32, 4GB file limit) or PKG games (via HEN/CFW)

Backup saves to USB/Cloud (PS+) before swapping drives.