Report: 40GB PS3 more energy-efficient

German tech site Computer Base states Sony's newest SKU will feature the 65nm Cell processor.

Earlier this month, Sony officially unveiled the long-rumored 40GB PlayStation 3 model, which will be available on November 2 for $399. To make up for the $100 price difference between the new model and its 80GB counterpart, Sony tweaked the console's configuration, reducing the number of USB ports from four to two and stripping out the memory-card reader. Backward compatibility for PlayStation 2 titles has also been removed from the new console, though Sony has stated that move had more to do with generating revenue than cutting costs.

While Sony readily called out the reduced functionality of its 40GB model, the console maker omitted mention of a few new changes being implemented under the hood, according to a report from German tech site Computer Base. The report claims that the 40GB will sport the 65nm version of the Cell processor, which will cut the console's wattage use from 200 to about 135. In turn, the report claims the new console will output less heat and noise.

The Emotion Engine, which provides hardware-based backward compatibility for original PlayStation and PS2 titles, was also removed with the discontinuation of the 60GB PS3 model in North America, further cutting energy demands.

A new processor isn't the only modification reportedly being made to the 40GB hardware. The new console also includes a smaller heat pipe and a new version of its motherboard, according to the report.

Sony had not responded to requests for comment on the new hardware configuration as of press time.

150 Comments

  • billyjunxix

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 6:50 am PT

    PS3 is the ONLY real NEXT-GEn console. I used to own an xbox 360 which is already broken. I used to be blind and indenial about the the real power of the PS3. And im sorry about that SONY. i even got demoted twice from gamespot because i used to cheer for 360 and being bias about the PS3. But to tell you the truth PS3 is the best NEXT-GEN console or shoul i correct my self..PS3 is the ONLY REAL NEXT-GEN console because for real you cant call the xbox 360 a next-gen console because of its high failure rate ist just a matter of time when will all the 360 got the RROD. xbox 360 is a tik-king time bomb. And you cant call something that has a high failure rate a next-gen console because that means a down fall for humanity because were supposed to be upgrading our technology. Not to have a machine that will constantly broke. For now the real next-gen is PS3 and wii because they pass the stress test. SONY and NINTENDO if you look and compare at theire past consoles to the present PS3 and wii they really evolve. I owned a PSone and PS2 the only reason I bought the xbox 360 is beacause it came out earlier and i couldnt wait to buy my new console..i couldnt wait for the PS3 and I REGRET THAT ALOT. xbox 360 is a waste of money. And every 360 fanboy who defend microsoft is an idiot and i pity them bcause of their ignorance is getting the best of their better judgement because they love their crappy xbox 360. You want a real NEXT-GEN console then get the PS3. PS3 RULES.

  • ss5vegetunks

    Posted Jan 12, 2008 6:37 pm PT

    I think it is great they did this, I already have a PS2, so why would I wanna waste 100$$ more for sumthing I already have, and as it goes for the usb ports, 2 should b enough, having 2 usb ports doesnt mean, u can only play 2 players, it just means, u can only charge 2 controllers at a time and stuff like that, and the flash card readers, dont really care about them, anyways other than that its the same thing, the graphics and speed and everything, only 40 GB is much quiter!!! yeah GO SONY, u rock!!! and so does the PS3!!!

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Nov 1, 2007 4:58 pm PT

    But still, it's pretty stripped down. Not a bad machine though. I'd buy it if I don't have any PSone or 2 games, but I have a launch 60.

  • Petri87

    Posted Nov 1, 2007 12:37 pm PT

    GrimBee: Almost all new tech is more energy efficent then its predesessor so by upgrading you PC will often lower the power usage. Like when i upgraded whit a new GPU, CPU and some other small stuff the PC became quietter and used less power and generated less heat.

    BTW the GPU was a 8600GTS Silent FX(No fan) and the CPU was an AMD Athlon X24800+(the new 65nm version)

  • GrimBee

    Posted Nov 1, 2007 12:12 am PT

    Of course its more energy efficient! It has the ps2 functions removed, so thats quite a few hours of out of the Playstation session right there

    Seriously - when you have a big sound system, a plasma HDTV, rows and rows of movies.. you probably could care less about the power the ps3 saves.

    People buy big consoles like the ps3 for the pure mind-blowing experience, they know what they are getting into - its like having a plasma tv, you want one of those to get the amazing screen. You KNOW its going to take more power than standard tv sets.

    Same as if you upgrade your PC, its going to take more power when you upgrade.

    Alot of people know this.

    Power saving is good only for users who own a Wii, casual gamers and the like. If they find out that their little console is costing the earth on the electricity bill - chances are they will not use it as much as they would.

    Its not like that for people who have big budgets and things for their entertainment needs.

    But hey - if people are concerned about being energy efficient, perhaps you should of attended live earth! But the amount of power it took to run that gig probably would power all the lights in all the peoples homes who attended the event for a year! lol

  • motherboop

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 2:03 pm PT

    Other than the small batch of PS3 systems (60gb only), - CE133190xxx and CE133212xxx series manufactured in January 2007 - , the 60 gb system is not known for making noise or overheating, although I reccomend that it be kept well ventilated on the right side of the system). I had one of these for one day and exchanged it for another one, Manufactured in March 07. BIG DIFFERENCE. Anyways, I don't believe that the noise level or heat release will be terribly different in the 40 gb, as it's not really noticeable on current models. I must say that I believe that sony is heading in the right direction with the release of the 40 gb system, I just wish they left the emotion engine intact in the 80 gb model instead of the emulation business.

  • xDooMKinGx

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 12:38 pm PT

    What's so good about PS3's magnificent power if there are currently no good games to prove it.

  • Agermemnon

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 11:24 am PT

    I must say the emulation software on the eu 60gig is bad and people should check on faq.eu.playstation.com/bc and check the list out because to be honest it's sort of a joke how games can look worse than they did on ps2 .

  • mrkame16

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 10:25 am PT

    quote" :-( sorry sony... for this generation your days are numbered and if you come out of this hole props.. .truth is nobody cares about being green with efficiency we want GAMES sony we want a lower price bt for now us real gamers will stick to our 360s and wii's" I AGREE......

  • NinjaMunkey01

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 10:04 am PT

    well I guess it was expected. any company would want to make their console better. MS still have not fixed the RROD problem which is discrasefull. Oh well I still like my ps3. Its quiet and dosent make much heat anyway they just make a great console even better!

    I find it funny though. after the good news about the price drop, I bet the gamespot fanboys were searching for hours to find something to make sony look bad. Plus I can see how some people ate no BC but I dont mind. I keep the ps3 downstairs so i can watch blue ray and never play ps2 games on it. And the ps2 is upstairs with a smaller tv. I never intended on getting rid of my ps2 anyway.

  • swizzleX

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 9:54 am PT

    in simple terms it won't die if fall asleep with it on or play something 24 hours

  • dorohala

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 9:50 am PT

    PS3 hardware is better than the xbox 360 agree!!!

  • tuddle-fo

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 9:48 am PT

    They obviously did this because they are evil/cocky/arrogant. I don't know how you can't see this.

  • Rect_Pola

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 8:41 am PT

    This shouldn't come as a surprise. They've refined their hardware where they saw problems.

  • mtofu

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 8:31 am PT

    @Sigil-Otaku: the 80 GB PS3, which also received a price cut, offers BC through emulation. Not all hope is lost for those that want one system. I'm not sure but isn't there a Halo3 XBox 360? Wouldn't that make it 4 systems for MS, too?

    Anyway, having a cheaper, greener system without all the bells and whistles is fine, in my opinion. Believe it or not, there are people out there that don't have a PSOne/2 that maybe interested in getting a PS3... Like my brother. For some crazy reason, he wants a 60 GB PS3 even though I moved out with my PS2. He's weird that way.

  • MichaeltheCM

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 7:29 am PT

    Yay!!! go conservation and saving the world!!

  • Doolum

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 7:22 am PT

    now you are talking.Thats Sony.not just money making.they know the word ''efficiency''.make the product better.in the end this new SKU is still a PS3 that delivers next gen experience and one that can play blu ray movies as well.what else do you need.

  • Vihlo

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 7:04 am PT

    @sexyup LOL, what are you talking about? The 360 is/has had just as many if not more system revisions as the PS3. I think with this model out now, and the games that'll be out by years end, Sony will do quite well this xmas.

  • hassam7

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 6:47 am PT

    I knew Sony wouldn't let us down!

  • hassam7

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 6:44 am PT

    I knew Sony wouldn't let us down!

  • atticuzz

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 6:31 am PT

    well that's another reason for me to buy it this friday. weee.

  • TTDog

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 6:17 am PT

    Well, its not as if you'll use up too much power playing games is it.

  • raverrozza

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 6:02 am PT

    Agreed motherboop i got a 60gb on the day of the price drop here in the UK because of several reasons. I do have a PS2 but its gettin a bit iffy now and again with reliability and i still love to play my PSX and PS2 games so backwards compatibility is a preferred option.

    Also id like as many usb slots as possible as sometimes we have 4 controllers going for PES and sometime one or two need charged at once and even at one time we needed 3 charging while we played. also i plan to get a keyboard and mouse for RTS and FPS and am considering connecting up my external hard drive. for all of this 2 just dont cover me i need 4. plus for the 50 quid extra gettin more usbs, backwards compatibility, 2 games and an extra controller it seemed like a no brainer to me which as the better value!

  • motherboop

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 4:32 am PT

    I can give 3 good reasons why to get a ps3 with backwards compatibility
    1, Proprietary wireless controllers (rumble coming soon) 2, Upscaled graphics, remember when people said that ps1 games looked so much better on ps2? Well it actually works with the smooting option on ps3, play your old games in high def. 3, Reliability, ps3 has little to no chances of breaking down, as of now.
    And I have a ton of psx and ps2 games from the past 10 years, so that is what fueled my decision to go out and buy a 60gb ps3 earlier in the month. Nothing wrong with the 40gb, if all you want to do is play ps3 games and bluerays, both of which it was designed for.

  • brianpoetzel

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 4:13 am PT

    motherboop said: "or you can get a 20 gb ps3 with BC for 379.99$ at gamestop online, and swap out the hard drive for a small price. probably best way to go about buying a ps3 at the moment."
    -------------------

    That's true. And I think people overestimate the space they need. I've got my music, about 20 demos and all my save games and I just hit 30gb. And that's only because I'm too lazy to delete the demos that I'm done with.

  • MSG-Deathscythe

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 3:08 am PT

    what noise? my 60 gig is really quiet. but enough with the newer versions - that's the 360's thing to make early adopters feel bad. give me the games, sony.

  • SalarianChemist

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 3:05 am PT

    40GB PS3 does not have the ability to play PS2 games, because it doesn't have the correct hardware inside it...the chip is not there.

    So, it is not a surprise that this uses less energy.

  • grdwalker

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 2:58 am PT

    i definitely hear my PS3 going, but its not such a problem as i just turn the TV up.

  • The_Third_Place

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 2:18 am PT

    nirnaeth Mine working fine, the good thing about the PS3 is that it doesnt have a 30% fail rate like the 360 did not to long ago (when they extended the warranty). Dunno what the rate is now for the 360... prolly 40%.

  • ---n00b_kid---

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 1:37 am PT

    Does that mean the 60GB ps3 has a 90nm cpu & gpu ??

  • nirnaeth

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 1:21 am PT

    @hilltops

    interesting question. all i ever hear is how many 360s break. i wonder how ps3's are holdin up. no news is good news, right? i would gladly pay the extra cash to know my hardware's gonna last

  • hilltops

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 12:55 am PT

    this is great ..personally i dont even hear my ps3 running!
    lol..just curious..has ANYONE had to send back a ps3
    because of some sort of hardware failure or etc. ??

  • osxgp

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 12:34 am PT

    SirNicoli, Xbox Live is $50 a year, not $50 a month. Besides, the Silver membership is free. However, I can't argue about the worry of mine overheating.

  • osxgp

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 12:32 am PT

    I like that Sony is making a cheaper version of the PS3 but I wish it was backwards compatible with PS2 games. I'm glad I got the 20 GB version. Although it cost more, I can still play my PS2 games without worry. Besides, I don't ever hear any noise from my PS3 nor does it overheat. Now my 360 is another story.

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Oct 31, 2007 12:23 am PT

    That's good news for an energy concious guy like me. I look forward to owning one, next year, all the more.

  • tatinhawk

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 11:45 pm PT

    I totally agree with Sigil-otaku losing the BC is bad.... I love to play my PS2 games on my 60Gb PS3....

  • xophaser

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 11:20 pm PT

    The 40g is white in Japan, said qnet. I want to see which verison the silver/grey one will come out.

  • SirNicoli

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 11:17 pm PT

    for 399, thats a deal compared to the 360, having to pay 50 dollars a month and knowing its gunna break on you.
    i love my 60 gig, im glad sony is making ANOTHER effort to make some people happy, but to most haters out there, they will still complain until they hand out free ps3's

  • creepster32000

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 10:04 pm PT

    well i got the 80 gb when it was 600 bux thats the only thing i can be PO'ed about an i love it like a child i even took it on vacation and fishing i got some snaps of the huge bass it caught

  • Ballroompirate

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 9:59 pm PT

    The price cut is nice but damn why all the stripage of the basic PS3 console?

  • jacob-goodlich

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 9:33 pm PT

    i cant imagine it making less sound cause already u can bearly hear it, and true dat about the price cut, its what all the cheap people wanted and theyre still looking for something bad to say...why dont u go and pick on the energy guzzler,giant noise maker, ugly, faulty xbox 360.

  • kidshining

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 9:32 pm PT

    Huh? thats wild. i have the 60 gig and dont hear it at all. sum times i 4get its on. thats ok as long as my 60gig ps3 last i dont care and besides i like backwards play and the card readers

  • rahstar

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 9:20 pm PT

    @sigil-otaku If you dont like dont get it. Quite simple if you use your brain.

  • Reetesh

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 9:17 pm PT

    Thats cool, now Sony will have lesser Losses

  • Sigil-otaku

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 9:08 pm PT

    And for all the PS3 fanboys that squeel about playing games on the PS2 I have a few things to say, it takes less space if you have only one console, you don't need to have the pads, mem cards and other peripherals to mess about with, playing everything from one console is better, the promise of BC by Sony being broke is bad, messing around with wires switching between PS2 and PS3 is annoying. Now consider if people don't want to keep there old console cos it broke so instead bought a PS3. Those who may just want one console, those who bought a PS3 and not a PS2 and want to try PS2 games, those who have a PS2 but want to sell it to get more PS3 games etc. etc. There's plenty of reasons why losing BC is bad (not to mention value for money) and so stop pretending this is just all fine. You guys might wanna play your PS2 games on your PS3 but some want to do it on there PS3.

    @ NeoNavarro: MS 3 SKU's, Sony 4, MS out 2 years, Sony out 1 year.

  • NeoNavarro

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 9:03 pm PT

    Between Sony and Micro$oft I dunno who's worse at making constant changes to there counsels...

  • Sigil-otaku

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 8:59 pm PT

    @ SageAnomie: .......This isn't a price cut, it's a model change. Quite different if you use your brain to think about it. People may still want BC and a price cut which will be available for a short while but will be gone as soon as the 60gb's are gone. @rahstar: Thats because you look at it from one side, quite simply a stripped down model is unappealing to many but that is acceptable so long as that is what consumers want. I hardly think consumers want the only BC SKU remaining to disappear and be left without it, to no longer get two free games and to be left with only one SKU which is inferior.

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