PS3 HDXT HANDS ON REVIEWby Viral_DNAAs I posted earlier I recently purchased a
PS3 HDXT online at
diveno.cnand after receiving it I was quite excited.
That is till I attempted to install it.
I have some feature/hardware revision requests I'd like to see as well, but I'll
get into that later.
At first glance this looks like a very high quality
TeamXecuter product.
However the replacement panel that hides the PS3 Hard Drive bay fit
quite poorly and I had to shave some plastic off just to get it to fit.
The color is a bit off as well, though its not really noticeable.
Now that is not the worst of it.
The original PS3 Hard Drive slides in and out of the bay with incredible ease,
now I just wish I could say the same for the PS3 HDXT....
This thing just would not go in, I must have tried for almost an hour before
I decided enough was enough and removed the board from the tray to help
isolate the problem.
The bay without the board is just like the original Hard Drive,
it goes in and out with incredible ease.
The board alone fits, but just barely as its touching the metal bellow
and the board seems to be under some stress from underneath as the metal
pushes the Board upwards.
So it seems that the board rests just a tad bit to high to connect as it should.
I have tried and tried and it's just not fitting, so I have gone to
Plan B....
Plan BI removed the SATA board from the PS3 HDXT Caddy and connected it to the
internal connection of the PS3. I then applied the new replacement cover and
Plugged in a eSATA slot bracket I got with my External HD to the PS3 HDXT board.
(You will have to remove the metal bracket. It will require a small screw driver.)
Now the board is not in very secure until I figure out something since it's not in it's
caddy, so you will want to take care when moving the unit that you don't pull on the cord.
From the eSATA adapter I ran a eSATA cable to my External Drive Enclosure.
I did this because I did not have a SATA to eSATA cable or adapter.
I wish I could have taken some pictures, but right now my camera is not working.
So over all I think it's a great idea, it just needs some revisions.
Would I buy one again? Not unless I seen some major changes.
You can just cut a hole in your cover and run a SATA cable right into the connector.
Revisions/Features
Just a few things I thought up while installing this thing.
- Revise HD Cover for better fit.
- Revise PS3 HDXT Caddy for a better fit.
- change SATA connection to eSATA
- Addition of Molex Power Connection if retaining the SATA connection.
One of the major downsides of this kit is that you can't stand the PS3 up vertically anymore,
that is to say unless you have Vertical stand you could modify.
This means it must remain on it's side.
What I would really like to see is a PS3 Vertical Stand with SATA HD Bay and maybe 2-4USB Ports.
I would just like to note that you may not have this problem when you try to install yours,
this is just from my own hands on personal experience with this product.
It's possible my PS3 is not quite the same as the models used in testing by TeamXecuter,
or that the PS3 HDXT is in someway defective, or these issues have already been resolved.
If you do buy one, please post and let us know how it went for you?
Cheers!