It’s time for another installment of…

Good idea:

Introducing improvements to the Xbox 360 controller’s directional pad.

Bad idea:

Making it available exclusively with a Play & Charge kit bundle for $64.99 MSRP.

The end.

It’s the last week of August 2010 which means we’re at the cusp of the end-of-year rush of games beginning with Halo: Reach in just a few short weeks (September 14th). With that in mind, I thought it would be a good time to review my gaming expenses.

I set a $1000 cap for the year and so far I’ve spent only $606.16 on gaming software and hardware. (Note this doesn’t include my 2010 PC) I have a fair bit of breathing room for holiday titles and if I keep a tight leash on things, I should make it under my goal.

How did I manage to keep this all in check? There were gift certificates earned through Amazon, but it’s primarily thanks to selective purchases. I have yet to purchase games like Red Dead: Redemption because they have yet to go on sale. If a newly release game does not go on sale within the first three weeks, I don’t bother with it and will gladly wait for a more substantial $20 – $30 price drop.

Looking at the purchases, the only “new” games I’ve picked up as of late were Dragon Quest IX and Metroid: Other M; both offered $10 off the MSRP during the pre-release window.

Needless to say, I’m quite pleased by this. I’m still playing relatively new releases, but at a fraction of the cost.

I’ve owned my 60GB PlayStation 3 with its hardware based PS2 compatibility for just over three years now. As of late, I’ve noticed that the fan gets quite loud and I’m a bit worried about the console’s longevity with all that heat it’s expelling.

So I decided to look up PlayStation 3 disassembly guides and found this thread on the official PlayStation forums which detailed three tips to get these older PS3 consoles running cooler:

1. Replace the original ZSSR5391A or the APS-226 power supply with the cooler running APS-231 from the PlayStation 3 40GB model
   • To run cooler while still supplying enough power for the 90 nm Cell and RSX
2. Replace the 15 blade fan with the 19 blade version found in the original launch PlayStation 3 60GB models
   • To move more air and a bit quieter
3. Replacing the thermal paste with Arctic Silver 5 or equivalent.
   • To improve heat dissipation

I already have Arctic Silver 5, but I had to order the fan and the power supply from eBay. None of the parts I was ordering were going to be new, so I tried to keep costs as low as possible.

I managed to find a power supply for $32.01 after shipping and handling. It should arrive in a week or two if it follows previous shipping times from Hong Kong. As for the fan? I’m not having much luck. The cheapest I could get is $26 or so shipped to me. But, if I ship it to the U.S. and have it brought over to me, I could get it for about $20 or so. It also means that I’ll get the fan in mid-September since the people bringing it over the border won’t be making a trip until then.

I’m not sure which path I’ll take with the fan, but I am looking forward to this little project. I’ve seen tear downs already, but I’d like to disassemble my own. I’ve already disassembled an Xbox 360 after a RROD. I want things to be different for the PS3, so I would like to disassemble a PS3 before a YLOD happens.

Waiting for the final match of the Rogers Cup to resume. So in the meantime, I’m watching this awesome Animaniacs Tribute from the Nostalgia Critic.

And while I’m watching that, I’m trying to jot down all my gaming hardware specifications for reference and review purposes. I only have my 2010 PC in there at the moment, but I’m hoping to fill it out as I get out of this lazy rut. (Probably tomorrow)

In gaming related news, I believe I’m almost done Red Faction: Guerrilla. It’s a game that’s always surprising me with its tricks. I love the jetpack. More games need jetpacks.

A week of August is already gone. School is returning soon and with it the Fall gaming season. But before I even look ahead to that, let’s see what I’ve been up to.

I recently wrapped up Alan Wake and Crysis. I have my thoughts on Alan Wake down, but Crysis is still brewing. I’m very tempted to tear into Crysis, but I think it’s best to give it a bit more time to reflect.

I’ve also begun playing Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky. It’s my first Dragon Quest game and also my first ever Nintendo DS role playing game. So far, I’m enjoying it a lot.

While I’m not beating the crap out of Slimes, I’ve been dabbling in some Bad Company 2 multiplayer some more. They unlocked new maps. The Conquest variant is awesome, the Rush mode sounds horrid.

Up next, I’m thinking about getting into some Yakuza 3 and Red Faction: Guerrilla for PC. I hear it’s a blast — literally.

Over the past few days I’ve been tweaking Crysis for couch play. It wasn’t the easiest of battles, but I think I’ve settled with a good compromise with both the controls and the visual fidelity. For the specs of the computer I’m running this on, head over to this post here.

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The Windows Experience Index score is a constant reminder of the bottleneck that is the hard drive. Installing any solid state drive will make a significant difference to nearly any computer is. But, as you know, I’m not one who will settle on anything.

I want to find a relatively high performance solid state drive with at least 36 GB of storage space for under $150 CAD after taxes and shipping fees. Why 36GB? It will replace my current OS drive, the Western Digital Raptor 36 GB.

I purchased a Western Digital Raptor 36 GB w/ 8 MB cache model back in around 2004. The WD360GD was the first 10, 000 RPM consumer level hard drive and it served me well for many years. Therefore, I’m used to working with relatively small storage space. And since I’m okay with low capacities, the number of SSD drives available to me is quite numerous.

• Kingston SSDNow V Series Gen II 64GB – $104.99
• OCZ Vertex 2 Sandforce 40GB – $109.99 (after $20 MIR)
• OCZ Onyx Series Indilinx 32GB – $64.99 (after $25 MIR)
• Corsair Storage Solutions Nova Series 32GB -$104.99

Those are just a few of the options available. After weighing the options, I’ve settled between two choices: the Kingston SSDNow V Series Gen II or the OCZ Vertex 2.

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