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PS3 80 Gb: 128mb al posto di 512mb?

Console tribe news - PS3 80 Gb: 128mb al posto di 512mb?

di: Giovanni Manca

In queste ore impazzano per la rete alcune indiscrezioni riguardo alle nuove PS3 da 80 GB. Il noto magazine online ps3news.com avrebbe individuato solamente 128 mb di memoria flash al posto di 512 (2×256): questo sarebbe stato fatto per abbassare i costi di produzione e impedire l’hack futuro della console.

The item that peaked his interest the most was that it had one single 56-pin Flash chip, the S29GL128N90TFIR2, and was 128MB in size in contrast to older PS3 consoles utilizing dual (2x256MB) 48-pin chips totaling 512MB. So, he bought a new adapter, and some blank chips and proceeded to pull the 56-pin flash, and dumped it. To our surprise, he was unable to dump more than 16MB of it! At first, we believed that the other blocks in the flash were protected via password, however there was something else brewing. He took the 16MB dump that was made and flashed it onto a completly blank chip, and reinstalled it in the PS3.

To our surprise, it worked! Now, if you recall, newer version PS3 Firmwares have asked for a PUP file after formatting/inserting a larger HDD – This may be why! After flashing back just the 16MB of data, it also asked for a PUP file. So, the PUP was given, it installed the missing files fine, and then booted. Basically, the system is now storing the majority of the flash contents on the hard disk drive, away from prying eyes. Even on a PS3 TEST console, the areas where the files would be are protected, so they can not be accessed.
This was also true when we wiped the 80GB’s HDD, it again asked for the PUP. So, it would seem that the base system is now stored on the flash, and all of the SPRX’s, XMB files, and other data is now fully stored on the HDD.