GT5 GT5 Loading Times

[Ramon van Rijn]

Since I started with GT5 the only (big) flaw for me were the loading times of basically everything in the game.
Also the game used lots of Gb from my smaller harddrive. I have the second generation 40Gb PS3.

Yesterday I replaced this 5400rpm HD for a 7200rpm 500Gb harddrive.

I can inform you it will give you seconds of waiting time back So far pleased with it.
Those drives only cost about 50-60 euro at the moment.

Replacing is 5 mins, backup and restore is about 45 mins each.

 

[UMC 22]

Since I started with GT5 the only (big) flaw for me were the loading times of basically everything in the game.
Also the game used lots of Gb from my smaller harddrive. I have the second generation 40Gb PS3.

Yesterday I replaced this 5400rpm HD for a 7200rpm 500Gb harddrive.

I can inform you it will give you seconds of waiting time back So far pleased with it.
Those drives only cost about 50-60 euro at the moment.

Replacing is 5 mins, backup and restore is about 45 mins each.

I have the same model of PS3, and have been meaning to upgrade the drive for months now. GT5 uses nearly a quarter of the entire drive!

My only concern with upgrading to a 7200rpm drive is the extra heat generation. I know standard PS3s had overheating issues back when they were released, but that was some time before I bought one. How hot is your PS3 getting since the upgrade?

 

[Ramon van Rijn]

When I put my hand on top of the PS3, I feel cold air flowing from the vens. So far no issues. And I already played GT5 2 hrs this morning.
I have the Western Digital Scorpio Black 500Gb 7200rpm.

 

[UMC 22]

Great, thanks for the info. Did you use a guide for the upgrade process or did you just work it out yourself?

 

[Ramon van Rijn]

I read a guide (just watching the pictures).

It is dead easy:

- Connect USB Stick or USB Drive with enough space to backup your current HD. It needs to be Fat32 file system.
- After connecting go to System menu and Backup. It will mention to sync your trophies first. So in the game menu go to the trophies and it will sync.
- Backup to the system menu and backup. It was about 45 mins here.
- When done, disconnect PS3 and on the left side open the tiny cover. Just with your finger/nail.
- Inside open only the blue screw.
- When the blue screw is gone, move the entire metal bay to the right half inch. It is then disconnected from the onboard sata interface.
- Pull the drive out of the PS3 with the special lever.
- Unscrew the drive from the bay with the 4 screws.
- Slide the drive out of the bay.
- New drive in and screws back
- Rest is now common I think.

When you fire on the PS3 it will recognize the new HD by itself and ask to format it. After format you are in the PS3 menu again. Attach the USB Stick/Drive with your old backup. Go to the system menu and repair/restore (don't know how it is called in UK ps3 menu). It is in the backup menu btw. The restore will also be 45mins and it will ask to format the HD again.

Then after restore go to the trophies menu in the game menu and sync again.

All done now...

 

[UMC 22]

Excellent, thanks. :good: Sounds easy enough. The only drawback is that I don't have a USB drive/stick, and I'd rather not buy one just for this purpose. I'll have to see if anyone I know has one they can lend me.

 

[Adam Vaughan]

I did the same and replaced it with a 500 GB 7200 rpm and the loading times where better once installed. People where saying that instaling didnt make any difference but for me it helped alot.

 

[danm_b2]

i always copy my games on ps3 if possible to harddrive they load so much quicker. tekken 6 was bad at loading untill i did this.

 

[HF_BobdeBauer]

The extra heat, prodused by a bigger drive, should not cause any. According to Sony, it was build to survive a harddisk upgrade...

 

[Robin Cook]

Hmm been thinking about a bigger hdd. got the same 40gb as you. The main reason im not playing gt5 at the moment is the long long load times. Worth a try. Cheers for the heads up

 

[Dustin Barton]

Loading times have been rather reasonable for me. 15 or so seconds isn't too bad considering how detailed the tracks are.

 

[Juan Jose Gomez]

if it's a SSD drive:?, im pretty sure it should be faster

 

[UMC 22]

Finally got around to upgrading over the weekend. I bought the same drive as Ramon, a Western Digital Scorpio Black 500Gb 7200rpm, which was £55 on Amazon.

One thing of note is that there was an extra step for me. After powering on for the first time after the switch, a message was displayed saying that the system software could not be loaded, and to insert storage media containing version 3.55 or higher. If you get that message, simply download the latest update from the PS3 website, put the file on your USB HDD in the PS3\UPDATE folder, plug it into your PS3 and then follow the on-screen instructions. Once the update is complete, it formats your new drive as per Ramons guide.

One other thing is that if you have any downloaded cars such as the pre-order rewards (Stealth cars) or whatever, re-download them from the PS Store BEFORE starting GT5 for the first time. If you don't you will get an error message, and when you download them later they'll be re-added to your garage with no usage stats and no additional upgrades (if you bought any).

Anyway, it was definitely worth it. Obviously I now have over ten times more storage, but GT5s loading times have also improved. I'm a happy chappy.