Using the PS3 as a computer

[intense.ego]

I was considering (very far from actualization) getting a PS3 and using it as my main desktop pc. It would provide plenty of power, not to mention that it also blu-ray and can play games. So, I would like to know what you guys think of the idea? What problems could I run into? What about keyboard and mouse support? Is the Ubuntu installation easy? Will ubuntu be able to use the blu ray and wi-fi with little fuss? (sorry for all the questions)

[Crumpets and Jam]

I was considering (very far from actualization) getting a PS3 and using it as my main desktop pc. It would provide plenty of power, not to mention that it also blu-ray and can play games. So, I would like to know what you guys think of the idea? What problems could I run into? What about keyboard and mouse support? Is the Ubuntu installation easy? Will ubuntu be able to use the blu ray and wi-fi with little fuss? (sorry for all the questions)

To answer your questions though, yes it will provide lots of power, yes there is keyboard and mouse support. Ubuntu is said to be easy to install on it. There are lots of tutorials on doing so.

You might even be able to get printers and things working as the PS3 has a couple of USB ports.

I'm not sure if the wireless works with Ubuntu, but I'm sure you will be able to get it working if it doesn't. There is a Ethernet port on the back anyway.

EDIT: Found these links for you.

Guide to Installing Ubuntu on the PS3 (http://psubuntu.com/installation-instructions/)

Wireless on PS3 in Ubuntu (http://psubuntu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=342)

[intense.ego]

Thanks for your help C&J. So, what I understand is that support for peripheral such as external hdd's and other usb gadgets is a bit sketchy. Do you know if ubuntu retains full functionality even when on a ps3?

[PetePete]

why isn't the support for peripheral hardware the same as ubuntu? , sure I can see why some hardware features on the PS3 itsself wouldn't be supported but surely its the same when you plug in stuff from usb?

i like this idea, makes me want to buy a ps3!

[intense.ego]

That's exactly what I thought. It seems extremely good value for money; a powerful computer (though only a 40gig harddrive), a blu-ray drive (read only mind you), built-in wifi and bluetooth, the guaranteed capability to play games, all for $400 (assuming you get it in the states).

[Extreme Coder]

And you'd never have to worry about games on Linux :P

[kool_kat_os]

I have to try this:)

[intense.ego]

Does anyone have first hand experience running Ubuntu on a PS3?

[PetePete]

strange how sony support linux through ps3 but support for their laptops is often lacking :confused:

[bufsabre666]

strange how sony support linux through ps3 but support for their laptops is often lacking :confused:

cause they make money putting windows on their computers

but then they realize that if you can run linux on the ps3 that might bring over people who normally wouldnt use it

[p_quarles]

FYI, there's a Linux distro that is tailored specifically for the PS3:
http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/products/ydl/

[intense.ego]

I have a couple more questions:

1) Why isn't everyone using their ps3 as a computer? I mean the price is brlliant. This is probably because Sony sells the ps3 at a loss but companies like dell and hp don't sell their pcs at a loss.

2)What can you not do (or will have difficulty doing) on a ps3 that you can do on a regular computer?

[kool_kat_os]

strange how sony support linux through ps3 but support for their laptops is often lacking :confused:

ya...i have a sony laptop

[bufsabre666]

1) Why isn't everyone using their ps3 as a computer? I mean the price is brlliant. This is probably because Sony sells the ps3 at a loss but companies like dell and hp don't sell their pcs at a loss.


youd be surprised how few people have even heard of linux, and hp and dell get money from ms to drive down the costs, and now the cost of producing ps3 has evened out so its no longer at a loss

[intense.ego]

I did some searching around and from what I gathered, the performance on the PS3 is not good. Apparently on 192mb of ram is available to the linux os and some parts of the core are disabled. Can anyone confirm this?

[x0as]

I did some searching around and from what I gathered, the performance on the PS3 is not good. Apparently on 192mb of ram is available to the linux os and some parts of the core are disabled. Can anyone confirm this?

I found this on the PSUbuntu forum


The PS3 performs about the same as a 600 mhz PC with 192 MB RAM and no video card. Basically about the same as a 10 year old PC.

[mips]

Over I here I could almost buy two decent PCs for the price of a PS3. No thank you!

[mrgnash]

The PS3 does not provide plenty of power for Linux; it lacks the RAM to be a really ideal platform for a full-scale operating system.

[Praadur]

Luckily I use my laptop for my Ubuntu needs, and it's powerful enough. When it's not, I borrow my room-mate's Linux-based laptop, and that's always powerful enough.

I did install Ubuntu on the PS3 just for the "Wahey, I'm running Ubuntu on the PS3!" value of it, but I don't practically use it all that often. I do use it to watch the occasional bit of anime on my HDTV, but that's about it really. I find that because Sony has limited access to the hardware, it can't really even do DVDs all that well, or HD video files (oh the irony).

Of course, a few months down the line, this could all change. If we somehow manage to get a video driver for PS3Linux, and more of the hardware is 'unlocked', then it could be an amazing Linux computer, able to stand up against a well built mid-range PC. As it stands now though that's just not the case, and it's primarily because of the way Sony have left it in lockdown.

But I don't mind so much, I have my PS3 for the games, and those... those can be good (I think I'll go mad waiting for LittleBigPlanet).

[ghandi69_]

I would like to give a warning before I post, and that is, I really have no idea what I am talking about. But here it goes...

I have a cousin that works for Intel, he helps design the Itanium product line (server processors)

I had been reading a lot of things about how powerful the ps3 chip was supposed to be, and I asked him what he thought about it (again, I know he is no expert), but basically, he said this.

"Sony and co have designed a very powerful chip architecture, that may currently be the best at what it does. And that is pump a lot of graphical information to where it needs to go very fast. However, the chip is not designed to be versatile, meaning it cannot be used to its full potential when it is used as a multipurpose processor that is intended to run all the things an operating system would require for it to do."

Anyway, I still think putting ubuntu on your ps3 would be way sweet.

[mips]

"Sony and co have designed a very powerful chip architecture, that may currently be the best at what it does. And that is pump a lot of graphical information to where it needs to go very fast. However, the chip is not designed to be versatile, meaning it cannot be used to its full potential when it is used as a multipurpose processor that is intended to run all the things an operating system would require for it to do."
on your ps3 would be way sweet.

He is correct, the chip was designed with a specific purpous in mind.

[intense.ego]

Well, looks like I got excited over nothing then. mips, can you really get a decent pc for R3000 (I used to live in Johannesburg).

[nutz]

I have tried this and it is usable. But you can't run very many programs. A basic $400 PC or laptop will easily be able to outperform it with basic every day tasks.

Not to mention you have to shut your system down and reboot to the PS3 OS to play any games. It is a cool idea but in the end not really a very usable product for any serious tasks. In the end there is no substitute for a real computer...

[mips]

Well, looks like I got excited over nothing then. mips, can you really get a decent pc for R3000 (I used to live in Johannesburg).

You can get:
3Ghz Celeron 347, 512MB, 80GB Sata, CD-Writer for R1600
1.6GHz C2D E2140, 512MB, 80GB Sata, DVD-Writer for R1999
2.2GHz C2D E4500, 512MB, 120GB Sata, DVD-Writer for R2500
2.4GHZ C2Q Q6600, 2GB, 250GB Sata, DVD-Writer for R4500

Just add a monitor. The components are pretty decent, Intel/Gigabyte MB, WD HD.
I would say any of the above systems would make a pretty decent computer ?

For those wanting to convert the R(and) price divide the above price by:
7 for US$
10 for Euro
15 for GBP

[intense.ego]

You can get:
3Ghz Celeron 347, 512MB, 80GB Sata, CD-Writer for R1600
1.6GHz C2D E2140, 512MB, 80GB Sata, DVD-Writer for R1999
2.2GHz C2D E4500, 512MB, 120GB Sata, DVD-Writer for R2500
2.4GHZ C2Q Q6600, 2GB, 250GB Sata, DVD-Writer for R4500

Just add a monitor. The components are pretty decent, Intel/Gigabyte MB, WD HD.
I would say any of the above systems would make a pretty decent computer ?

For those wanting to convert the R(and) price divide the above price by:
7 for US$
10 for Euro
15 for GBP

Is this a custom built PC? It's just that those prices seem pretty good even for the US.

[mips]

Is this a custom built PC? It's just that those prices seem pretty good even for the US.

Yes.

They have package deals every week and the ones I listed are for this week.
You walk in or phone the shop and tell them what deal you want. They get the parts, assemble it in the store, test it and then you can collect. Turn around time is 3 days.

You can get upgrade options on the above default systems for HD, Ram, Keyboard mouse etc for a minimal additional fee. Cheaper than actually buying the parts seperately.

Besides that you can order basically any mb, hd, ram, case custom pc you want for not much more which they will assemble & test for you.

I have accounts with distributors and I don't even bother buying from them anymore. If I take into consideration the time I spend driving around, petrol, dealing with different distributors just to save a measly few bucks I reckon it is simply not worth it. I actually scratch my head wondering what their margins look like.

So yes they are cheap. I mean the R1600 pc actually works out a better deal than the GoS pc you get in the states for $200.

Just don't ask me to courier you one as the courier charges will probably be more than the pc ;)

[Black Mage]

www.psubuntu.com

All your questions with a forum answered there. But at this point in development, because everything is reversed engineered to work on the PS3, its better to get your own computer.

Currently on the PPC core is utlized and not all the RAM is available. But it is fun to try and mess around with.

[mrjerryk]

Does anyone have first hand experience running Ubuntu on a PS3?


Me and my roommate installed Ubuntu on his PS3. Overall it is great. We are able to watch movies or what not on his big screen in the living room over the LAN. It is a little slow. Well it's pretty slow to be honest. I wouldn't use it as a primary pc but it's something fun to mess around with in the living room. It was really easy to install. The only problems or challenges really were the display resolution and SAMBA. We had to change the resolution in kboot and we gave up with only using SAMBA and install pyNeighborhood to see the shared drives on the LAN.

Also you don't have to shutdown the PS3 to play games. It will reboot but you can type start-game-os in the terminal and it will restart the PS3 in the XMB. I plan on moving out in the next month and I plan on buying a PS3 for the blu-ray player and the fact that I will beable to install Ubuntu on it and watch my movies on a big screen.

All in all if you are just looking for another PC you are better off building one or buying a cheap one if all you are going to do is basic computing. If you are looking for a good home theater start get a PS3 and install Ubuntu on it so you can network your drives and have a media center pc with it.

Hope this helps.

[intense.ego]

I don't actually need a new pc, it's just that if the ps3 was as powerful a pc as it is a games console and at that price, I wouldn't pass down the oppurtunity.

[aimran]

I don't actually need a new pc, it's just that if the ps3 was as powerful a pc as it is a games console and at that price, I wouldn't pass down the oppurtunity.

My thoughts exactly. It should be enough for the usual mp3/msn/facebook/youtube.

And then when you really want to game you could turn it off and game!

[Bungo Pony]

The PS3 performs about the same as a 600 mhz PC with 192 MB RAM and no video card. Basically about the same as a 10 year old PC.

Sounds like a good candidate for DSL or TinyMe.

BTW, if anybody wants a computer that performs just as well as the PS3, I'll sell you one for $100 :D

[Flightmeck]

Hi guys, im new here, sorry for bringing this old thread up again but i've got to ask: -Is it even possible to use the ps3 as a computer just to write on? Is it possible to get Open Office writer to work properly or is it to slow?
I'm thinking of selling my laptop and getting my self ps3 and a new TV, my problem is that i wouldn't have anywhere to write my schoolwork then. So do you think it's possible to use the ps3 as a computer only for writing?

[nick09]

Hi guys, im new here, sorry for bringing this old thread up again but i've got to ask: -Is it even possible to use the ps3 as a computer just to write on? Is it possible to get Open Office writer to work properly or is it to slow?
I'm thinking of selling my laptop and getting my self ps3 and a new TV, my problem is that i wouldn't have anywhere to write my schoolwork then. So do you think it's possible to use the ps3 as a computer only for writing?

It would be a better idea to keep the laptop.

Just save up for the PS3 and that TV.

[intense.ego]

Hi guys, im new here, sorry for bringing this old thread up again but i've got to ask: -Is it even possible to use the ps3 as a computer just to write on? Is it possible to get Open Office writer to work properly or is it to slow?
I'm thinking of selling my laptop and getting my self ps3 and a new TV, my problem is that i wouldn't have anywhere to write my schoolwork then. So do you think it's possible to use the ps3 as a computer only for writing?

Selling your laptop for a PS3 and TV wouldn't be a bad idea, if you already had another PC. But the PS3 is just not as versatile as a proper PC, and is more useful as a second PC. There are just so many things that a PS3 would have trouble doing.

[Flightmeck]

Well too bad :(
I was really hoping that it would work. Thanks for the replies.

[zmjjmz]

OpenOffice would work.
Look, I deal with computers on a daily basis that would make the PS3 seem to have astounding specs (i586's, heh.).
I really don't recommend using Ubuntu on these, as is my experience with computers with similar specs, (192MB RAM, 400MHz Celeron, 10 years old), any Ubuntu based thing is somewhat slow (Even Fluxbuntu).
I really recommend you use Yellowdog Linux for this. It uses E17 AFAIK, so it's considerably faster.

[Flightmeck]

Ok, thanks for the help :)