Hacking [DOUBT] PS3 - CFW only or CFW with Cobra ODE

[mvmiranda]

Hello all,

DISCLAIMER:
Long post coming! Please take a time to read it so you can understand my doubt in full. Thanks!

POST
I just bought an old factory sealed PS3 CECH-2101a. The machine is working perfectly and is a lot dusty.
I'm opening it to clean and change the thermal paste. Since the console will be open in front of me I can't decide what unlock method to put in it.
I have a Cobra ODE v3, which is perfect for this model since I don't need to solder anything (this version works perfectly with the 4.55 OFW and no "boot disc" is needed). Also, I have an E3 Flasher, which gives me the possibility to CFW the PS3.

Some background to my doubts:
Some time ago (not longer) I saw a post somewhere where the OP was asking for opinions about ways to avoid being banned online with some sort of unlock. Some said CFW is dangerous as hell where other said as long as you stick to some "rulez" (like not loading homebrew while online or using a homebrew, after loading the game OFFLINE in MM, called PSNPatch, which erases all loaded game history, changes the console IDs, disables all CFW syscalls making the CFW appear as OFW and a couple of other things to make you as safer as possible online) you'd be fine. A third group said ODE (aka Cobra ODE) is the "de facto" solution for online play and near zero ban chance, because you mount the game as if it where a disc, plus you'd using an OFW. Of course the same "rule" of "don't load homebrew or tempered PKGs online still applies.
A particular post caught my attention: the user said he was using CFW AND Cobra ODE. This way he could enjoy the power of CFW and still load the games "safely" with Cora ODE and play online. He didn't mention anything about PSNPatch, but using it will be "safer".

My personal scenario:
I'll be using the PS3 mainly for playing games (as obvious as it sounds, hehe) and as a media center with Showtime. Of course that it'd awesome if I could use the PS3 to play online games, but I don't want to take the risk unnecessarily.

So, what you guys think about this last method?
I know the only 100% safe way to play online is using an original PS3 with original games (and even that isn't truly 100% safe as we know), but could this method be safer than CFW only?

NOTE: I don't plan to cheat online not anything like that (although the fact of playing online with a pirated game could be considered cheating by some).

Thanks for your inputs and thoughts!

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

IIRC, the Cobra ODE can launch Showtime on OFW without any need for hacks, so you could probably just do that if Showtime and official games are all you're going to use your PS3 for.

See: http://www.ps3hax.net/showthread.php?t=61788

If you're going to want other various homebrew, then CFW with a Cobra ODE should be fine.

It should be noted that using an ODE IS NOT ban-proof, any kind of modification to the system can be detected and you can be banned for it. Technically, the Cobra ODE is safer than CFW, but there's still always a chance. If you really want to avoid getting banned, then dual-booting CFW and OFW would be your best bet.

 

[xcrimsonstormx]

Okay there are a few ways you can go about this,

1. Dual boot OFW\CFW which from what I read has about the same ban rate as an ODE which isn't that high, but a ban is still there. It requires an E3 flasher as well as to HDD's not really money efficent, but worth it if you have the money to do it.

2. ODE which for the most part seems the safest as of right now, and I personally believe the longer the PS4 is out the less likely they will ban people until eventually they sut the servers down which will rpobably be in the next 5 years (just speculation no proof of that at all).

3. Or you can just go straight up CFW which has the highest ban rate, which as long as you aren't playing BO II Ghosts or GTA V youll probably ok.

In reality I would just go with ODE as there is being some homebrew developed for it so maybe they will be able to get showtime on there at some point. Hope I helped you some.

 

[driverdis]

using a CFW would allow you to use your PS3 as a region-free Blu-Ray player if that interests you at all. from what I have read so far, MultiMan has a option to change the Blu-Ray drive region temporarily until power off. this allows you to set it to region A,B,or C and play a Blu-Ray disc of that region.

 

[mvmiranda]

Thx for all your feedback!

One thing I'm still looking for is information regarding safety online.
Will this combo CFW + Cobra + PSNPatch be safety than just CFW + PSNPatch? I mean, by using Cobra I'd be loading the game externally and mounting it as a real disc, while using CFW + PSNPatch I'd be able to disable CFW syscalls and clear last run history to go online "safer".

Do you guys have any inputs on this?

 

[xcrimsonstormx]

I'm pretty sure Cobra just allows the playing of ISO's, but I could be wrong so really I don't think running Cobra would benefit you unless you ran ISO's a lot. I think PSNPatch should be enough.

 

[mvmiranda]

I'm pretty sure Cobra just allows the playing of ISO's, but I could be wrong so really I don't think running Cobra would benefit you unless you ran ISO's a lot. I think PSNPatch should be enough.

Yup! Cobra allows you, mainly, to load ISOs from an external USB. You can't do much of homebrew with it.
So CFW + PSNPatch would be fine, right?
Just load the game first, run PSNPatch to do its magic and go for it, right!?