PC Magazine was able to gets its hands on a Sony PlayStation 3 in advance of the November 17 official launch. It is a debug unit, so not all of its features are functional, but, hey, that didn’t stop us from loading up some games and taking this slick piece of hardware for a spin. At twice the size—and price—of its predecessor, the PS3 makes Sony’s lofty ambitions pretty clear: This is much more than a gaming system. Sure, playing games is still the primary function—and drifting around corners in Ridge Racer 7 at 1080p is heart-stopping—but this system is clearly designed to do more than that. From replacing your DVD player to enabling you to view pictures, play music, and watch YouTube videos on your TV easily, this is a set top box for the next generation.

According the Variety, a good number of the PS3 consoles are showing up on auction sites, with prices marked up, of course. The 60GB models are selling for $678, about $170 higher than list price, while the 20GB machines are in the $539 range, $115 above list price.

A basic model costs $499.99 (direct) and comes with an upgradable 20GB hard drive, Gigabit Ethernet, Blu-ray drive, four USB 2.0 ports, and an HDMI port. The premium version is even pricier, at $599.99, but it uses a 60GB hard drive and adds built in 802.11b/g plus card readers that support SD, Compact Flash, and, you guessed it, Memory Stick. Neither of these systems comes with an HDMI cable, so if you have an HDTV, you will want to make sure you buy one of those as well.

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