I was looking around the forums and I couldn't find anywhere that stated the fastest PS3 model for speedrunning on here (so apologies if it is plastered somewhere obvious), so what is the fastest PS3 model/s? I tried doing some research but most posts on other places had a budget in mind, so if possible, a theoretically best PS3 and an affordable, and fast enough PS3 would be very nice; the theoretically best might be expensive, I would assume?

For sly 2 CECH-A01 (B01 ; E01) W/ a SSD is the best for resets and such. However, second best I believe is any Slim ps3 w/SSD I only lost a couple of minutes over the whole run compared to my current PS3 with my slim and episodes you lose 21~ seconds max. Someone else might be a bit more knowledgable but, I think that should cover it. (Obviously an SSD only enhances these things they are not required for them to be fast I was just stating it so you knew)

So the SSD will be purchased separately and replace the hard drive? And any SSD works or are there specific ones that are needed?

Well, it doesnt have to be a CECH-A/B/E01. Every phat ps3 would suffice.

What oggy said any big model ps3 is gonna be better than a slim I messed up on that info thanks oggy. Yeah the ssd is a hard drive you purchase to replace the hdd in the ps3. You need a specific size iirc it's 2.5 inch but, I wouldn't worry about an ssd until you cannot beat your time w/o one and really want to push the time lower. (Edited to what oggy said so there was no conflicting information - Zen)

I am not yet going to purchase one or anything but I just wanted this information in the open since as I said above, I couldn't find anywhere here what is the best options in terms of hardware. I'll wait until I get serious enough (or if) to purchase all that and also korean version if I really get that far.

the size of the drive needs to be 2.5 inch. Which is the standard ssd size.

Most SSDs are very similar in speed, but there are slight differences in write/read speeds. We're talking maybe a frame saved here and there at this point, as most SSDs are pretty darn fast. I personally use a Samsung 850 EVO 120GB which has a read speed of 540 MBps and a write speed of 520 MBps. Nothing over the top.

PS3
-Fat PS3 (any&) > Slim PS3 > Super Slim PS3
-SSD (any&&) > High RPM HDD > Low RPM HDD

and then for the game
-Digital download from PSN
-Korean (NTSC-J: KOR) > American (NTSC-U) > Eurpoean (PAL)

&as far as I know we haven't done proper testing on different fat PS3s.
&&2.5" and with decent read/write speed