Thanks so much for the info guys! I really appreciate the detailed posts, everyone!
Thing is, I already have a PS2 Slim hooked up to an HDTV running through component. My fixation on the BC PS3 is a bit of an odd one, honestly, because I really have no need for it, but I've always been curious to see how the PS3 handled PS2 games. After doing some research and reading the posts on this thread though, I have decided It would be best to just get a slim or super slim model, especially because I already have a PS2, and the failure rate of the original PS3 models is a bit higher then I'm comfortable with. If I see an old PS3 model in the wild for cheap I may pick it up sometime, however.
I knew PS3's could play PSX games, but I always just stuck to my PS2 because It's what I had first. I'll have to see how the PS3 handles them when I get one.
Thanks so much for the help guys!
On another note: In my research on the old PS3 model, I actually found an article which contains an interview from Racketboy himself! check it out:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2009/09/ ... o-popular/
and also, here is Sony's list of which models are backwards compatible, for anyone who wants a reference.
https://support.playstation.com/s/artic ... uage=en_US