Which version of PS3 should I buy?

Looking for the best value PS3 package to purchase. I can buy a harddrive myself and perform an upgrade and thought of getting the 80Gb version because of its cheaper price. Yesterday an ad popped up selling the PS3 40Gb version a bit cheaper than the 80Gb version. Would that be a good choice? I read this article comparing the different packages and saw that the 40Gb version is no longer in production. Does it also lack features or better hardware? I don’t want the get a less performing unit to save a few bucks… Thanks for your input!

..and one more… still no way to get support for old PS2 games on the newer produced models?