So I'm a ps3 user who absolutely loved Oblivion and, whilst it had flaws, the experience was terrific. I later rented the Fallout 3 GOTY having heard praising reviews and eager to play another Bethesda RPG.

Now before people accuse me of being a troll let me point out that I massivelly enjoyed the game. The story, design and RPG elements were all just as thrilling and brilliant as I had hoped. What dissapointed me, however, was that the constant crashes (every 15 mins, sometimes less - not exagerating) grew wearisome and ultimately spoiled my experience; which was a shame because overlooking that flawed aspect the game itself is a must buy. I've long decided that I no longer want to fully purchase the GOTY edition for this reason and am not bothered about missing out on DLCs.

What I am asking is if the original copy of Fallout 3 (without DLC and on PS3) is an improvement from the GOTY on a technical standpoint. I'm not expecting it to run completely smoothly by any means, but a decrease in frequent crashes would persuade me to purchase the game and enjoy it for what it is without the fear of a hard reset every 15 mins.

(In case its important I played New Vegas and ,whilst many complained of the stability issues in that game, I felt it actually ran smoother for me than Fallout 3 GOTY did. Does the original copy of Fallout 3 run smoother than New Vegas. If so I will most likely buy it and not feel regretful.)

Yes the original fo3 runs a LOT smoother than the GOTY version. As i bought it on release and never experienced to many crashes but then bought the GOTY version and had 6 hard ps3 restarts in half a hour, yes 6!!

I've been playing this game (GOTY) on PS3 for a long time. Normal sessions last form 1 to 6 hours. Used to have the problems you mentioned but no longer. Now I may get one freeze every two to three sessions. Search this site to find the suggestions for making this game more stable. Off the top of my head:

Turn off auto save.
Try to keep saves to a minimum. (I try to keep no more than 6)
Always quit through the main menu.
If you notice a lag, stop and allow the processor a chance to catch up. If the lagging continues, save the game and quit, then restart.
I've noticed the longer the session the greater the chance for freezes (or so it seems).
Certain areas are more prone to freezes than others, the more companions you have in these areas the greater the chance of freeze (or so it seems).

I'm sure there's some I'm missing, I've been playing this way for so long that it's routine, so I'm sure there are a few tips I'm forgetting.

The addition of the dlc's really makes the game unstable GOTY or not I'm running non GOTY and noticed a lot more problems after adding the dlc. It bacame really noticable after I got a new ps3 and hadn't installed all the dlc yet it runs so much smoother it's ridiculous.