Help with ps3

I have a ps3 slim made July of 2010. The hard drive is bad so I bought a 500gb ssd. I’m setting up my usb stick to install the ps3 firmware again. But I’ve never done this before and wondering does it matter if I download and install the newest firmware ? Thinking of modding and also playing my old physical copies of games. Any hints or suggestions would help. I also only have a ps5 controller which I’ve read is usable on the ps3. But will it work while trying to store my console ? Or do I need to order a ps3/4 dual shock for the restoring process ? Thanks in advance.