Why I think the SONY PS3 Backwards compatibles overheat

[dashv]

I have a launch model PS3 Fat that I bought from a tournament gamer 3 years ago.

First thing I did was tear it down and rebuild it testing some of the commonly recommended tune ups.

https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,5183.0.html

Short version is I learned 2 things:

No noticeable difference by adding a new fan with more blades.

Replacement power supply does not really help and can in fact can cause problems.

The power supplies for later models put out less heat and power because the rest of the system was also redesigned to use less power.

If you use the power supply from a different model PS3 you will most likely burn it out, or have issues when using 3 or more USB ports and the media card slots (only available on the launch model).

The best (but also scariest) thing you can do is pop off the thermal plates from the CPU/CPU.  thouroughly clean them. Then apply a small amount of high grade thermal paste to them.

Mine is still going strong.

Replacement power supply does not really help and can in fact can cause problems.

Debatable. Temperatures dropped about 8-9 degrees on my end. as far as burning it out or utilizing multiple USB ports, I haven't run into any of these problems. That's not to say it couldn't be an issue or doubt your credibility as you've clearly done your homework, but I personally have not experienced this with my own PS3 during the time I've owned it.

No noticeable difference by adding a new fan with more blades.

Dropping a few degrees here and there is fairly noticeable to me. My PS3 also has a temperature monitor attached to it via hardmod. How about yours?

The best (but also scariest) thing you can do is pop off the thermal plates from the CPU/CPU.  thouroughly clean them. Then apply a small amount of high grade thermal paste to them.

Agreed 100%. It's very dangerous to do this though, if you scratch that GPU or CPU... well, I hope you're in the market for another PS3.

Another tip I forgot to mention is if you own a CFW enabled PS3, there's an application you can download called "Control Fan Utility". It does exactly what it says, and allows you to control the fan's speed. I've used this for some time as well, and the system's running at about 63 degrees rather than the usual stock 89 degrees.

Pretty informative stuff. Very nice.

Thanks for the info. It's very much a mileage may vary kind of thing.

The fan you replaced yours with was it an aftermarket fan or pulled from a different PS3?

Also where did you install the temperature sensor?

Unfortunately I don't run custom firmware since I wanted to use psn/Blu Rays.

[DreamsDied13101]

Unfortunately if it's already failed that many times your best option is to keep it for parts and get a new one.

This is too true. I didn't perform any maintenance on my unit until it started to overheat and have issues. My PS3 worked until about a year ago so I had many good years from it. It first started when I began playing games in 3D. I had just picked up a 3D tv and glasses and wanted to check it out.

I was able to apply new thermal paste and everything, but have continued to have failures ever since the first full shutdown. I sometimes can get a few months and other times a week. I gave up and ended up buying a new PS3. Good luck to anyone that can reverse an ailing system. To anyone else still rocking one of these backwards compatible beasts I say do some preemptive maintenance now.