VGCollect Forum
General and Gaming => Hardware and Tech => Topic started by: dashv on August 06, 2014, 01:04:46 am
-
I just recently picked up a 60gb PS3 fat with hardware PS2 backward compatibility.
It runs perfectly except the fan runs loud as hell on the XBM. It's way louder than my PS3 fat without BC.
I almost returned it. But it does play fine. Even when the fan is going crazy the entire console is only barely warm near the cpu. No YLOD or anything. So I've decided to try to fix the noise.
I'm following guides provided here:
http://www.squidoo.com/3-tips-for-a-cooler-running-and-greener-ps3-system-models-cecha01-cechg01-
Specifically I:
- Replaced the Stock 60gb drive with a 500gb 7200rpm drive. (Spoiler - made no difference)
- Replaced the Stock Power Supply with the APS-226 model. (Spoiler - supposedly cooler and more efficient. Made no difference for me.)
- Replaced the OEM 15 blade fan with an OEM 19 blade fan from a 40gb (Spoiler - supposedly quieter and moves more air. Made no difference for me.)
- Replaced the OEM thermal paste with ARCTIC MX-4 Carbon-Based Thermal Compound (Spoiler - supposedly pulls heat off the CPU more effectively thereby preventing the lead free solder from getting too hot, melting, and shorting (YLOD). This actually seemed to help but is tricky to get exactly right.)
My hope is all this effort will bring the fan noise to within tolerable levels and preserved my investment so I can retire my non-BC ps3 phat. I also hope to avoid the YLOD.
I see a lot of mixed experiences with this. So I decided to document my own.
Update: 8/6/2014
Thermal paste and 19 blade fan arrived today so I installed them both. For the thermal paste I used the pea method. Put a glob of thermal paste about the size of a pea (I did 2x the size of a pea) on the die then let the pressure of the heat sinks spread it out as I screwed them back down.
I then booted the PS3 to the XMB and just sat there going left and right on the controller to whip the menu back and forth.
End result. The fan went to level 3 within 5 minutes and was just as loud as the 15 blade fan. As far as airflow I can't really tell if it's actually any better.
Here is a picture of the 15 and 19 blade OEM fans side by side:
(http://i57.tinypic.com/2w5u0j4.jpg)
I hope when the power supply arrives it's significantly cooler. Because the stock psu runs hotter than a Vegas hooker and could very well be the reason the fan runs so much.
As the fan is flying like a bat out of hell the actual board and heatsink assembly are perfectly cool to the touch leading me to believe the cpu and gpu are cooling just fine.
Update: 8/9/2014
APS-226 power supply arrived today. Installed it and the fan went to level 3 within 5 minutes.
While it takes a bit longer for this PSU to heat up, my experience is it can get just as hot as the original one after less than 15 minutes of gaming. I beat the first mission in infamous. Before it became hot enough to feel like it might burn me.
Saddened that NONE of these "upgrades" change the noisy fan situation I read some more and learned that many believe that the thermal paste on the RSX and Cell processors is crappy and needs replacing.
This is different than the thermal paste on the heat spreaders.
It's hard to explain so I'll provide pictures.
This is what the CPUs look like when you first pull off the fan & heatsink assembly:
(http://i57.tinypic.com/xojjtf.jpg)
The silver metal slabs are actually heat spreaders that can be removed if you are careful.
This is what the RSX looks like with the heat spreader removed:
(http://i58.tinypic.com/2ni1mia.jpg)
In my case the heat paste underneath was baked on. Solid as a rock and even burnt in some places. It took me an hour to scrape it all off with an old garbage plastic credit card. Do NOT use anything metal because if you actually scratch or gouge the chips your PS3 becomes an paperweight. You want something more dense than the paste but less dense than the chips.
After cleaning it up it looked like this:
(http://i57.tinypic.com/and7dk.jpg)
Before reapplying the ihs I applied Arctic MX 4. (Didn't get a picture of this.) :(
Lastly I put the spreader back on and covered it using the high-5 method:
(http://i60.tinypic.com/qrg600.jpg)
End result is: fan level 2 in 5 minutes in the XMB. Level 3 in game. Doesn't step down from level 3 after quitting game.
Needless to say I am rather disappointed. Everything on the net regarding "upgrading" the PS3 fat to be cooler and quieter appears to be at best "your mileage may vary" or at worse complete bullshit to move overpriced used parts salvaged from otherwise worthless broken consoles.
In fact, the more I read the more it looks like changing power supplies and fans only decreases the long term stability of the system because the power supply ends up giving out due to not being powerful enough or the replacement fan draws too much.
My non bc PS3 fat runs at fan level 1 on the XMB. It will kick into level 2 in games, but drops back to 1 after quitting. It's very quiet. It seems I will not be able to enjoy the same with a launch model bc PS3 fat. :(
Update: 8/09/2014
Decided to remove the IHS from the cell cpu. Got everything apart tried a few methods then got worried I might damage the cpu.
Before putting things back together noticed the RSX heat spreader shifted a bit last time I reassembled it by about 2cm. I cleaned all the thermal paste off the RSX but left the paste on the heat spreader (the spreader was fused pretty good to the heatsink/fan assembly so I just nudged it 2cm back to where it should have been.
Then I did something I heard about in another forum. I covered the paste in plastic wrap and used my finger to smooth it out. After it covered the appropriate amount of surface area I put everything back together.
It's about half the amount of paste I used last time.
End result. Fan level 2 within 5 minutes. Played Megaman Collection for PS2, beat the Cut Man stage, saved and excited. After quitting the fan stepped down to level 1.
Calling it a night.
Update: 8/14/2014
A week later system still stays comfortably between fan levels 1 & 2 during XMB-idle, Blu Ray playback, PS3, PS2, and PS1 gaming.
In the end it looks like it was all about the thermal paste and how it's applied.
Updated to latest firmware and started downloading stuff from my PSN account only to discover a new problem. The ethernet port and wireless shut themselves off for seemingly no reason.
Wifi will suddenly drop connection and fail to find any access points. Ethernet port light goes dead mid blink and the connection test says no ethernet cable is plugged in (even though here is on plugged in).
I do not appear to be the only 60gb fat owner with this problem...
http://community.us.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-3-Support/4-46-Update-amp-now-no-network-on-TWO-60gb-PS3-Units/m-p/43169002/highlight/false#M325872
Update: 8/17/2014
Ethernet appears to be working properly now and the reason is kind of silly.
Since I've had the system apart for 2 weeks and tinkered with it so much I never screwed the motherboard back down in the case.
The fan and heat sink were bolted down but not the whole assembly to the bottom of the case.
I think what was happening was the thermal pads on the other chips (like the ethernet controller) were not making enough contact with the metal rf shielding. The metal shielding is supposed to tightly sandwich the entire board.
Once I screwed everything back in tight the ethernet has been going for over 12 hours straight without dropping out (I have a lot of digital content to install).
So for now my restoration project is complete! I have a relatively quiet Launch day PS3 with full backward compatibility. :)
I hope the details I've shared help someone else out. (I'll come back later and uber detail the network errors and behavior I was seeing before I fixed it).
Update: 8/17/2016
It's been 2 years since I posted this and my PS3 is still running like a champ. :)
-
looking forward to your results!
-
I'm definitely interested in this project! My girlfriend's brother gave us a broken BC PS3. I thought it was a power supply issue, but the power supply I bought to replace it didn't help... I should pursue fixing it again. Thanks for the guide!
-
Updated my progress in the top post.
-
definitely sounds like a heat issue... i had the same problem back in the day, but never tried to fix it myself. From what i remember reading, after lots of research, is that it's a heat issue. Try re-applying the Thermal paste... put a nice pea size amount on the CPU itself... then use a credit card to spread it evenly about. make sure it's not to thick.. a nice flat even layer should do the trick.
-
definitely sounds like a heat issue... i had the same problem back in the day, but never tried to fix it myself. From what i remember reading, after lots of research, is that it's a heat issue. Try re-applying the Thermal paste... put a nice pea size amount on the CPU itself... then use a credit card to spread it evenly about. make sure it's not to thick.. a nice flat even layer should do the trick.
Yeah it's heat no doubt. The only question is from where? I'm convinced it's not the Cell cpu.
The RSX unit (the graphics processor) sits below the PSU. The psu runs "burn your hand hot" even when the system isn't under load. The psu also comes into direct contact with the bottom of the RSX heatsink assembly. So the RSX cooks on two sides of the heat sink. One side the processor itself, the other the psu. Meanwhile the fan and heat sinks can only effectively cool one side (the RSX).
The heat sink for the Cell processor itself is only slightly warm. Definitely not the problem. I doubt the RSX is doing enough work at idle to generate the heat required to activate the higher fan levels.
It's worth noting I've used 3 different thermal pastes so far.
First the stock paste as applied by SONY - fan level 3 in about 5 minutes
Second Arctic Silver 3 applied with the credit card method (spread evenly and thin across the entire CPUs) - fan level 3 in about 5 minutes
Third Arctic MX4 applied with the pea method - fan level 3 in about 5 minutes
The pea method is supposedly better than the credit card method because the actual cpu cores are in the dead center of the chip. This was the method suggested by the Arctic Silver engineers themselves when asked the best way to apply it to the PS3 Cell and RSX specifically.
-
damn! you've really done your research :)
nice work man.... from what your telling me... it could be the PSU. Hopefully a new one will fix your issues. I have faith that you will fix it!
keep us in the know
- Retro
-
damn! you've really done your research :)
nice work man.... from what your telling me... it could be the PSU. Hopefully a new one will fix your issues. I have faith that you will fix it!
keep us in the know
- Retro
It's still just me making educated guesses. :) I could be totally wrong.
I figure if I document everything someone like you might come along and point out stuff I overlooked or have just plain wrong. If I figure it out, hopefully my deep dive diagnoses during the upgrade process will save someone else time/money.
There are a lot of folks out there tossing out speculation and just plain BS as fact just to sell old salvaged parts and unnecessary repair/upgrade services.
Other folks are well intentioned and share what they planned to do or predicted would help but don't follow through with reporting back what the outcome was.
Then there is the fact at with so many models out there and so many firmwares having been released mileage may just vary.
I just hope I can fix the noise issue. This particular PS3 was part of a bundle I got on Craigslist. While it was a good deal. It wasn't a great deal. Especially once you count the cost of all these "upgrades". But I really want a fully bc PS3 and the YLOD scares the hell out of me since these things are not easily or cheaply replaceable.
It can't replace my existing PS3 & PS2 combo if it remains as loud as a vacuum cleaner.
You may be right about the RSX heat spreader needing to be reapplied. This picture here shows the processor in the center with four DDR 3 memory chips in the corners.
http://community.us.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-3/PS3-With-the-RSX-CELL-heat-sink-spreaders-removed/td-p/7080488
I need to find out if the memory can get hot enough to worry about.
If so then I may need to pea method the Cell but whole cover the RSX.
I'll wait until the PSU arrives and is installed before I try to reapply though.
-
Oh man, reading all this is giving me flashbacks to when I completely took apart a PS3 that had YLOD to see if I could fix it. I had all the parts strewn across the conference table at work. No one believed I could put it back together and have it work. But I did, and it did... for a while. Every time I would fix it the YLOD would come back after about a month. I just kept "repairing" it. I should have changed parts out but I just ran out of patience. Good luck!!!
-
Oh man, reading all this is giving me flashbacks to when I completely took apart a PS3 that had YLOD to see if I could fix it. I had all the parts strewn across the conference table at work. No one believed I could put it back together and have it work. But I did, and it did... for a while. Every time I would fix it the YLOD would come back after about a month. I just kept "repairing" it. I should have changed parts out but I just ran out of patience. Good luck!!!
Yeah this one has never had the YLOD yet.
How did you try to fix yours without replacing parts? Did you use a heat gun?
-
Yeah this one has never had the YLOD yet.
How did you try to fix yours without replacing parts? Did you use a heat gun?
Yeah. I used the heat gun method. I was too lazy to go buy anything for it after I "fixed" it a couple of times. I should have though.
-
Updated my results.
The only thing left I can try is popping the ihs off of the Cell cpu and applying arctic mx4 to that.
I'm not sure it's worth it.
-
Tried and aborted an attempt to remove the IHS from the Cell.
But a different application method for the thermal paste and an adjustment of the heat spreader might have fixed my problem.
-
Solve one problem, encounter another...
-
Fully working! :)
-
Thx Dash, i might need this vsome day.
-
Thanks again Dash! This was a very thorough look at what you did. You've convinced me to try and revive the dead BC ps3 my girlfriend's brother gave me to fix if I wanted to. Maybe I'll pull that out tonight. Glad to hear you got it working (somewhat) how you want now.
-
Thanks again Dash! This was a very thorough look at what you did. You've convinced me to try and revive the dead BC ps3 my girlfriend's brother gave me to fix if I wanted to. Maybe I'll pull that out tonight. Glad to hear you got it working (somewhat) how you want now.
In the end the thermal paste is what did the trick. I could easily do it again. The power supply and 19 blade fan "upgrades" seem entirely pointless and are a waste of money to me.
-
Thanks for the write up on this issue!
My original PS3 still works except that it won't play most games past a minute or two if they are full 3d (started off only when using 3D glasses on games that supported them). Now it sometimes even overheats and shuts down on 2d games.
I have been holding off doing anything for fear I might damage it as a blu-ray / app player for my office.
-
Thanks for the write up on this issue!
My original PS3 still works except that it won't play most games past a minute or two if they are full 3d (started off only when using 3D glasses on games that supported them). Now it sometimes even overheats and shuts down on 2d games.
I have been holding off doing anything for fear I might damage it as a blu-ray / app player for my office.
Glad this info helps. The 60gb launch model will always sound like a vaccuum cleaner. As long as you feel hot air when you put your hand behind your PS3 the fans are doing their job. If the air feels cool while the fans are running loud then that means the thermal paste is no longer doing it's job.
-
As long as you feel hot air when you put your hand behind your PS3 the fans are doing their job. If the air feels cool while the fans are running loud then that means the thermal paste is no longer doing it's job.
I never even thought of it that way. I'm going to go try that out tomorrow morning when I get some time.
I appreciate the feedback.
I'm hoping I can just put some more paste on there and get this thing running again. I have a backlog of PS3 titles that I haven't been able to play.
I have a few original Playstations so the backwards compatibility isn't a big deal (some games run like trash on the PS3 anyway compared to the original systems).
-
As long as you feel hot air when you put your hand behind your PS3 the fans are doing their job. If the air feels cool while the fans are running loud then that means the thermal paste is no longer doing it's job.
I never even thought of it that way. I'm going to go try that out tomorrow morning when I get some time.
I appreciate the feedback.
I'm hoping I can just put some more paste on there and get this thing running again. I have a backlog of PS3 titles that I haven't been able to play.
I have a few original Playstations so the backwards compatibility isn't a big deal (some games run like trash on the PS3 anyway compared to the original systems).
Yeah. Definitely do the hand heat test first before pulling it apart. Mine was blowing cool air so the paste wasn't transferring the heat to the heat sink/fan assembly anymore and the processors were just baking.
I have spare PS2 and PS1 units as well. But nothing beats the convenience of virtual memory cards and rechargeable blue tooth controllers for PS1 & 2 games. :)
-
The struggle of finding a good price backwards compatible PS3...
-
I'm trying to convince my friends to trade his fat launch PS3 for fixing his computer. The thing works perfectly fine, even though he got a slim because he thought the fat was dead. So far, he seems open to it but I'm gonna have to see how it plays out. I really just want it.
-
Awesome thread Dashv. i still have my 60gig. it ylod on me a couple times and before anything could get worst i updated to a super slim. but i always wanted to try and fix it. one thing i noticed was that it never ylod with the room A/C on. and never when playing downloaded games (games from my hdd) i must admit that the thermal pasting process scares me.. but if i can save the console it would be cool.
-
Wow, I should hire you to spiff up my old girl. Got her USED from GameStop back in '09 as a "sorry your previous console from us broke". I didn't even pick that one either, the employee just grabbed a random one and went "oh hey, you got a backwards capable one". She still works to this day, but hasn't been used heavily since 2012 when was replaced with a PS3 Slim due to the hard drive being full and the disc grabber getting weak. I always forget how heavy these are when I pick them up. I'm like "jeezus..."
-
Wow, I should hire you to spiff up my old girl. Got her USED from GameStop back in '09 as a "sorry your previous console from us broke". I didn't even pick that one either, the employee just grabbed a random one and went "oh hey, you got a backwards capable one". She still works to this day, but hasn't been used heavily since 2012 when was replaced with a PS3 Slim due to the hard drive being full and the disc grabber getting weak. I always forget how heavy these are when I pick them up. I'm like "jeezus..."
:) Just to follow up. My PS3 is still going strong. :) Used for at least 2-3 hours every day.
-
I can't believe it was last October that I said I was going to undertake fixing up my FAT 60gb PS3.
I finally did it today.
All I did was pull the thing apart and dust it out. Then I applied fresh Thermal Compound on the GPU and CPU. Closed it back up and it runs flawless now. It no longer overheats and shuts itself down so I can actually play games again.
Dashv - thanks again for posting this originally to give me the idea and links to make this a reality. Now I have a cruddy 12gb system for the kiddos to use and my Backwards Compatible system is back up and running in my office!
-
I can't believe it was last October that I said I was going to undertake fixing up my FAT 60gb PS3.
I finally did it today.
All I did was pull the thing apart and dust it out. Then I applied fresh Thermal Compound on the GPU and CPU. Closed it back up and it runs flawless now. It no longer overheats and shuts itself down so I can actually play games again.
Dashv - thanks again for posting this originally to give me the idea and links to make this a reality. Now I have a cruddy 12gb system for the kiddos to use and my Backwards Compatible system is back up and running in my office!
Glad to hear it!
How did you get the heatsink off the cpu?
Just so folks know mine is still running strong! :)
-
Glad to hear it!
How did you get the heatsink off the cpu?
Just so folks know mine is still running strong! :)
I had read online that the heatsink should just pop off easily if the Thermal Compound (from the Sony factory) had dried out, but that was not the case for me. It took me really prying on the heatsink/fan assembly to get it off the processors. There was quite a sticky vacuum that had built up. Even though the compound was "wet" enough to still be tacky it obviously wasn't doing its job.
I was really scared at first that I had missed a screw or was going to break it somehow, but it did eventually pop off. I didn't ever get really rough with it, but just kept forcefully tugging on it a little at a time until it finally popped.
I think the hardest part of the process for me was putting the inner top cover back on. I had a hard time lining the tabs back up and getting them to click together.
-
Glad to hear it!
How did you get the heatsink off the cpu?
Just so folks know mine is still running strong! :)
I had read online that the heatsink should just pop off easily if the Thermal Compound (from the Sony factory) had dried out, but that was not the case for me. It took me really prying on the heatsink/fan assembly to get it off the processors. There was quite a sticky vacuum that had built up. Even though the compound was "wet" enough to still be tacky it obviously wasn't doing its job.
I was really scared at first that I had missed a screw or was going to break it somehow, but it did eventually pop off. I didn't ever get really rough with it, but just kept forcefully tugging on it a little at a time until it finally popped.
I think the hardest part of the process for me was putting the inner top cover back on. I had a hard time lining the tabs back up and getting them to click together.
Ahhh I see. You mean you removed the heatsink/fan assembly then applied new thermal paste to the heat spreaders on the gpu and CPU.
I meant the chips themselves. I actually pried the small heat spreader off the gpu removed the thermal adhesive and replaced it with thermal paste.
Couldn't do the same for the cpu because I didn't have the right tools at the time to cut the spreader away from the chip.
-
:EDIT:
Post removed as i posted a very long and explanatory explanation of the issue of my PS3 60GB but the last half disappeared when i posted it unfortunately and it doesn't make sense now.
Hopefully i will have the time again tomorrow as it's basically regarding some advice i need.
Cheers
-
Ahhh I see. You mean you removed the heatsink/fan assembly then applied new thermal paste to the heat spreaders on the gpu and CPU.
I meant the chips themselves. I actually pried the small heat spreader off the gpu removed the thermal adhesive and replaced it with thermal paste.
Couldn't do the same for the cpu because I didn't have the right tools at the time to cut the spreader away from the chip.
I did not put thermal paste on the chips themselves. I thought I was going to destroy the motherboard if I tried to pull the tops off. I saw a technique that used a credit card and some other tools, but I was too scared.
I have noticed that all my games run and play fine now (it ended up not being able to play any games before the fix). I did notice that when I try to play Netflix it overheats though. I guess if I want it to be fully operational then I will have to do try getting the heat spreaders off.
stucarblne03 - any update since your last post?
-
Ahhh I see. You mean you removed the heatsink/fan assembly then applied new thermal paste to the heat spreaders on the gpu and CPU.
I meant the chips themselves. I actually pried the small heat spreader off the gpu removed the thermal adhesive and replaced it with thermal paste.
Couldn't do the same for the cpu because I didn't have the right tools at the time to cut the spreader away from the chip.
I did not put thermal paste on the chips themselves. I thought I was going to destroy the motherboard if I tried to pull the tops off. I saw a technique that used a credit card and some other tools, but I was too scared.
I have noticed that all my games run and play fine now (it ended up not being able to play any games before the fix). I did notice that when I try to play Netflix it overheats though. I guess if I want it to be fully operational then I will have to do try getting the heat spreaders off.
stucarblne03 - any update since your last post?
I only ever got the cover off my gpu. That ones scary because the thermal paste is applied directly to the the memory chips.
That said the credit card/butter knife method works pretty well.
For the cpu I've seen folks cut through the adhesive with a razor blade but that's effing insane. Chances of a nervous noob like me cutting themselves or cutting the cpu is very high.
I finally managed to find the proper tooling to cut through the adhesive on the CPU without damaging myself or the chip.
No idea what they are called but I'll take a picture of them later and post it here.
-
Yeah - that would be great if you posted a pic. It looks like I will need to get at least the GPU open. I had my first game overheat last night. Was playing Final Fantasy XIV when the game started flickering and slowing up. Then the PS3 shutdown.
-
Yeah - that would be great if you posted a pic. It looks like I will need to get at least the GPU open. I had my first game overheat last night. Was playing Final Fantasy XIV when the game started flickering and slowing up. Then the PS3 shutdown.
These are the tools.
The top tool in both photos is what I would suggest using to cut through the thermal paste between the CPU and heat spreader.
(http://i57.tinypic.com/a2g7td.jpg)
(http://i57.tinypic.com/2u5wcna.jpg)
-
Dashv - thanks for posting those pics.
For now I upgraded my hard drive in my 12gb slim so I could keep playing. I'll have to find some time to attempt this next step.
-
I have a question about this, since my bro and I repaired a YLOD fat PS3. We've already replaced the regular thermal paste with Arctic Silver MX-4, but I'm wondering if its worth it to invest in upgrading the power supply and fan. The console has already YLOD'd once, and that was fixed with a partial reflow from a heat gun, but I have no idea how long the console will last with that.
-
I have a question about this, since my bro and I repaired a YLOD fat PS3. We've already replaced the regular thermal paste with Arctic Silver MX-4, but I'm wondering if its worth it to invest in upgrading the power supply and fan. The console has already YLOD'd once, and that was fixed with a partial reflow from a heat gun, but I have no idea how long the console will last with that.
My experience was the "upgraded" fan and power supply provides little to no benefit.
In fact the cooler power supply will burn out quickly if you use all the capabilities of your PS3 (charge from all USB ports while playing a blue ray.)
The reason it runs (slightly) cooler is because it's not meant to provide as much power for the simpler PS3 designs.
-
I have a question about this, since my bro and I repaired a YLOD fat PS3. We've already replaced the regular thermal paste with Arctic Silver MX-4, but I'm wondering if its worth it to invest in upgrading the power supply and fan. The console has already YLOD'd once, and that was fixed with a partial reflow from a heat gun, but I have no idea how long the console will last with that.
My experience was the "upgraded" fan and power supply provides little to no benefit.
In fact the cooler power supply will burn out quickly if you use all the capabilities of your PS3 (charge from all USB ports while playing a blue ray.)
The reason it runs (slightly) cooler is because it's not meant to provide as much power for the simpler PS3 designs.
Ok, sounds like the upgraded parts aren't necessary then. The fat PS3 I have is the non-bc 40GB which still runs pretty hot, even without the additional parts in the model. I'm considering replacing it with a Slim/Super Slim ( or a BC 60GB PS3 if I can find one for cheap), since my fat model is now having trouble with the video display after working properly for the last few days. I'm not sure why its happening either.
-
I have a question about this, since my bro and I repaired a YLOD fat PS3. We've already replaced the regular thermal paste with Arctic Silver MX-4, but I'm wondering if its worth it to invest in upgrading the power supply and fan. The console has already YLOD'd once, and that was fixed with a partial reflow from a heat gun, but I have no idea how long the console will last with that.
My experience was the "upgraded" fan and power supply provides little to no benefit.
In fact the cooler power supply will burn out quickly if you use all the capabilities of your PS3 (charge from all USB ports while playing a blue ray.)
The reason it runs (slightly) cooler is because it's not meant to provide as much power for the simpler PS3 designs.
Ok, sounds like the upgraded parts aren't necessary then. The fat PS3 I have is the non-bc 40GB which still runs pretty hot, even without the additional parts in the model. I'm considering replacing it with a Slim/Super Slim ( or a BC 60GB PS3 if I can find one for cheap), since my fat model is now having trouble with the video display after working properly for the last few days. I'm not sure why its happening either.
The 60GB model will run louder and hotter than your 40gb non bc.
Honestly part of me wishes I hadn't bothered. It's nice to have the PS2 BC but I live in perpetual fear of it overheating and dying. I never even bothered to put all the screws back in just so it's easy to dust it out regularly.
Get yourself a new super slim and call it a day. :)
-
I have a FAT 60gb PS3 and I tried to restore mine a while back, doing a couple different things than those described here. I never replaced the stock power supply, and never removed the CPU or GPU covers, but now after reading I am going to try since I now have to replace the wifi chip and laser deck anyways. Mine came with the 19 blade fan stock, and I did replace the Hard Drive with a 120gb SSD which may be slightly cooler, but I don't think it makes that big of a difference temp wise (except my install times are 2/3 faster!).. What I really did differently was use Noctua NT-H1 compound (my favorite and least finicky when it comes to application style), I also used the pea method which seemed to work well. I replaced all the thermal pads with better blue pads that were said to transfer heat better and last longer than the stock pads which were all dried and crumbling. I also modded the case by drilling holes in the bottom where the fan is. I first marked the center of the fan by putting a little thermal paste there and sat the already re-assembled board in the bottom case so I knew where the center was. I used a protractor to draw a perfect circle the size of the fan, then marked where I would drill 1/8" holes in a circular design so that it would still look nice and artistic. I heard that messing with the air flow could overheat the PS3, so I didn't want to over do it by simply cutting a huge hole in the bottom, but still probably drilled about 30 small holes. I never had the YLOD but did notice that when I first bought it refurbished a few years back, it was not moving as much hot air as I wanted it to. Now it blasts out hot air and noticeably runs cooler! I have no fear of it overheating anymore. The only time it seems to kick into stage 3 is when I am playing PS2 games for hours. Surprisingly, the fan usually stays in stage 2 when playing PS3 games for long periods, depending on the temperature in the room. Sometimes it kicks into stage 3 when streaming movies, but I live in Florida and we keep the house at about 80 degrees most of the time. Oh, and I always have my system standing up vertically, which I heard makes it run slightly hotter as well. When I have the air conditioning turned down to the mid 70s, the fan rarely kicks into stage 3. I do think the right thermal compound makes a big difference, as well as the better thermal pads, but the biggest thing may have been the case mod. Something to think about. ;)
-
I know, it's an old thread but I've registered my self here just to thanks @dashv !
Got an close to 10 years old 60GB fat PS3 and guess what, it does have cooling issue.
Mine is quite problematic, since it does the "Red light flash". While playing, it turn off by itself with the red light flashing.
I did at first, clean out the dust and changed the thermal paste on the IHS, did nothing. I've found by luck this thread and I've replace the thermal paste one the GPU and the IHS. The IHS was glued there, It was so hard to remove it !
It may seem to be a little bit "hardcore" but a I've remove the old thermal paste with a razor blade. With care and time, I did not damage anything. To remove all the last bit of paste, I've sand the 4 black part of the GPU with 1000 grit sandpaper.
The PS3 still show some problem, however it run really cooler now ! Fan speed on main menu is really slow, can't hear it.
Kind of weird, If I play Gran Turismo 6 and I race in the X1 special event championship, after 1 hour the PS3 turn off by itself, red light flash even after the repair.
But tonight, I've made random races, tuned cars for about 1 hour. After I've played Metal Gear Solid 4 for 3 hours, beat one boss and everything worked smoothly all the evening. Magic ! Let's hope that It will last me a cupule more years...
Just to warn you guys, don't neglect your old PS3 and clean the dust + change the thermal past on the GPU + IHS.
This is what my PS3 look like now since I did not make those correction when the first symptom appeared last year. You can see all the little burns on my motherboard in this Google Image Album.
https://goo.gl/photos/6dVBic8iJE4d6bjv6
EDIT: Well, it just YLOD. :'( :'(
-
I have a FAT 60gb PS3 and I tried to restore mine a while back, doing a couple different things than those described here. I never replaced the stock power supply, and never removed the CPU or GPU covers, but now after reading I am going to try since I now have to replace the wifi chip and laser deck anyways. Mine came with the 19 blade fan stock, and I did replace the Hard Drive with a 120gb SSD which may be slightly cooler, but I don't think it makes that big of a difference temp wise (except my install times are 2/3 faster!).. What I really did differently was use Noctua NT-H1 compound (my favorite and least finicky when it comes to application style), I also used the pea method which seemed to work well. I replaced all the thermal pads with better blue pads that were said to transfer heat better and last longer than the stock pads which were all dried and crumbling. I also modded the case by drilling holes in the bottom where the fan is. I first marked the center of the fan by putting a little thermal paste there and sat the already re-assembled board in the bottom case so I knew where the center was. I used a protractor to draw a perfect circle the size of the fan, then marked where I would drill 1/8" holes in a circular design so that it would still look nice and artistic. I heard that messing with the air flow could overheat the PS3, so I didn't want to over do it by simply cutting a huge hole in the bottom, but still probably drilled about 30 small holes. I never had the YLOD but did notice that when I first bought it refurbished a few years back, it was not moving as much hot air as I wanted it to. Now it blasts out hot air and noticeably runs cooler! I have no fear of it overheating anymore. The only time it seems to kick into stage 3 is when I am playing PS2 games for hours. Surprisingly, the fan usually stays in stage 2 when playing PS3 games for long periods, depending on the temperature in the room. Sometimes it kicks into stage 3 when streaming movies, but I live in Florida and we keep the house at about 80 degrees most of the time. Oh, and I always have my system standing up vertically, which I heard makes it run slightly hotter as well. When I have the air conditioning turned down to the mid 70s, the fan rarely kicks into stage 3. I do think the right thermal compound makes a big difference, as well as the better thermal pads, but the biggest thing may have been the case mod. Something to think about. ;)
If you're still hanging around the forums care to post a picture of the hole pattern you drilled? I'd be willing to give it a try. I have a bricked PS3 that I might try resurrecting just for giggles.
Also where did you get the blue pads?
-
Hey dashv!
I was happy to find your post since I'm fighting exactly the same issue with american PS3 Phat CECHA-01 which I purchased off ebay for the same purpose as you. It also never YLOD'ed before and surprisingly came with 1.50 official firmware. Before updating it to the latest available firmware from Sony I played a few PS3 games that were included in the lot. Right away I noticed that it sounded like a jet.
I started reading here and there and also found this method of removing IHS, etc. So I decided to do it. I purchased few painting knives (everyone says they're the best for the task and I concur after the successful job) and Arctic Silver MX4 compound. I also bought a couple of thermal pads from some Phobya brand (Thermal pad Ultra 5W/Mk). Unfortunately there were no 2mm neither 1,5 mm pads available at the store so I've settled with 1mm.
Firstly I've installed a CFW to look into the temperature readings. Here and further temps are in Celsius. I've noticed that CPU is much hotter than GPU (70-71 on idle vs 58 respectively). I also carried out few observations.
Some homebrew apps have means to control the system fan but I'm talking about the official system settings (a so-called syscon):
PS3 starts at what I believe is level 1. Just as CPU hits 66, I hear probably level 2. It still kinda comfortable. Then it goes to level 3 when CPU is around 71. GPU sits around 57-60 all the time. When I put some load on to it with PS3 game (e.g. Heavy Rain), CPU hits 74-75 and stays there. That's when the cooler goes to level 4. GPU is surprisingly still around 60 no matter the action on the screen.
So now is the process:
I disassembled the system completely and started working on removing the IHS. The process itself IMO just looks insanely hard. When you start working it's all really simple. I cut the silicone carefully and slowly with the painting knife (tbh, it was less scary than opening up the GPU).
GPU was also rather easy, albeit a bit scary: a bit of heat from wife's hair dryer and the cover came out with a help of butter knife. No extreme pressure or anything. I also used a piece of carton.
So now is the thermal compound. The whole my life I used the spreading method on all my PCs. It always worked perfectly and I even did some comparison tests. To me the spreading was always the winner.
But working on PS3 I've read a ton of material about how's the peasize drop method is better for PS3. So I did that both under and above the IHS. I've also replaced the stock thermal pads with mine (keeping the original for the time being). So the original are definitely thicker. I'd say they're 2mm or so (you can't find that info on the internetz btw, only some discussions about 5mm (!) thickness? lol). Anyways, those 1mm kind of look ok to me. After reassembly of heatsink they sit tight. Heatsink also leaves those markings that, I believe, signify the proper pressure applied. BUT! I'm not sure about that since I wasn't able to test it all out properly. And here's why:
After I've reassembled the system putting everything together, all the bits and screws, I've got the following result.
CPU is 69 and GPU is 65 on idle. As you can see, the GPU is almost 7 degrees hotter. The load is light (dynamic theme from Heavy Rain, few light render scenes). What's worse, the CPU starts to heat up more, reaching 73 - and that's on idle. Same with GPU. It never went over 60 before, but now it can reach 65 and go higher, I think.
I also can not put any proper load on it right now since I've probably messed up the assembly of the BD-Drive. No installed game can start, you just get a black screen. And the BD-Drive does not recognize the BD inside properly. I mean, it sees the disc inside and spins up, but does not tell the system it's loaded.
But what's interesting here is that the cooler won't go higher than level two. Even though the CPU is 73-74. It's also moving a lot more of hot air out of vents. So that's kind of... weird?? If I didn't have the CFW, I'd never noticed that something's wrong with the system (well, apart from BDDrive ofc :) )
So why I'm writing all that now and not after the subsequent reassembly?
Well, now I'm wondering about thermal compound application method. Could you please elaborate more on plastic wrap? I was going to use my method of an old credit card to spread it but maybe yours is better? And I'm also sure that I should've cleaned the GPU's memory chips better. There is some of the old adhesive thermal paste left there. Did you also use the credit card to scrape it off? Not only from the main core, right?
Oh, and I also found some fancy thing specifically for the PS3 (and Xbox360): Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad for PS3 and Xbox360. I've already purchased it. If you google it, you'll see that this is a some sort of ready-to-melt liquid metal thermal pad (?!) designed specifically for those game systems. They even put up a guide telling how to disassembly the system and apply those pads. To my understanding, they're compatible only with Phat ps3. I wonder shall I try using them or is it just a waste of time? I never heard about this brand nor about liquid metal thermal pads. I also can't find any reviews of them. Only some retarded article in German which was probably paid for anyway.
-
Hmmmn. No idea about the liquid metal pads. Never heard of them until now.
I had to experiment with a bunch of different methods of applying the thermal paste until I got fan behavior I was willing to settle for.
I did scrape every bit of paste off of the gpu memory and core unsung an old junk credit card. It took me over an hour but it's worth it. What's probably happening is the heat sink may not be sitting perfectly flush with the core because the memory chips aren't perfectly flat with the previous paste residue still on them.
For the plastic wrap it's pretty straight forward. Put a pea sized dot down then put wrap over it and press down until it's smushed out across the entire core. Then reassemble everything.
Also, make sure you screw the board into the casing.
You don't need to put the whole case back together (I never have). But you do need to screw the board back down into the case to ensure the whole heat sink assembly is applying enough pressure to maintain good contact.
-
hey all. I just booted up my fat ps3 and the sound no longer works for games. but it works on the game previews and the menu screens. befor anyone asks I tried this on 3 different games so I know its not the games. does anyone know a fix?
-
hey all. I just booted up my fat ps3 and the sound no longer works for games. but it works on the game previews and the menu screens. befor anyone asks I tried this on 3 different games so I know its not the games. does anyone know a fix?
Please ignore the request above.... my dumb ass self didn't realize the hdmi cable I was using was kinked in a way that destroyed some the the wires. swapped to a new hdmi cord and the sound started functioning properly.