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Now I know there is already a thread like this a dam good one to, so I would like you all to check out -DrunkenRepublicn - You must login or register to view this content. -

I'm gonna go into more detail and some techniques which could save or give your PS3 some more tasty gaming years.

*Starter* You can read on if you wish ** I've owned a PS3 since release pretty much just in case you're wondering. I owned an Original 60gb which I upgraded to 320gb HD and I'm now on a slim with a new 320gb hard drive. Most of what I know is due to Trial and Error.

HARD DRIVES - Many of you will or will not upgrade your PS3 hard drive, especially with so many games being widely available on the Playstation Store now and PS+ Uncharted's, Borderlands, Red Dead Redemption etc These all take up valuable space but is increasing our hard drive space really a saver?

Yes and no, hard drives give us more space and more games, more movie's and music...and them naked ladies I heavily recommend anything up to 320gb. Now many will say 500gb is an excellent size, this unfortunatly is wrong. I have compared the performance of a 500gb hard drive and a 320gb hard drive. The 500gb hard Drive actually works harder, thus creating more heat, this also means are hard drive is more likely to break under long hours of use.

HEAT - A big subject on my Xbox360 thread, fortunatly the Playstation 3 system copes with heat better than a 360 but doesn't mean playing your console till it's a butchers oven. The Playstation 3 again can be stood on it's side or tummy, we should be using tummy on both the SLIM and Fat PS3. If you have the Slim model, please, please, please and please keep it on it's tummy, the fans are actually pretty lame on the PS3 Slim and standing it on it's side actually keeps more heat inside the PS3 rather than exhausting. So what can we do to solve this?

Firstly - Without voiding our warranty to crack it open etc Just simply hoover the vent holes, Low Power Hoover works and so does a normal hoover, many will say use a low power one due to it damaging small parts, this is wrong unless you use it like a mallet and or leave it on the vent holes for long times, short 1 - 2 second bursts again are more than enough, go around each vent and repeat, for the back fans 2 - 3 as you really aren't damaging anything from there.


Secondly, many of you will probably have seen them, the stands with the blue LED lights and small vans on? If you have you will know how rubbish it looks, I bought one to test and surprisingly it vents air around well. It's another Ration for our Solid Snake we love so much in a much more console scheme of things. A table top fan as I suggested for your 360 is always good, leave it running on low usually number 1 whilst playing games it helps keep it cool and vent the air around so it's not using the same air it's just vented out to cool the console.

Hard drive gaming - Many of you probably install games onto your hard drive through the Playstation Store. This is brilliant as the PS3 uses the BRD so much. SONY really need to incorporate and install a feature such as the 360's. It's a real lense saver. It keeps heat out and also gives your disk drive a cool down for once.

SKYRIM Kills your PS3, open to debate still many people have reported in that the constant loading and sticking of Skyrim causes your PS3 to use more power ? Lol wut? My PS3 is the Hulk and has a power reserve for when it can't function at it's fullest? No, not really. The most it does is cause the disk drive to get hotter which causes the fans to work harder, which creates more heat which causes the disk drive to get hotter. Dam. I'm in that inevitable spiral of heat again...No I actually have a tip for you....

Believe it or not playing another game such as Call of Duty or Batman Arkham City then playing Skyrim actually helps the load times slightly. Don't believe it? Try it. This same process works with Uncharted 3, when the game first released and for quiet a while after it many people were complaining the disc wouldn't read. Play COD then Uncharted 3 and it miraculously works? Not on all occasions no but in many It DID! It actually warms up our BRD which makes the drive run smoother and quieter for some unknown reason. I have only conducted this a few times with a Fat and Slim and I have to admit, I notice a smoother (not by much) run on the Slim after playing COD for 20 minutes then Uncharted 3. Fat... not so much.

Gaming and charging - Always try to charge your controller within the first 1 - 2 hours of your gaming, even if it's at full battery just leave it on for 10 minutes. Once every so often let the controller run flat of course but yeah. This just gives your console more to do and many people let the controller charge on the XMB which is just like leaving it on the pause menu of a game still reading. After gaming for say an hour plus, mainly two, when finished put your PS3 on to the home screen, leave it for about 20 minutes to cool. This means signing out, no downloads, no disc in the drive (which you shouldn't leave in anyway) no controller charging. This is because the PS3 needs a little cooling time before switching off, yes your PS3 gets hotter when it's switched off for a short period.

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Watching Blue Ray Films ETC - Now DrunkenRepublicn recommends 3 - 4 hours - This is a really good guide line to stick to when gaming and watching films. Combine this with the cooling process I just explained makes a real improvement to the life of your PS3. If you do watch films/game for more than 3 - 4 hours leave it for about 30 minutes after to cool still and if you can take breaks from the game, it helps you and your console. Not much else on films wise.

General Tips and Tricks - Okay many of you may, or may not know that when watching DVD's on your PS3 we have some options available when pressing triangle - AV Settings - We now have Block, Frame and Mosquito noise Reduction - A neat Fullscale as well.

Set up Media Servers it saves space and doesn't require as much effort from our poor PS3's in there sleek cases!

Missing out on a mic ? Use the Move Camera - Works a dream!

I'm not strictly sure if I'm aloud to tell you this and it's so top secret, I'm pretty sure only a few million know, we can play any Region games on our PS3 = Less money spent on games and exclusives to Japan/China only. Can't read? Neither can I.. Still fun to listen to and play.

Don't ever use an intercooler - Adaptable one these actually really mess up your air flow. Always Make CD's are clean before inserting them! Dust on them soon gathers and really screws with your blue ray drive man.

More people do this than I thought and as mentioned in DrunkenRepublicn PLEASE! Turn off your PS3 via the front touch sensitive button (Yes the one with the power sign and bright green light on) If you're on a Slim then the one with the power button. Don't know which one that is? Read the hand Booklet or look it up on google. Do NOT ever use the back switch to turn it directly off or pull the power cable out until the PS3 is on red light ( standby).

Some people use those earbud cleaner thingys to clean there blue ray disc drive. Lol wut? Sorry PS3 I'm just going to shove this 'cotton' bud through your main entrance, violate you and then leave nice bits of tiny cotton inside to gather with dust and or kill your Disc Drive through any cotton way means necessary... Seriously guys, don't. Not with anything even your...No.

Power cables to both TV, your PS3 and your newly invested table top fan < should be neatly arranged and orientated properly no twists, zig-zags. If your PS3 over heats follow DrunkenRepublicn's Steps and leave it for an hour at least, when you turn it back on (praying it works) leave it for 20 minutes to let the poor console back on it's feet, snakes getting old now guys :/ and Drake isn't getting any younger..Well he did in Uncharted 3...Besides the point! Many people may say an Hour is to much and the 20 minutes is just pathetic, it's really not I'm not voiding my warranty to re-apply thermal paste or crack my PS3 open to see what damage dust and heat can do combined.

PS3 Frozen? Do not use the rear power switch or the cable Hold down the power button for 4 - 5 seconds, still not working? Okay leave it for 5 try again. Still not working? Okay pull the plug, I'm sorry but sometimes it has to be done, typically during a freeze the PS3 is not in a damaging state unless saving anyway.

YLOD - If you're concerned about it read this paragraph - If not carry Skip down - There are several possible causes, including a faulty power supply and a corrupted hard drive. The most likely cause of this issue are the solder balls underneath the RSX (the GPU, or Graphics Processing Unit) and CELL (the CPU, or Central Processing Unit) chips. This style of fastening the chips to the board is know as BGA, or Ball Grid Array, which is composed of hundreds of tiny balls of solder, which pass information from the chip to the motherboard. These balls are constantly submitted to intense heat due to the chip above them, which is being cooled by a huge heatsink and fan.

The European Union banned the importation of electronics containing lead in 2006, called Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS), which has caused most electronics manufactures to switch to lead free solder in their products, even those sold in the United States. Unfortunately lead free solder has two (theorized) weaknesses. The first is that with repeated, high temperature (higher than what Sony engineers intended) followed by cooling of the console once turned off, the balls begin to lose their elasticity, and eventually crack. This causes an open circuit, and when you try and power the PS3 up again, you get the YLOD. The other theory is that over time, due to the aforementioned high temperatures, the balls begin to grow "tin whiskers" which cause a short with another ball nearby, once again causing the YLOD.

Lead based solders have been in use for over 50 years, and manufacturers are highly familiar with their characteristics. Unfortunately this isn't true for lead-free solders. The PS3 has over a thousand solder connection points beneath its CPU & GPU, and if only one solder point were to crack or fracture, it would result in your PlayStation 3 getting the YLOD.

The PS3 is the first PlayStation system to require an elaborate cooling system, where it needs a heatsink, fan, and thermal paste to cool itself effectively. Unfortunately the thermal paste Sony choose to use when manufacturing the PS3 tends to dry out after a few years of regular use, which can cause the PS3 to overheat. When this happens, it can also cause the aforementioned lead-free solder to fracture, break, or melt; resulting in a YLOD issue.

Although it is rare, a YLOD issue could be caused by a faulty power supply. From what I understand, if you don't hear the system fan spin up when you first turn the PS3 on, then you may have a bad power supply. Also if you find that the green light stays on for less than half a second, that could also indicate a defective power supply. You can easily buy a replacement one from eBay or Amazon.

Most of the time it is the GPU (RSX) chip that gets fractured solder points that leads to the YLOD. The best reason I have heard this happens is that the CPU (CELL) chip has a hole cut underneath it on the motherboard allowing for heat to escape. It is also true that the CPU doesn't have any solder points located directly beneath the actual processor, that could fracture from heat generated by the processor. Both of these conditions isn't true for the GPU.

If you wanna get really nitty and gritty - Replace the PS3 fan - Most in fact nearly all are 15 blade - If you are daring enough and out of warranty or warranty isn't concern (hope I'm aloud to say this) Upgrade to 19 blade!

Many of you will notice that sometimes even after turning off your PS3 system that it comes up with a nice paragraph telling you your Hard Drive could be corrupted. - Press circle - Turn off the PS3 (Power Button - Back Button/Power Lead) - Take out your hard drive slowly and carefully - Clean the Hard Drive and blow gently into where the hard drive sits - Load the PS3 back up. This isn't a permanent fix and don't always do it, sometimes a lot of dust gathers or you've knocked your PS3 and it's just come a little loose or the connectors not 110% sure. Only do this once every two - three months as it's actually quiet a good cleaning method as well!

CLEAR UP - So summarising all of this in to a small cookie - Keep your PS3 cool - Keep it Dust Free and the area around it (or as dust free as possible) - When Upscaling your DVD's via the tip I issued up above IT DOES generate heat so be careful - Invest in a desk top fan it saves PS3's - Play controlled hours, if you do play all day play 2 - 3 hours, save go to home screen leave on home screen for 15 minutes/30 minutes. Intercoolers - No Abusing A PS3's Disc Drive - NO - Keep your cables neat - Why? No confusing, No fire Hazard (HEAT!) Basically remember to keep your PS3 in an open area not directly under a TV as it generates heat -.-

EDIT - WIFI - Can't believe I forgot this -.- Late night :/ Anyway, when and if you are not gaming online, just single player and you're not messaging any friends, just sign out of PSN. It saves a bit of heat, and it's one more component in your PS3 that isn't blasting away 24/7 again. Another little footstep in the ladder to keeping your console alive!

Sorry for rambling on! If you have read through all of this rather long thread, Rep to yourself and treat yourself with a well earned cookie! Or Gaming time! Seriously cheers for reading this, taking the time etc. Appreciate it, have fun gaming and look after your PS3.

PSN - xGrinch--
XBL - xGrinch

Excellent advice my friend. Will be coming back to this thread to see what I'm doing wrong.

nice thread man looks like you put effort into it i hav a ps3 and by what it says to keep it safe i go agaisnt all of that :s hehe ive had it four years and nothing has gone wrong too

You should organize it into pages or make the section titles into different titles.
Just my advice, good guide though.

Cheers - I'll remember that, slowly edit away at it.

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That's good going bro. I know the odd few who take care of their PS3's and it dies within the first 4 months. Unlucky. Still helps to have a little clean up for our PS3 !

Awesome thread bro!!!

thanks for the tips