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PS3 Fan Noise

post #1 of 21
7/27/10 at 10:56am
Thread Starter 

For years fan noise wasn't a problem, but lately my 60GB PS3 starts sounding like a freight train after a half hour or so.  I found this thread with some suggestions:

 

http://boardsus.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-3-General/3-tips-for-a-Cooler-Running-and-Greener-PS3-system-Models/m-p/45650070

 

Have any of you guys tried those methods, or have any other suggestions?

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post #2 of 21
7/27/10 at 1:00pm

The easiest suggestion for getting rid of Fan Noise is sell yours at a modest loss and buy a PS3 Slim.

 

This may lose you PS1&2 backwards compatibility, mine did.  I learned to live with it.

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post #3 of 21
7/27/10 at 5:06pm

I have to agree with Sam - the PS3 Slim is MUCH quieter, and more energy efficient, than the old so-called FAT PS3.

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post #4 of 21
7/28/10 at 1:00pm
Thread Starter 

Guys, I *just* bought three new PS2 games! :)

 

It looks like 60GB consoles sell for enough to get a Slim and a PS2. . .but doesn't the Slim also drop USB ports and some other hardware?

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post #5 of 21
7/29/10 at 3:46pm

If the fan is running loud, it's because the console is getting hot.  If it's getting hotter sooner than it used to, it's probably full of dust.  Try blowing compressed air through the fan and put it in a well-ventilated area.

 

Honestly, if my PS3 gets loud, I'm not going to trade it in because I like the functionality too much.  I can deal with a little fan noise.

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post #6 of 21
7/29/10 at 3:57pm

With the Slim, you lose PS2 backwards compatibility, SACD playback, built-in flash card reader, and 2 USB ports.

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post #7 of 21
7/29/10 at 8:10pm

Troddwrtr, even the thick PS3s have not had PS2 backwards compatibility nor SACD playback for awhile now, so, no difference there. The USB ports is a loss, though.

 

Update: Oops, except in the case of someone who already owned the oldest PS3 which did have PS2 and SACD. Nevermind!

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post #8 of 21
7/30/10 at 5:52am

Yeah the problem with that is I've burned the BluRay drive out of my launch 60gb PS3 THREE TIMES.  The first two times I sent it in for warranty repair under Target's extended warrantee which i would never have bought on my own but I got when I bought my PS3 on Ebay since they were so rarer.  The third time tho it's been out of warranty so it's sitting on the shelf waiting for me to make up my mind to pay someone to replace it a third time or to try and get the parts and do it myself.  And this isn't rare. 

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post #9 of 21
7/30/10 at 6:01pm

Wow, I've had a PS3 for about 2 years and haven't had any issues with it.  Do you have enough airflow around your PS3?  How long are you running it for at a time?  If it keeps breaking like this, you may want to investigate how it's being used before you invest in another unit.

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post #10 of 21
7/31/10 at 1:59pm

I used to use my PS3 as my main Blu-ray player, using it to review DVDs and Blu-ray discs for HTF, so the optical drive saw heavy use, on top of occasional gameplay.

 

Sam was likely in the same situation, as he is a former reviewer here on HTF.

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post #11 of 21
7/31/10 at 10:14pm

Mine was also saw heavy Blu-ray usage at first, but I've been using a stand-alone for a while now instead. That being said, I use PS3 every day, just not for Blu-ray or gaming (I only have two games and almost never play them...not a gamer at all and I'm honestly terrible at it anyway)

 

I use it primarily for video file playback and photo viewing. After putting a 500 GB drive into it, video/photo file storage and playback is everything to me.

 

It only gets hot if I do play a disc back, and occasionally if the room itself is hot but otherwise it's fine. My computer's fan is far louder than this ever gets. It's one of the standard 40 GB models.

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post #12 of 21
8/2/10 at 6:28am

The launch 60s have notoriously flaky drives and I'm not convinced that the warranty service actually replaced the drive either time.  Both of my other PS3s have been flawless and I love the silence of my slim.

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post #13 of 21
8/2/10 at 5:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Posten View Post

The launch 60s have notoriously flaky drives and I'm not convinced that the warranty service actually replaced the drive either time.  Both of my other PS3s have been flawless and I love the silence of my slim.



I must have gotten lucky then. I have one of the original 60s and use it quite extensively for gaming and movies. It still has the original drive in it.

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post #14 of 21
8/9/10 at 1:29pm
Thread Starter 

My original 60 hasn't had any problems aside from the increased fan noise.  (It's not just firing up sooner -- it is quite a bit louder than it used to be).

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post #15 of 21
5/6/11 at 8:41am

Hi:

 

I am the original author of those PS3 tips, and I made an updated illustrated Squidoo lens that give even more details and links to the exact parts and supplies you might need.

 

Click Here

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post #16 of 21
5/8/11 at 3:54pm
Thread Starter 

My 60 eventually died. I tried to sell it on Craigslist along with all my PS1 and PS2 games, but everyone who inquired about it wanted me to send it to Nigeria!  I eventually traded in the games at a local shop and sent the console back to Sony -- for $99 they're replacing it with a refurbed 120 GB slim.

 

Of course, right after I did that I got a legitimate inquiry from someone local on Craiglist. Sigh. . .

 

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post #17 of 21
5/11/11 at 1:12pm
Thread Starter 

I got the Slim. It's so cute! :) When my wife signed for the package she didn't even imagine that it could be a PS3, it was so much smaller and lighter.

 

I tried to play NBA Jam and at first it wouldn't let me, because it said I needed OS version 3.50 and the system only had around 3.3 installed(!). It didn't let me update since PSN is down, but then I tried again and it must've run the OS update from the NBA Jam disc.

 

BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA!!!

 

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post #18 of 21
5/18/11 at 9:11am

My original 60 is still going strong (although I did recently put a 160GB HD in it). I still use it as my Blu-ray player too. 

 

I wonder if I should replace it with a slim, though, before it dies. Lower fan noise would be a bonus. My kids still play PS2 games occasionally, though.

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post #19 of 21
5/18/11 at 9:55am
Thread Starter 

If you don't mind getting a refurb, you might as well wait until it dies and do the $99 trade-in instead of paying $300 for a new one. If your kids are still into PS2 games at that point you could always pick up a secondhand PS2 for cheap.

 

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post #20 of 21
6/27/11 at 11:55am

My PS3 died over the weekend.  YLOD, which seems to happen to the fat PS3 and older 80 gig models.  Not wanting to give up my fat PS3 or spring for a new BR player, I googled the solution.

 

To solve the problem, you need to take the PS3 apart to the motherboard.  Using a heat gun, you heat up the GPU anf CPU for about 5 minutes then leave it alone for 30 minutes.  Put the unit back together and voila, you're PS3 is up and running.  Takes a couple of hours.  My PS3 is back in business.   Here is a link to the 3 part video.  He lays it all out with what you need and step by step instructions.

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_Ic1_TY-GU

 

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post #21 of 21
6/28/11 at 8:34am
Thread Starter 

Cool, I hope that holds.

 

My 60GB was making so much fan noise by the end that it was worth losing the backward compatibility to replace it with the much quieter 120 GB.

 

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