PS3 Best overall way to prevent YLOD?

[IJustWantToKnow]

It's been almost 2 decades since the PS3 released. Since then, has anyone found a way to prevent YLOD from happening? I've done a lot of reading and so far, it seems like the main methods so far involve replacing the capacitors, swapping the 90nm RTX for the ps3 slim or super slim equivalent(65nm and 40nm, respectively if I remember correctly), delidding and replacing the thermal paste and pads. I think that's pretty much all of them, although I might have missed something. If you combined all of these together, would these make the OG models at least as reliable as the slim version of the ps3?

Whatever it is, I would like to know because I'm hoping to buy a CECHA01 soon.

 

[emiQTpi]

I've had my CECHC04 so far for about a month or two and the thing works perfectly fine after a delid. Just set your fan profile to a good one in webMAN and you should be fine. The main cause of the RSX's dying in these consoles is the frequent applying and de-applying of heat which softens the underfill and flexes the die, causing the connection to break. This I THINK happens around 70C. If you keep your temps below 70, you should be perfectly fine afaik. This won't make your console like immortal or anything, but it will make it more reliable. Don't do RSX swaps on a working console, get a YLOD one if you're unsure if you want to do the RSX swap or not.

 

[IJustWantToKnow]

I've had my CECHC04 so far for about a month or two and the thing works perfectly fine after a delid. Just set your fan profile to a good one in webMAN and you should be fine. The main cause of the RSX's dying in these consoles is the frequent applying and de-applying of heat which softens the underfill and flexes the die, causing the connection to break. This I THINK happens around 70C. If you keep your temps below 70, you should be perfectly fine afaik. This won't make your console like immortal or anything, but it will make it more reliable. Don't do RSX swaps on a working console, get a YLOD one if you're unsure if you want to do the RSX swap or not.

I don't want to jailbreak my ps3 so webMAN is out of the question.

 

[emiQTpi]

I don't want to jailbreak my ps3 so webMAN is out of the question.

Any reason as to why? You're only missing out by not doing so.

 

[IJustWantToKnow]

Any reason as to why? You're only missing out by not doing so.

I don't support jailbreaking. It's corrupt especially in cases where people use it to get games for free. That's stealing from the developers. I'm not missing out on anything.

 

[emiQTpi]

I don't support jailbreaking. It's corrupt especially in cases where people use it to get games for free. That's stealing from the developers. I'm not missing out on anything.

"Jailbreaking" does NOT equal piracy. You won't see any active CFW developer support it or endorse it. I think you're misunderstanding.
And yes, you are missing out. Not only on custom fan curves which will help your system stay cooler, but also prolong it's life. Although if you choose not to, that's your decision, I can't force you to do anything. It's highly recommended you do so, because of Sony's factory fan curve just being subpar at best, modifying this helps the system a LOT to stay under 70C.

 

[IJustWantToKnow]

"Jailbreaking" does NOT equal piracy. You won't see any active CFW developer support it or endorse it. I think you're misunderstanding.
And yes, you are missing out. Not only on custom fan curves which will help your system stay cooler, but also prolong it's life. Although if you choose not to, that's your decision, I can't force you to do anything. It's highly recommended you do so, because of Sony's factory fan curve just being subpar at best, modifying this helps the system a LOT to stay under 70C.

It's probably one of the most common uses for jailbreaking so it's a serious issue, therefore I am not misunderstanding.

I mean that's just a theory. It's not a given that this fan mod even prolongs the life of the OGs and even if it does it may not even be by a significant amount. As far as I know, no one has actually tested to see how well it actually works.

 

[GuilloteTesla]

Custom fan curves; getting the EID root key in order to access YOUR DATA on your HDD; backing up and transfering YOUR SAVEFILES; replace and remarry by yourself a BD drive that went bad (because Sony won't do it); getting error codes from SYSCON in order to diagnose and fix your console (because Sony won't do it); playing backup ISOs from your owned, purchased physical games (and prolong the lifespan of the BD drive); playing PS1 broken games with simple patches not made by Sony; playing PS2 games listed as "unsupported" or "with broken playability" by Sony because of their lazines, underpar customer care and business model of "reselling already sold games" (and branding them as "Classics"); the chance of fixing and repairing your console because of a bad FW update or a broken component (BD drive, BT/WiFi module); restoring removed, advertised features by Sony (OtherOS, PS Home, the old PSN Store that works faster than the current one); bringing back official, still fully functional apps like Netflix and YouTube that got removed because of a corporate decision; removing the absurd and archaic DVD region lock; homebrews to help the user and extend the PS3 capabilities, like Movian for playing virtually any video format, gamepad test app to check if your controller has SIXAXIS or is a fake, Apollo Save Tools. WebMAN MOD, IRISMAN/MultiMAN, to name a few); swapping X/O buttons (because of Sony's own regional stupidity from PS1 era).

Yeah, piracy is one most common uses for jailbreaking, but jailbreaking any device opens it up to be used at it's full capabilities.

And about the fan curve, it's not a theory, it's been already demonstrated time and time again. The fan factory settings are way too low for CELL/RSX thermals, added to the fact the factory thermal paste is crap and after 10 or more years it's got dry.

Combine low fan speed with dry thermal paste on a 70º component... console will die.

 

[IJustWantToKnow]

Custom fan curves; getting the EID root key in order to access YOUR DATA on your HDD; backing up and transfering YOUR SAVEFILES; replace and remarry by yourself a BD drive that went bad (because Sony won't do it); getting error codes from SYSCON in order to diagnose and fix your console (because Sony won't do it); playing backup ISOs from your owned, purchased physical games (and prolong the lifespan of the BD drive); playing PS1 broken games with simple patches not made by Sony; playing PS2 games listed as "unsupported" or "with broken playability" by Sony because of their lazines, underpar customer care and business model of "reselling already sold games" (and branding them as "Classics"); the chance of fixing and repairing your console because of a bad FW update or a broken component (BD drive, BT/WiFi module); restoring removed, advertised features by Sony (OtherOS, PS Home, the old PSN Store that works faster than the current one); bringing back official, still fully functional apps like Netflix and YouTube that got removed because of a corporate decision; removing the absurd and archaic DVD region lock; homebrews to help the user and extend the PS3 capabilities, like Movian for playing virtually any video format, gamepad test app to check if your controller has SIXAXIS or is a fake, Apollo Save Tools. WebMAN MOD, IRISMAN/MultiMAN, to name a few); swapping X/O buttons (because of Sony's own regional stupidity from PS1 era).

Yeah, piracy is one most common uses for jailbreaking, but jailbreaking any device opens it up to be used at it's full capabilities.

And about the fan curve, it's not a theory, it's been already demonstrated time and time again. The fan factory settings are way too low for CELL/RSX thermals, added to the fact the factory thermal paste is crap and after 10 or more years it's got dry.

Combine low fan speed with dry thermal paste on a 70º component... console will die.

Fair enough I suppose those could be good enough reasons but for me personally, I don't really need any of that so I'll be perfectly happy with a non-jailbroken ps3.

I think if I were to get an OG ps3 that's been reballed(as far as I know, reballing is more significant and useful than a reflow), delidded, has the rsx, thermal paste+pads and capacitors replaced, that should be enough to make it very reliable, correct(as in it would be guaranteed or at least almost guaranteed to last for many years)? Also with a new rsx, I think that should also solve the temperature problem so there would be no need for the webMAN mod in that case.

 

[GuilloteTesla]

I think if I were to get an OG ps3 that's been reballed, delidded, has the rsx, thermal paste+pads and capacitors replaced, that should be enough to make it very reliable, correct(as in it would be guaranteed or at least almost guaranteed to last for many years)? Also with a new rsx, I think that should also solve the temperature problem so there would be no need for the webMAN mod in that case.

That won't be enough as the fan will still run with Sony's lower curves. Let's remember that the CELL is not part of the Frankenstein mod, so it still produces a lot of heat, heat that it's transfered over the same, shared heatsink used by the RSX (which still generates a significant amount of heat).

The Frankenstein mod only avoids the problem of faulty 90nm and 60nm RSX rendering your whole console unusable, by simply replacing it with a better model.

WebMAN MOD does a better job at keeping your console's temps at ease, and allows you to set the PS2 fan speed as well as the PS3 produces more heat when playing PS2 games, leading to the known issues (doesn't matter if the console is full BC, semi BC or non BC, while in "PS2 mode" it will run hotter so a faster fan speed is necessary for a longer lifespan).

But it's your choice.

 

[IJustWantToKnow]

That won't be enough as the fan will still run with Sony's lower curves. Let's remember that the CELL is not part of the Frankenstein mod, so it still produces a lot of heat, heat that it's transfered over the same, shared heatsink used by the RSX (which still generates a significant amount of heat).

The Frankenstein mod only avoids the problem of faulty 90nm and 60nm RSX rendering your whole console unusable, by simply replacing it with a better model.

WebMAN MOD does a better job at keeping your console's temps at ease, and allows you to set the PS2 fan speed as well as the PS3 produces more heat when playing PS2 games, leading to the known issues (doesn't matter if the console is full BC, semi BC or non BC, while in "PS2 mode" it will run hotter so a faster fan speed is necessary for a longer lifespan).

But it's your choice.

How much of a difference would the webMAN make? Let's say on top of the aforementioned delid, reball, rsx replacement etc. what would the life expectancy be like compared to with and without it?

Also you mention the cell being a big part of the problem(I've learned something new here because I've never even considered or heard about that!). Is that something that can also be fixed?

I also want to use the ps3 online so if I jailbreak it I won't be able to do that so that's another huge problem.

 

[GuilloteTesla]

How much of a difference would the webMAN make? Let's say on top of the aforementioned delid, reball, rsx replacement etc. what would the life expectancy be like compared to with and without it?

It's impossible to say for sure, because we don't know all the history of the unit. Each piece of hardware has it's own, unique material properties and imperfections, added to usage degradation. For example, CELL processor "X" and CELL processor "Y" will have different, tiny, limits in thermals and performance, even if they were made from the same silicon waffer.

Your unit may have more years of life because of the maintenance done, but if you happen to get high temps because of a bad heatsink contact or degraded fan bearings, then the console may start getting heat damage (leading to YLOD or worse) and you will be unable to notice it.

As the factory fan curve always run at the same speed, you will never know if your console is having thermal issues because the fan will run quiet all the time (unless you check the temps often by touching the console, which is not a precise measure and a real pain to do without having WebMAN MOD or some kind of homebrew app).

Also you mention the cell being a big part of the problem(I've learned something new here because I've never even considered or heard about that!). Is that something that can also be fixed?

The CELL is the thing that produces the most heat, but it's not the main suspect of a PS3 dying. Also, if your CELL was delided and reballed then the joints will surely make contact with the motherboard (if the reball was done correctly).

Rest assured that the CELL will not kill your console if the heat is exhausted as expected.

I also want to use the ps3 online so if I jailbreak it I won't be able to do that so that's another huge problem.

There are alternatives for this:

• Use DualBoot FW (a special FW that is exactly the same as OFW but leaving the update FW validations disabled, allowing to install CFW in the future).
• Disable syscalls (WebMAN MOD and Evilnat's CFW 4.90 have options to disable syscalls, reducing the risk of getting banned).

As long as you don't use RTM tools to cheat online, run modded EBOOTs or insult people over messages/voice, you won't get banned.

The ideal situation would be to have an online-only console, with OFW, and another one with CFW for everything else. But it's not cheap.

 

[IJustWantToKnow]

It's impossible to say for sure, because we don't know all the history of the unit. Each piece of hardware has it's own, unique material properties and imperfections, added to usage degradation. For example, CELL processor "X" and CELL processor "Y" will have different, tiny, limits in thermals and performance, even if they were made from the same silicon waffer.

Your unit may have more years of life because of the maintenance done, but if you happen to get high temps because of a bad heatsink contact or degraded fan bearings, then the console may start getting heat damage (leading to YLOD or worse) and you will be unable to notice it.

As the factory fan curve always run at the same speed, you will never know if your console is having thermal issues because the fan will run quiet all the time (unless you check the temps often by touching the console, which is not a precise measure and a real pain to do without having WebMAN MOD or some kind of homebrew app).



The CELL is the thing that produces the most heat, but it's not the main suspect of a PS3 dying. Also, if your CELL was delided and reballed then the joints will surely make contact with the motherboard (if the reball was done correctly).

Rest assured that the CELL will not kill your console if the heat is exhausted as expected.



There are alternatives for this:

• Use DualBoot FW (a special FW that is exactly the same as OFW but leaving the update FW validations disabled, allowing to install CFW in the future).
• Disable syscalls (WebMAN MOD and Evilnat's CFW 4.90 have options to disable syscalls, reducing the risk of getting banned).

As long as you don't use RTM tools to cheat online, run modded EBOOTs or insult people over messages/voice, you won't get banned.

The ideal situation would be to have an online-only console, with OFW, and another one with CFW for everything else. But it's not cheap.

It seems to me that it's still questionable how much of a benefit this webMAN provides, especially to a ps3 that's been modified to fix most of the issues causing the YLOD, so I'm just going to stick with getting an unmodded ps3 that's been upgraded.

Either that or I'll go for a super slim ps3(I recently looked up images for it and it actually looks really good. It's the slim that looks like a dull lifeless block of black) and use a ps2 separately.

 

[Self]

Fair enough I suppose those could be good enough reasons but for me personally, I don't really need any of that so I'll be perfectly happy with a non-jailbroken ps3.

I think if I were to get an OG ps3 that's been reballed(as far as I know, reballing is more significant and useful than a reflow), delidded, has the rsx, thermal paste+pads and capacitors replaced, that should be enough to make it very reliable, correct(as in it would be guaranteed or at least almost guaranteed to last for many years)? Also with a new rsx, I think that should also solve the temperature problem so there would be no need for the webMAN mod in that case.

Reballing is still very hit or miss depending on how much stress the original GPU was put through during its life span. I can 100% confirm that using webman to manually set fan speed (especially in PS2 mode) on both A01 and E01 models will significantly reduce the temperature inside the console. If you are wanting to retain online functions, I would recommend just grabbing a cheap non backwards model for that purpose and then jailbreaking the backwards model. As listed above, jailbreaking is not a straight move towards piracy. There are so many upsides to having it done with one of the most beneficial being custom fan speeds on these backwards models that are literally a ticking time bomb. I have reballed more consoles than I can even begin to remember and I can promise you that your console will run at least 10c (if not more) cooler than leaving it on Sonys default speeds. I tested 2 A01 models a few years back and in PS2 mode I was getting 18c cooler on a jailbroken model with a custom fan speed than the stock one after a fresh reball, new arctic thermal paste, new arctic thermal pads, and a fresh cleaning. The temp on the stock system was still good, don't get me wrong. However the temp on the other console was much better not only for peace of mind, but for the system itself. I understand you don't condone piracy, but that definitely isn't all it's about and I would think about taking another look at it, especially with A01s as they have that extra EE hardware chip for PS2 emulation.

 

[IJustWantToKnow]

Reballing is still very hit or miss depending on how much stress the original GPU was put through during its life span. I can 100% confirm that using webman to manually set fan speed (especially in PS2 mode) on both A01 and E01 models will significantly reduce the temperature inside the console. If you are wanting to retain online functions, I would recommend just grabbing a cheap non backwards model for that purpose and then jailbreaking the backwards model. As listed above, jailbreaking is not a straight move towards piracy. There are so many upsides to having it done with one of the most beneficial being custom fan speeds on these backwards models that are literally a ticking time bomb. I have reballed more consoles than I can even begin to remember and I can promise you that your console will run at least 10c (if not more) cooler than leaving it on Sonys default speeds. I tested 2 A01 models a few years back and in PS2 mode I was getting 18c cooler on a jailbroken model with a custom fan speed than the stock one after a fresh reball, new arctic thermal paste, new arctic thermal pads, and a fresh cleaning. The temp on the stock system was still good, don't get me wrong. However the temp on the other console was much better not only for peace of mind, but for the system itself. I understand you don't condone piracy, but that definitely isn't all it's about and I would think about taking another look at it, especially with A01s as they have that extra EE hardware chip for PS2 emulation.

I'm actually in the process of buying a fully upgraded CECHA01(new rsx, capacitors etc. everything I mentioned before) from a reputable seller so it should be interesting to see how long it lasts. If it doesn't last at least a few years then I guess they really are ticking bombs and then, at least to me, it would seem that there's no point in getting them except for display purposes. Still sucks Sony didn't release a fixed version with the same design(the OGs truly are one of the best looking consoles ever made. I'm sure they planned it originally but I guess they just wanted to cut costs) but oh well.

 

[GuilloteTesla]

Trust the community here. Use WebMAN MOD to handle the temps and your CECHA will last longer. Hardware mods are not enough for getting the maximum lifespan of these models.

 

[emiQTpi]

Fair enough I suppose those could be good enough reasons but for me personally, I don't really need any of that so I'll be perfectly happy with a non-jailbroken ps3.

I think if I were to get an OG ps3 that's been reballed(as far as I know, reballing is more significant and useful than a reflow), delidded, has the rsx, thermal paste+pads and capacitors replaced, that should be enough to make it very reliable, correct(as in it would be guaranteed or at least almost guaranteed to last for many years)? Also with a new rsx, I think that should also solve the temperature problem so there would be no need for the webMAN mod in that case.

One thing I want to add, as a repair technician, do NOT buy reballed systems. They WILL fail. Reballing is a temporary workaround and is sold as a "fix". Your reballed system will work for a month or two MAX, if the chip has failed already and a reball has "fixed" it.

 

[luvbuckets]

Everyone's advice on here is pretty good. Avoid any youtube video claiming to increase lifespan. Eraser mod, heatgun, drilling holes etc... I know this is probably over your comfort level, But paco has a good tutorial on how to adjust your fan curve via the syscon. This would be a way to change it without CFW. One last thing I didn't see mentioned was the cell brace. Sony installed these braces on some of their refurbs. You can find 3d prints that felix made online. In theory, this should help support the cell and help longevity. On the downside, you could kill the cell if the brace is too big.

 

[IJustWantToKnow]

One thing I want to add, as a repair technician, do NOT buy reballed systems. They WILL fail. Reballing is a temporary workaround and is sold as a "fix". Your reballed system will work for a month or two MAX, if the chip has failed already and a reball has "fixed" it.

Is that true even if it's been delidded and has had the thermal paste, pads, rfx and capacitors replaced?

 

[luvbuckets]

The theory most people subscribe to is that all 90nm RSX are effected by bumpgate. In that case reballing would just be kicking the can down the road. Sometimes you'll get a 3034 syscon error that's a legitimate bga issue. In that case reballing would help. Why reball a faulty chip though? If you're going that far. Might as well put a 65 or 40nm on the board.