Hello all, haven't posted much but a long time lurker. I would have posted this on the dedicated PS3 overclocking thread but apparently I'm only allowed to post here.
I have been closely following the PS3 overclocking project for a few years now. Initially I first tried my hand at overclocking my old CECH-2001A to the standard +100MHz on Core & VRAM for some noticeable FPS gains. I even (perhaps against better judgement) installed the 600/750 overlock on my mint 20d CECHA01 and it runs flawlessly. But as all things go I eventually wanted to eke out every last drop of performance possible on the PS3 platform and in order to do so I needed a CECH-25XX model. Thing is, there are multiple variations of this specific model, and there's no sure way to identify which one you have without physically looking at the RSX itself. Some use manufacturing date codes to determine which console to purchase but even with those you're still dealing with probabilities. After buying my 3rd PS3 off eBay looking for the elusive 'GGB' RSX (Which yields the best overclocking performance) I ended up with 3 A1GB PS3s despite purchasing only those PS3s with date codes that supposedly had the highest probability for a -GGB RSX.
I then changed my strategy. Instead of looking for PS3s based on manufacturing dates, why not search for the motherboards themselves? I set up some saved searches that looked for working PS3 slim motherboards. It look nearly two months but finally a listing came up, advertising a working PS3 slim motherboard for $60 USD; and the photo showed the RSX was indeed a -GGB model! I already have 3 CECH-25XX consoles, so when it arrived I swapped the board into my nicest 25XX chassis, re-pasted with some PTM7950, threw in a new SSD and it fired right up! I'm still working my way up on my overclock, but so far I'm at a stable 900/950 with some pretty serious FPS gains!
So for those hunting for the -GGB RSX PS3, your money may be better spent looking for a working motherboard (assuming you have a shell to throw it in to) rather than playing the manufacturing date code lottery!
I have been closely following the PS3 overclocking project for a few years now. Initially I first tried my hand at overclocking my old CECH-2001A to the standard +100MHz on Core & VRAM for some noticeable FPS gains. I even (perhaps against better judgement) installed the 600/750 overlock on my mint 20d CECHA01 and it runs flawlessly. But as all things go I eventually wanted to eke out every last drop of performance possible on the PS3 platform and in order to do so I needed a CECH-25XX model. Thing is, there are multiple variations of this specific model, and there's no sure way to identify which one you have without physically looking at the RSX itself. Some use manufacturing date codes to determine which console to purchase but even with those you're still dealing with probabilities. After buying my 3rd PS3 off eBay looking for the elusive 'GGB' RSX (Which yields the best overclocking performance) I ended up with 3 A1GB PS3s despite purchasing only those PS3s with date codes that supposedly had the highest probability for a -GGB RSX.
I then changed my strategy. Instead of looking for PS3s based on manufacturing dates, why not search for the motherboards themselves? I set up some saved searches that looked for working PS3 slim motherboards. It look nearly two months but finally a listing came up, advertising a working PS3 slim motherboard for $60 USD; and the photo showed the RSX was indeed a -GGB model! I already have 3 CECH-25XX consoles, so when it arrived I swapped the board into my nicest 25XX chassis, re-pasted with some PTM7950, threw in a new SSD and it fired right up! I'm still working my way up on my overclock, but so far I'm at a stable 900/950 with some pretty serious FPS gains!
So for those hunting for the -GGB RSX PS3, your money may be better spent looking for a working motherboard (assuming you have a shell to throw it in to) rather than playing the manufacturing date code lottery!
