Opinions Modifying a CECHA01

[Yo_Yo]

Hello!

You probably guessed by the title, but I have an old but functional CECHA01 with the warranty sticker still intact. I left this system on the shelf collecting dust for many years and recently decided to jailbreak it and back up my library. So I have been running it quite a bit lately.

I'm wondering what I should do with this PS3. I know most people will recommend a repaste and cleaning of the internals. I know the warranty is expired but it still erks me to take off that sticker for the first time. I have been trying to get a second case from Craiglist for modification for only $25. Although the guy has been unreliable and unable to meet for the past 15 days. Should I try to get a new case that I will likely never put back on or mod the original?

I also feel like more should be done for cooling. I haven't been able to find any good hardware mods for the fat/Phat models. Most mods I see with a built-in fan are for the slim models. I want to do something built-in but the videos I see don't leave too much space for an internal fan. I wouldn't be opposed to removing the disk drive and replace it with a fan, but I would like to keep it if possible since this model is backward compatible (but then again, I would most likely play the games from a hard drive anyway). If I am going to mod it, I want to do this professionally and not with fans sticking off the side, or weird rubber feet stacked to give the console more height.

I would like to know what you think about modding one of the rarer PS3 models. Also, if there are any other recommendations or mods you would recomend. Thanks!

 

[pinky]

you can probably buy fake warranty stickers on ebay. I know you can with the 360 or use a hair dryer to get the original off, then back on. I don't normally open my systems, unless you have to like with the 360, so I put decals on them as far as modding goes. I've never opened a ps3, but I've opened my 360 many times. I reapplied thermal paste a couple years ago on my jtag.

be careful with a hair dryer though. they use a lot of power, so they can burn out an outlet if other things are plugged into it.

 

[Yo_Yo]

you can probably buy fake warranty stickers on ebay. I know you can with the 360 or use a hair dryer to get the original off, then back on. I don't normally open my systems, unless you have to like with the 360, so I put decals on them as far as modding goes. I've never opened a ps3, but I've opened my 360 many times. I reapplied thermal paste a couple years ago on my jtag.

That's a great idea! I didn't even think of that. I will definitely do that if I open it up. I have heard so many stories of this model eventually dying that I thought I would try to do something before having to do a tokin replacement or anything dirastic.

 

[SKEPTiCK]

If you do remove the sticker, swap the stock thermal paste for some arctic silver or something more heat-resistant

If you play the OG phats for let's say 6-12 hours a day, all your stock paste will be melted into the heat sinks over time.

My phat model was a CECH-K01 and I threw it out after many failed attempts to fix.

went from overheating issues to typical YLOD and idk much about all that MOSFET/MOBO/CAPS/NEC-TOKIN crap...

Plus I accidentally severed the (daughterboard? or wifi node?) when taking it apart... (tiny little chip with a wire and cap on it)

 

[pinky]

op, here's my ps3 with decals:

 

[Yo_Yo]

If you do remove the sticker, swap the stock thermal paste for some arctic silver or something more heat-resistant

If you play the OG phats for let's say 6-12 hours a day, all your stock paste will be melted into the heat sinks over time.

My phat model was a CECH-K01 and I threw it out after many failed attempts to fix.

went from overheating issues to typical YLOD and idk much about all that MOSFET/MOBO/CAPS/NEC-TOKIN crap...

Plus I accidentally severed the (daughterboard? or wifi node?) when taking it apart... (tiny little chip with a wire and cap on it)

Ow wow yea that doesn't sound good. I'm pretty good with hardware though so I'm not too worried. I have a heavily modified 3d printer so I'm comfortable modding, soldering, and rewiring hardware. I'm thinking I will most likely do a repaste at the least.

 

[Yo_Yo]

op, here's my ps3 with decals:

View attachment 32364

Nice! That looks good! I was thinking about doing a decal too. I'm not big on case painting. It never looks that good to me up close, but usually looks good from across the room. lol

 

[pinky]

I only do decals on systems I don't play to open up. my 360 has a black shell with different lights shining inside. I put my old xenon in a shell, including a blue, ghost one for the dvd drive, so you could see the disc spinning. I had problems at first, since the magnet for the dvd drive kept sticking to the top of the small piece to hold it, but I figured it out. that system eventually died, being a xenon pos like the early ps3 phats. very poorly engineered. I had a blaster installed onto it as well to flash the drive without having to open it up. I read that that's been patched though. I got the dvd drive to work perfectly, but I never got to flash it using the blaster, so it was a waste of money.

 

[Yo_Yo]

I only do decals on systems I don't play to open up. my 360 has a black shell with different lights shining inside. I put my old xenon in a shell, including a blue, ghost one for the dvd drive, so you could see the disc spinning. I had problems at first, since the magnet for the dvd drive kept sticking to the top of the small piece to hold it, but I figured it out. that system eventually died, being a xenon pos like the early ps3 phats. very poorly engineered. I had a blaster installed onto it as well to flash the drive without having to open it up. I read that that's been patched though. I got the dvd drive to work perfectly, but I never got to flash it using the blaster, so it was a waste of money.

Lights might be a cool idea. I did put some on my 3d printer. I used a usb buck converter and the RGB string with a remote. I would definitely do something similar most likely without the usb port. I like the remote to be able to turn them off sometimes, change the color, and effect. I think they can be overbearing sometimes rapidly flashing in a dark room at night. lol

I thought of doing something with plexiglass, again the only example I have seen is with a slim thought.

 

[pinky]

Lights might be a cool idea. I did put some on my 3d printer. I used a usb buck converter and the RGB string with a remote. I would definitely do something similar most likely without the usb port. I like the remote to be able to turn them off sometimes, change the color, and effect. I think they can be overbearing sometimes rapidly flashing in a dark room at night. lol

I thought of doing something with plexiglass, again the only example I have seen is with a slim thought.

I don't own a 3d printer (wish I did). I bought a blue ghost shell off of ebay. my mother threw out the console when I told it was broken. it had rrod, because it was a shitty xenon system. those things are basically space heaters. even more unreliable than a launch ps3.

here's a very blurry picture of my blaster on the 360:

I'm not sure what I took that with. it probably wasn't a phone.

I had the top portion of the 360's cover off, since the blaster just snakes through the hdd cradle. it was like that for a long time. I had no issues playing burns through two boards. it was a very easy setup.

 

[Yo_Yo]

I don't own a 3d printer (wish I did). I bought a blue ghost shell off of ebay. my mother threw out the console when I told it was broken. it had rrod, because it was a shitty xenon system. those things are basically space heaters. even more unreliable than a launch ps3.

3D printers are cool. I have two of them. I used it a lot in the beginning, then it became less and less useful after making so many things. lol.

That's what I'm afraid of with my console. I'm hoping it won't die on me soon. It does get pretty hot. I usually only run it for a few hours or less at a time.

 

[pinky]

I've heard the ps4 pro gets very hot, like hot enough to boil an egg and that the fan is loud too. I have a ps4 phat. it doesn't seem to get that hot, but I don't game on it really. tomorrow, hopefully, I plan to see if a game on an external hdd is place on the internal when being decrypted. the belief is that it does.

 

[pinky]

I'm hoping to finally retire from the psx place come next week. I bought a super slim that will be totally legit. I haven't made my new psn name yet. I also cancelled my exercise routine with my trainer today. I'm getting a bit discouraged, because I haven't lost even 1lb. I've actually gained 5lbs. anyway, I plan to make a lot of changes very soon. I've been reading a lot, on my fourth book. it's star trek novels, which I'm a fan of. the point being that I need to move on from this hacking and exploiting stuff. it's in my past for the most part, and I want it to stay that way.

 

[dazzaXx]

I'm wondering what I should do with this PS3. I know most people will recommend a repaste and cleaning of the internals. I know the warranty is expired but it still erks me to take off that sticker for the first time.

This is a similar predicament i'm facing, the testkit i recently acquired has never been opened with it's warranty sticker intact and i would like to not remove it, but the coin battery inside has died and can no longer hold the date and time if unplugged from the wall. And probably the thermal paste would also need a change.

I would like to know what you think about modding one of the rarer PS3 models. Also, if there are any other recommendations or mods you would recomend. Thanks!

Personally like i've done with my testkit, since i don't want to open it for as long as possible, for the sake of keeping the internals from overheating and causing damage to them, i modded the system and put joonie's PASTA firmware on it, basically DEX firmware that it runs but with a few useful patches and the cobra payload put into it, and Webman MOD to manage the fans and temps. Luckily since these are systems used for debugging games, the system by default is already QA flagged from factory and i could easily install the custom firmware with ease. I would suggest to also do this, since those models like this, are rare and expensive nowadays. Also since webman MOD is rather useful for managing temps and setting it so that it doesn't go over a certain temperature, keeping the internals cool, depending on the max temp you set, depends on how fast and loud the fans will get.

 

[Yo_Yo]

This is a similar predicament i'm facing, the testkit i recently acquired has never been opened with it's warranty sticker intact and i would like to not remove it, but the coin battery inside has died and can no longer hold the date and time if unplugged from the wall. And probably the thermal paste would also need a change.

I guess it is a tough call. On one hand I feel like preserving the system and value that it holds. While on the other hand I feel like if I do nothing it will die and lose its value. I have heard it will eventually die if left stock and will likely need a tokin replacement when it does. Also, I don't think I will want to sell it anytime in the future, so is value even worth considering vs longevity? I'm not sure on that lol. My thought was to get a new case and it can all be reversed if necessary except for the original sticker I guess. I don't think it will last forever without being opened either way. Like you said the battery eventually dies, thermal paste goes bad, and even worse the tokins give out. I guess it really depends on the person though how they value things and their preference for preservation.

Right now I am running rebug light with webman mod so my fan speed is controlled, and usually doesn't ramp up for too long. I'm not sure if the other firmware would be better though since I've never tried it.

 

[dazzaXx]

Also, I don't think I will want to sell it anytime in the future, so is value even worth considering vs longevity?

Same, i bought my kit with the intention of keeping it and dumping the contents of the drive since it was a kit used by EA Games to help debug Need For Speed and multiple dev builds were left on it. But i also want to keep it as original as possible, it's really a battle of keeping it original vs. keeping it from getting damaged from use overtime.

Right now I am running rebug light with webman mod so my fan speed is controlled, and usually doesn't ramp up for too long. I'm not sure if the other firmware would be better though since I've never tried it.

Yeah that's fine, as long as it's capable of running webman MOD, it's good. Rebug are a robust CFW, altough lately they seem to not be making new versions anytime soon. My kit is stuck on 4.84 because that's the highest version of DEX firmware that got leaked, but version doesn't really matter, as long as it works.