Is my ps3 overheating? Warm air comes out of the vent after 1/2 hour or so

[yoda313]

Hey there,

I have a ps3 fat 40gb that is about two years old now (my warranty is up this month I think - bought an extension plan at bestbuy when I bought it).

Just this week (though it has happened a time or two before) the fan that blows the air out of the system has kicked in on high after seemingly only a half hour or so of use (so far I've only been playing games lately not bluray or dvd movies).

I'm in southeastern Michigan and it has only just recently warmed up (upper 70's -farenheit - to low 80's for next week).

I have the ps3 in a shelf but I have the doors open while its in use. I have now started to move the unit so the intake vent is out in the open for full access to room air. The vent in the back now has full room for venting.

Is there a way to mitigate this overheating issue? It's only going to get worse later in the summer.

I'm wary of those aftermarket fan attachments. I had bought one for my xbox 360 but stopped using it after reading/hearing concerns about its effectiveness.

So what is the best way to limit this issue?

If my warranty is still good for the end of the month should I take it in and see if I can get a new one? Do they transfer everything on the harddrive? Or is that something I do? Do they swap harddrives with the exisiting unit?

Do they still make 40gb units or are they still available new? Would I be able to get a slim ps3 replacement????


EDIT - and by the way I have checked and it is quite noticeably warm air coming out the back vent - not quite hot but definetely toastier than I want it to be - and quite loud too - almost like a hair dryer.

[redwudz]

Is there also a hot plastic/metal/electrical smell from the exhaust fan? That's usually a bad sign.

Have you blow out the dust lately? It doesn't take much to compromise the cooling.

[budz]

IMHO take in to BB and get a replacement. I don't own a PS3 but I do have friends/relatives that have it. I've never recalled any of them saying they have heat issues and we're in Hawaii where the temps have reached about 87 in the last few days. Since you got the extended warranty make use of it.
Just my 2 cents!

[yoda313]

IMHO take in to BB and get a replacement.

Unfortunately I checked last night and the warranty was up on 5-12-10! DOH!

That only leaves me with paying a 100.00 or whatever and sending it in to sony. I had done that with my first xbox 360 for a rrod. I later bought another used model after it had reoccured.

Is there also a hot plastic/metal/electrical smell from the exhaust fan? That's usually a bad sign

I am not sure. Then again with my sinus problems my nose isn't that sensitive unfortunately.

Have you blow out the dust lately?

Where would I do that? The ps3 is pretty well sealed. Even in the older fat model that I have there aren't gaping holes. Do you mean in the air intake port? That has a fine mesh over it so I don't know if that could be a factor.



Would an external fan be a good idea? Not one "designed" for a game console but simply a free standing fan?

I'd want one that was really quite while I was watching movies. For games it wouldn't matter as much but for dialogue in a movie it would be irritating having a loud fan going all the time.

Edit - I moved it to another shelf. However even though it is fully open and no blockage it still warmed up.

It was warm even playing bluray not just a ps3 game.

I took to using a household desk fan (maybe 7" range? Anyway its a tall one with three speed settings and a ac plug).

I pointed it at the intake vent and the ps3 was sideways so the back output vents were able to get some of the air - so it would take it away.

This is not very practical but it is a short term solution.

Hopefully using it in the evenings during this warmer time will not elicit the same warming and fan noise.

Alternatives are appreciated.

It still was warm in the rear but did not seem to be as warm.

[redwudz]

I have no idea how to take one of those units apart. You might check some PS3 sites. If it's out of warranty, and you are careful, not really anything to lose. Most all homes have some residual dust. If you have dust in or on other components, then it's likely the PS3 has some also. You mention a fine mesh screen over the intake. Does that have a dust build up on it? If not, then maybe not a dust problem. You could try a vacuum on the intake screen.

You might be able to use a 120mm fan on either the intake or the exhaust if you have a small 12VDC power supply handy. The desk fan would probably help, but if you have dust throughout the inside of the unit, it really needs the cover taken off to clean that all out. Most times if a unit like that is up off the floor a bit, it gets a lot less dust. But a lot would depend on your home and how much dust you have in it.

If you do decide to blow out the dust, do it outdoors and wear a particle mask. You don't want to breathe that stuff.

Here's one disassembly guide, don't know if it applies to your unit, but it may give you an idea what's involved and what's inside: http://www.llamma.com/PS3/repair/PS3_disassembly_tutorial.htm I found it with a internet search for ' disassemble a PS3 '

[yoda313]

You might be able to use a 120mm fan on either the intake or the exhaust if you have a small 12VDC power supply handy.

What type is that exactly? I have plenty of those power brick ones that are universal adapters that plug into the wall (you know the ones like the old nes and snes used to use).

I really don't want to take apart my ps3. Only if I could find a way to 100% backup everything on the harddrive. Even then I'd be iffy about it. I have taken apart an old gen 1 xbox (original) but that was a throw away piece that i eventually did throw out.

[redwudz]

Just about any power brick that puts out 12VDC @ about .5A (500MA) or more would work. From that PS3 site, it appears the PS3 has a large fan, apparently on the bottom of the unit. I'd probably check more for dust before I would consider taking it apart.

[bbanderic]

The older 40gb PS3's are known to blow warm air out of the rear vent, this is normal. I have one myself and it does the same thing, although mine is pretty much silent. You just have to be sure you have proper rear ventilation and you should be ok. If it's sitting on a shelf in an enclosed entertainment unit, I would simply cut part of the back panel out behind the PS3 for ventilation. If your warranty is up I would just ride it out and see what happens, chances are it'll be fine. I've heard that the PS3 slims run much cooler, I would recommend buying one of those if yours craps out rather than paying $100 or more for Sony to fix it. Sounds like you're a gamer, plus the PS3 is still one of the best Blu-ray players out there.

[yoda313]

@bbanderic - thanks for the info.

've heard that the PS3 slims run much cooler, I would recommend buying one of those if yours craps out rather than paying $100 or more for Sony to fix it.

How easy is it to transfer video, saved games, and the like from the ps3 to another unit? I know you can redownload anything from the ps store to your account but what about save files?

Can saved games be simply transfered to a usb memory card?

[bbanderic]

@bbanderic - thanks for the info.

've heard that the PS3 slims run much cooler, I would recommend buying one of those if yours craps out rather than paying $100 or more for Sony to fix it.

How easy is it to transfer video, saved games, and the like from the ps3 to another unit? I know you can redownload anything from the ps store to your account but what about save files?

Can saved games be simply transfered to a usb memory card?

I'm not sure, I'm not a big gamer and haven't had a reason to transfer files like that, my PS3 is mostly used for Blu-ray, DVD and Netflix streaming. There has to be an easy/painless way to transfer files from one unit to another as I wouldn't think it's an uncommon practice, I don't see you having a problem doing that.

[95teetee]

@bbanderic - thanks for the info.

've heard that the PS3 slims run much cooler, I would recommend buying one of those if yours craps out rather than paying $100 or more for Sony to fix it.

How easy is it to transfer video, saved games, and the like from the ps3 to another unit? I know you can redownload anything from the ps store to your account but what about save files?

Can saved games be simply transfered to a usb memory card?

yes, you can copy gamesaves to an external hdd or USB stick- just pick 'copy' and choose the destination. You can also back up the entire system onto an external drive through the system's backup option...

edit- then I'm pretty sure you can restore the saved info to aanother unit...

[yoda313]

yes, you can copy gamesaves to an external hdd or USB stick- just pick 'copy' and choose the destination. You can also back up the entire system onto an external drive through the system's backup option...

edit- then I'm pretty sure you can restore the saved info to aanother unit...

Thanks for the info!

Also does that include the downloads for psp games? I still have the original downloads for the psp games I have bought (but I do have a psp 1000 not a go). I'd like to back those up and free the space. I do have them installed on some memory cards but I'd like to have the downloaded masters just in case.

[95teetee]

sorry- the psp stuff I'm not sure about. But what I did with my 40 gig PS3 was buy a larger hard drive and install it so I didn't have to worry about running out of space