PS3 cooling.

[Wip3ou7]

but the fans are really loud, and never stop, even if the PS3 is cooled down with inactivity...

Sounds like you need to vacuum out your PS3, mine is silent most of the time and even when the fans are on I never notice it.

[Spece2goin]

it was due to this summer temperature in my room
and i wonder if using the PS3 standing verticaly changes something

anyway, the control scheme of the fans is wrong.
they start to run full speed at a certain temperature, but even if the PS3 cools down to a stable temps where the fans weren't running, they don't stop.
it's obviously an hysteresis, but the lower temperature limit to stop the fans is never reached...

and guess you never had your fans on, or you need to clean your ears, because the PS3 is also known to be very noisy in that case.

there are many games that don't load too much the CPU/GPU/SPU whatever, but there are also games where the fans are unavoidable (SoulCaliburIV, GTA IV)

WOHD was not a part of them until i use the PS3 in my room, verticaly, and the summer takes place...

[AG-wolf]

It depends on what model you have; mine is one with full PS2 backward compatibility, and it burns with the heat of a thousand suns, or 10 first to third model xbox360s, your pick (seriously, my ps3 runs hotter than my 360) A friend of mine has one with the partial PS2 compatibility and her's runs just as hot, but multiple other people I know who don't have a ps2 compatible model, theirs runs nice and cool.

If yours is a PS2 compatible model, standing it vertical is probably better... most of the heat tends to come from the right half of the machine, so standing it upright will allow it to escape just a bit easier. Consider using compressed air to blow out all the dust through the vents (front to back is usually the best exist route), because the more dust that builds up on the heat sink fins, the harder it is to dissipate that heat. I don't know how well canned ait will work, I used high-pressure condensed air from my job... it's piped all around the factory, and it's so powerful it will actually break your skin if you spray it on yourself

As far as the noise, the fans never slow down because the machine stays at or above the trigger temperature once they engage. The machine only cools down after it's shut off... and that's dangerous too because the fins are still hot, and then all the heat is left stationary inside the console. Your fan noise could also be a sign that your machine badly needs to be dedusted, because I've never once heard my machine's fans despite feeling some heavy heat out of the back... but I also only play Wipeout HD, and I haven't been playing it at all in ambient room temperature above 75 degrees...

Consider an intercooler; they only got a bad rep because the first model for xbox was poorly designed and actually drew its power from the OPERATING power lines of the 360 instead of having its own power source. I have two different models, one that clips onto the right half of the machine and triggers when it senses too much heat, and another that hugs the back AND right side, and plugs in-line the 120v power plug (thus not actually affecting the machine itself). Both designs can get a little noisy, but I'd rather have some noise than a molten pile of metal and plastic.

[Lance]

Hmm.. my room temp is ambient non-airconditioned, often 85 to 90+ degrees Fahrenheit. Those machines would die an early death in my house if they run that hot in 75° F. I've been thinking of adding a PS3 to my collection next year. Perhaps I should stop thinking that. Or use one only in winter.

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Anyway, about those themes and avatars, I would not pay for them. But I'm a cheap bastard, and tend to be focussed on primary functionality.

[Darkdrium777]

Hmm.. my room temp is ambient non-airconditioned, often 85 to 90+ degrees Fahrenheit. Those machines would die an early death in my house if they run that hot in 75° F. I've been thinking of adding a PS3 to my collection next year. Perhaps I should stop thinking that. Or use one only in winter.

PS3 80-40-120-250 GB models have reduced power consumption and heat production. Especially the newer 120 and soon to come out 250GB models (The "slims.") Perhaps you've already stopped thinking?

FYI: My 60GB is an older model, with the biggest heat production and power consumption, I've used it this summer when it was well over 23 C (30 C says hello), it hasn't died. It got quite loud (My computer, which is a quad core CPU and nVidia 8800 GTS GPU, too at the same temperature), but that was expected. It hasn't died.

They made a PS3 run in a sauna for a hundred hours and it didn't die.
GPUs are built to withstand internal temperatures of 100C, though it's not recommended to run them at that temperature for long. Under the most stressful conditions of playing UT3, Audiosurf and whatnot at 30C, my nVidia 8800 GTS in my PC got as high as 80C internal temp, not higher. Considering the PS3 is very well built, it's a safe assumption to say that the GPU inside the PS3 doesn't get much hotter, considering it's also based on the previous generation of processors (nVidia 7xxx.)

It's especially stupid to keep saying "Oh I won't get a PS3 because apparently it runs pretty hot and might die" when you bought the very specific console known worldwide for systematic hardware failures due to overheating. Especially when the newer models just announced will have even less troubles than the already existing 40 and 80GB models (Those without PS2 BC) which have no troubles themselves already.

[IH8YOU]

I've probably said this a thousand times by now - but if your PS3 is getting hot - or running excessively loud - blow some compressed air through ALL the ports - while the system is running. Simply vacuuming the ports won't agitate the particulate buildup inside the unit enough. On top of that, vacuums are incredible static generators - and can be risky to use around electronics.

If you have pets that contain fur / hair, a central air system, smokers or just a very dusty environment - you'll definitely have to blow this thing out from time to time.

The PS3 breathes well (this is a good thing) - and as a consequence, it inhales a lot of junk over time. Dust is a great insulator of heat - so the PS3 has to work is @$$ off to keep cool.

Don't confine the thing to a sealed box (death-trap entertainment centers, ect...) - and you should be fine.

[Lance]

It's especially stupid to keep saying "Oh I won't get a PS3 because apparently it runs pretty hot and might die" when you bought the very specific console known worldwide for systematic hardware failures due to overheating.

I did no such thing; I did not buy one of the original models, the ones notorious for, according to your earlier statement, 30 percent failure rates, but instead I bought the very latest model, one made about 2 months before I got it, a model which runs barely warm in 90 degree F ambient temperatures. I am not being fanboyish in having concerns about the behaviour of the models being discussed by Eric, particularly since my consoles must run in more severe conditions than his, and I might therefore hesitate, awaiting further info and hardware news, rather than dash out and buy a reasonably priced used model, which may be truly known by someone's personal experience for running hot in environments more forgiving than the one I live in.



And bless you, sir, for calling my actions, and by extension, me, especially stupid.