PS3 hardware failure

[-tkf-]

Wasnt the biggest issue with the Fat the Thermal Paste that had a tendency to dry out? Besides the same issues as other consumer electronics with the soldering.

It´s a bit sad that this generation more or less introduced a life expectancy that might end up being shorter than the "generation". A price we pay for consoles that get used more and gets hot and hopefully the next gen will be designed with these things in mind.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

That sounds like you have pretty dirty power in your house.

Don't think so. My electronic is on a surge-protected powerpoint too. I think it was a PSU failure or something. I mean, component failure shouldn't blow the fuse.

They still seem to be well within 5% failure rate, however a lot of that <5% seem to post online. I've known one person with 11 of the same model console failures. They just weren't PS3s. I've had a launch PS3 fail on me after several years (4?).

I think one problem is these companies replacing consoles with refurbs, and any endemic fault just gets propagated. Once you lose one console, the official replacements are more likely to die as well, by my guess.

We can have another B3D poll to determine how much of the internet noise is excessively reported!

Edit: I'll add that the idea of having yuor media content on your consoles is proven a completely stupid idea. The console instantly died, with no prior warnings, and now that HDD content is lost to me. If I had a 500GB HDD in their with me media library, it'd be lost to me, as there's no means to just swap HDDs. Of course I didn't, but that's a stupid risk that PS4 will have to solve if Sony want people using it as a PSNetwork device. Perhaps the HDD needs to be partitioned into Os and data, and the data isn't encrypted and can be read by any PS4, and the OS can be overwritten when the HDD is moved over toa new box? Or better yet, make boxes that don't break!

 

[BoardBonobo]

My original launch day fat was cruelly murdered by myself. I had it folding practically 24/7 for two years and then one day it just fell over with YLOD. Sent it in and got a launch day 60GB refurb in return. That's still going strong.

I bought a Slim, primarily because I was living off the grid and so needed a lower power consumption model, and that gets heavy usage on a daily basis, Blurays, DVDs, Lovefilm, iPlayer, games, games, and more games. So far not one hitch.

Still have the same Wii, but it only ever gets dragged for the odd Sean Whites or Mariokart session.

The 360's I've owned have all either just died or chewed up discs. Sometimes both. And they only get used to play a Halo or Gears of War game when they come out. Nothing else.

 

[Phil]

We have 8 fats at work I think, of which two died including mine. But they do seem to die in order of how much they are being used.

Out of interest, how often were these fats (that died) cleaned, especially the vents with a good powerful vacumcleaner? I'm not one to judge and I know I've been pretty lazy myself where this is concerned, but high-tec and lots of heat in such a confined space is guaranteed to fail at some point.

Most people on public forums who spent a lot of cash on some of these units would never admit to abusive behaviour - although the word abusive is very subjective and relative. With the original fat, I'd call abusive behaviour running foldingHome for 10 minutes or regular ussage without cleaning the air-vents and/or simply using the console in a pretty confined space....

Not to trying to defend Sony here. But IMO failure does really depend on the usage and yes, even with the right usage, you could still be unlucky to experience a YLOD...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Does the PS3 manual say you should vaccuum the vents?

 

[Phil]

Does the PS3 manual say you should vaccuum the vents?

As I said, the point wasn't to defend Sony or justify PS3s malfunctioning. The point was rather that common-sense varies from person to person and that some products are more prone to be dependant on how you treat them. Some people use their PS3 in a more or less dust-free environment while others have it sitting on dusty carpets and enclosed environments while folding 24/7.

Dust is the electronics killer. People brought up with PCs usually have some sort of common-sense to vaccuum their PC every now and then even though they are much less sensitive than a console packing just about as much performance in a casing ~1/20th of the size. How you treat the console may result in a console living between a week and x years. A PS3slim is a lot less sensitive than an original PS3 for obvious reasons.

Vaccuuming dusty vents (especially when the console only has a few in the first place) is pretty much common-sense to me, but it's probably not for 95% of the population...

PS: I replaced my fat because I knew it would fail eventually. I also never bothered to clean the vents for about 2 years of regular ussage and when I did, I was surprised how much came out of the thing. It also ran a lot cooler and a lot quieter - something I didn't notice because it was a constant development of it getting louder over the years. I can only imagine what abuse it is to a console running that hot without any fresh air getting to it because of blocked vents and people wonder why these things break or why there are slowdowns where most other people experience none...

Also Shifty, while I don't have the PS3 manual in front of me, I'd be pretty damn surprised if there isn't a paragraph that states somewhere that one should make sure the vents are not blocked. While this doesn't explicitly say that one should vaccuum, clean, wash, bath (or whatever one might do to clean a PS3), I think this would probably hint towards the necessity of keeping your PS3 relatively dust-free...

 

[Phil]

Not sure why I'm doing this, because quite frankly I think it's pretty obvious (and wasn't the point I was trying to make).... but, yes, there is a clear indication in the manual that dust can malfunction the system:

http://www.playstation.com/manual/pdf/CECH-2001A_2001B-2.85_2.pdf

Under the Usage and Handling chapter it states the following:

• Do not expose the system or accessories to dust smoke or steam. Also, do not place the system in an area subject to excessive dust or cigarette smoke. Dust build-up or cigarette smoke residue on the internal components (such as the lens) may cause the system to malfunction.
• Do not expose the system or accessories to high temperatures, high humidity or direct sunlight.

There's even a specialized heading just for the vents:

Do not block any vents. To maintain good ventilation, follow the guidelines below:

• Place the system at least 10cm (4 in) away from a wall surface
• Do not place on a carpet or rug with long fibers
• Do not place in a narrow or cramped space.
• Do not cover with cloth.
• Do not allow dust to build up on the vents.

There's more under the chapter "cleaning" too...

When dust accumulates in the system vents, remove the dust with a low-powered vacuum cleaner.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Okay, they do mention the vaccuum. The 'keeping vents clear' etc. is something I do, and I can see zero dust whatsoever in my PS3, but I haven't ever vaccuumed it. As dust is not visible though, I don't think it's undue care on my part for my system failures!

 

[-tkf-]

Out of interest, how often were these fats (that died) cleaned, especially the vents with a good powerful vacumcleaner? I'm not one to judge and I know I've been pretty lazy myself where this is concerned, but high-tec and lots of heat in such a confined space is guaranteed to fail at some point.

Most people on public forums who spent a lot of cash on some of these units would never admit to abusive behaviour - although the word abusive is very subjective and relative. With the original fat, I'd call abusive behaviour running foldingHome for 10 minutes or regular ussage without cleaning the air-vents and/or simply using the console in a pretty confined space....

Not to trying to defend Sony here. But IMO failure does really depend on the usage and yes, even with the right usage, you could still be unlucky to experience a YLOD...

I suck it clean on a regular basis, and blow the vents as well, i need to since i got a dusty room. And it tends to get hot in there as well.

 

[upnorthsox]

I suck it clean on a regular basis, and blow the vents as well, i need to since i got a dusty room. And it tends to get hot in there as well.

If I could just get the wife to do that on a regular basis.................

Sorry, had to go there.

 

[szymku]

Out of 10 PS3 owned by my friends and family there were 2 failures. Out of 1 X360 owned by my friends and family there were 3 consecutive RROD's after which owner switched to PS3.
So, what we are talking about, again?

 

[patsu]

My original launch day fat was cruelly murdered by myself. I had it folding practically 24/7 for two years and then one day it just fell over with YLOD. Sent it in and got a launch day 60GB refurb in return. That's still going strong.

I bought a Slim, primarily because I was living off the grid and so needed a lower power consumption model, and that gets heavy usage on a daily basis, Blurays, DVDs, Lovefilm, iPlayer, games, games, and more games. So far not one hitch.

I remember you SurfMonkey. Was going after your folding score and then gave up.

Left my launch PS3 folding 24/7 or playing RFOM. Switched to a new 60Gb with BestBuy's extended warranty when they EOL'ed the 20Gb model.

Still on my Fats but I see a lot of dust when I upgraded the HDD last week.

 

[TheChefO]

I think much of the console failure rate is being overblown.

With time, most every disk based console breaks (aside from snes nes era consoles).

My original ps1 broke down in stages. After a few years it had to be played on its side, and then flipped upside down, and then it was toast after 4 years. Medium usage I suppose. ~10 hr per week

My Wife's ps2 broke down after 3 years of VERY lite use. (~1hr per week)
Had to replace with a slim in late 2005 (killed me that I was spending $130 for a machine that barely got any use out of it and was soon to be irrelevant!)

I think after a few years, it's about all your going to get with modern disk based consoles.

 

[patsu]

The PS3 probably sees the most abuse thanks to Folding @ Home. I remember Kutaragi boasted that they stress tested the Cell chip for heavy duty deployment (e.g., server jobs). I believe Warhawk servers are PS3s right ? In the early days, some site even let the box run in a sauna.

EDIT:
http://www.ps3vault.com/how-to-kill-a-ps3-console-1975

 

[mrcorbo]

Out of 10 PS3 owned by my friends and family there were 2 failures. Out of 1 X360 owned by my friends and family there were 3 consecutive RROD's after which owner switched to PS3.
So, what we are talking about, again?

We were talking about PS3s failing, which they do, anecdotal evidence notwithstanding.

 

[function]

I think much of the console failure rate is being overblown.

With time, most every disk based console breaks (aside from snes nes era consoles).

My original ps1 broke down in stages. After a few years it had to be played on its side, and then flipped upside down, and then it was toast after 4 years. Medium usage I suppose. ~10 hr per week

My Wife's ps2 broke down after 3 years of VERY lite use. (~1hr per week)
Had to replace with a slim in late 2005 (killed me that I was spending $130 for a machine that barely got any use out of it and was soon to be irrelevant!)

I think after a few years, it's about all your going to get with modern disk based consoles.

My Mega CD is very nearly 20 years old and it still works fine, and both my Saturns work perfectly. CD based systems have been pretty robust for me. Not quite as good as cart based systems (had to clean PSU contacts on a Dreamcast to stop the random reset issue - solder would be a more permanent fix) but even then I had take the top off my NES and clean the cart contact (ear buds and a solvent) to fix that.

Bust capacitors and smegged up contacts are probably going to be your biggest problem, along with malfunctioning drives and compatibility issues with newer tvs.

 

[patsu]

The portable consoles (DS, Gameboy, PSP) should be the most robust me think.

The newer breeds like iPhone, Android, Vita may be different though. Let's see.

 

[-tkf-]

If I could just get the wife to do that on a regular basis.................

Sorry, had to go there.

A hot girl that blows and sucks... yes i got that one, but never in my HT room, that is my playground and i have to clean it as well, to my standards.. which means, CE gear gets first class treatment, the rest.. nah...

But seriously, anything that sucks in air and then cools something has to be kept clean or the cooling effect WILL be reduced.

 

[Phil]

Okay, they do mention the vaccuum. The 'keeping vents clear' etc. is something I do, and I can see zero dust whatsoever in my PS3, but I haven't ever vaccuumed it. As dust is not visible though, I don't think it's undue care on my part for my system failures!

I'm not preaching (and I'm no reference by any means), but after helping a friend disassemble his old PS3 (after experience YLOD), we were both surprised at the complexity of how densely the thing is put together. Even if you clean your PS3 from the outside regularly, it still pulls in a lot of dust into the system. That dust not only disturbs the airflow into the system, but it also adds to the heat buildup directly. I think you will find that even a clean PS3 (from the outside) could have significant dust inside the system which is hard to remove, even with a vacuum cleaner.

Considering the complexity, to have original PS3s survive a couple of years of gaming (mine lived for 3 years and is now happily enjoying life in retirement pension) without regular cleaning and quite a bit of regular gaming (but no folding) IMO is extraordinary. Before switching to a slim, I did notice however that most complex games like KZ2 at the time (and soon after just about any other older game too) had the PS3s fan working on its highest setting on overtime - not very pleasant. I never disassembled mine, but judging by these signs, I can only imagine...

Vacuuming it for the first time yielded a much quieter PS3 gaming for a while, but it never quite went back to its former quiet and cool running state.

The point? Failure rates are probably directly proportional to the amount of dust inside the system, amount of usage and processor load. Most people probably get through surviving the standard warranty period (2 years here in Europe I think) with average usage and not cleaning the system (like I did). Others with perhaps a little more dust or a bit more usage perhaps don't. It's not hard to figure out that with the right combination (enclosed environment, excessive dust and folding 24/7) you could probably kill a PS3 within days.

Of course, you could still be unlucky even if you ran the PS3 with a vacuumcleaner hooked up to it. Doesn't mean that dust isn't still the predominant factor for failures.

 

[RudeCurve]

PS4 should have built in air filters.