I decided to try a do it yourself YLoD repair. I am going to follow this YLoD guide over the next couple of days to disassemble and clean my PS3. Today I ordered a heat gun and thermal compound kit. With any luck, I may have my PS3 up and running again sometime Saturday or Sunday.
On the lowest setting, the heat gun is probably twice as hot as I need, and I probably do not need all the extra cleaning gunk in the kit. I figure if this does not work, then I am out about $40, which for a do it yourself project does not seem like too big a loss.
More to come later. Wish me luck!
If I get the PS3 up and running, I will quickly backup my game save data files, and then consider next steps. I want (let’s be honest and call it need) a Blu-ray player, and the PS3 is about the best one out there from a feature price standpoint. The PS3 is also future proof, providing easy firmware upgrade options, not to mention the ability to play games.
On a side note, Amazon is out of PS3 units. With E3 on the way, I wonder if that pretty much confirms that a new SKU or two should be released soon. According to PLayStation Life Style, there is a new PS3 SKU on the way, and while I already have MLB 10: The Show, this is really my next option if I cannot get my original 60GB ‘fat’ (CECHA01) up and running. I can always eBay MLB 10 for a little cash (to make up for my YLoD project). It just sucks that the newer models lack so many of the features found in the original modules. Usually subsequent release of hardware get new and improved features not stripped down versions of their former glory. I understand all the cost cutting measures, but the stripped down features of the slim compared to the original systems is borderline ridiculous. Removing PS2 backwards compatibility is a sin on the part of Sony, but I guess that is the sort of thing that happens when you start hemorrhaging money in the middle of a piss poor economy.
