60gb ps3 question

Hello fellow CAGs, 

 I just purchased a mostly new 60gb PS3 on ebay and have a question. i had an old 40gb that went YLOD, and upgraded to a slim, which makes a horrible disc reading sound from day one, the sound drives me nuts. this video shows the sound it makes around the 2 minute mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa6mz7xAb2s 

So i decided to look for a fat model and went for the original, got a good deal on what i was told was a more or less new system, purchased for grandchildren that never came to play it, taken out an tested when bought, but sat in the box for years in a closet. the firmware on it is 3.15, my question is this, when i turned on the system for the first time, it made a "pop" or "zap" sound, and i saw a puff of smoke or dust come flying out the side/top of the system, and smelled burning, i left the system on, tested a game, turned it off and back on twice with no more sound or smoke, and really not much or any burning smell. the system felt really warm on the side and back, bordering on hot while just sitting in idle for 30 min. o do not remember how hot my 40gb ever got, because i never felt it.

 how worried should i be? can i trust this system for a while? i would really like to be able to play through my ps3 without that horrible sound the slim makes. 

the purchase came with a still sealed ps2 memory card, and the ps3/ps2 memory adapter, i am inclined to believe the seller about what she stated about the system being mostly new since she also has 100% positive feedback on over 2,000. 

Smoke and burning smell is never good.

blume3 said:

Smoke and burning smell is never good.

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Yeah, i know, but i think it might have been dust, as i started it up today after work and no smoke/dust no "pop" sound, and no burning smell. i think the initial startup might have been like when you start up the heating system for the first time each season... or at least i hope

ctrek3 said:

Yeah, i know, but i think it might have been dust, as i started it up today after work and no smoke/dust no "pop" sound, and no burning smell. i think the initial startup might have been like when you start up the heating system for the first time each season... or at least i hope

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As someone who knows what sparks and smells of burning circuitry tends to be, I can say that any sort of spark and burning is never good. There's the possibility that the model was re-soldered or re-flowed, put on the shelf for some time, and then your reviving it may have woken it up.

The YLOD tends to come because the chipset on the mobo comes away from the mobo itself due to lead-free solder cracking and breaking. There are those who do pure lead-based solder cause they don't care, but they tend to be third party individuals who reflow and re-solder. The official guys will stick to using the lead-free stuff.

BTW, a 3.15 OFW PS3? Much as I want to say you should put CFW on it and totally jailbreak that PS3, 40GB isn't a lot to work with.

The Laughing Mann said:

As someone who knows what sparks and smells of burning circuitry tends to be, I can say that any sort of spark and burning is never good. There's the possibility that the model was re-soldered or re-flowed, put on the shelf for some time, and then your reviving it may have woken it up.

The YLOD tends to come because the chipset on the mobo comes away from the mobo itself due to lead-free solder cracking and breaking. There are those who do pure lead-based solder cause they don't care, but they tend to be third party individuals who reflow and re-solder. The official guys will stick to using the lead-free stuff.

BTW, a 3.15 OFW PS3? Much as I want to say you should put CFW on it and totally jailbreak that PS3, 40GB isn't a lot to work with.

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my old ps3 was a 40gb, this one is the 60gb cecha01, it only made that sound yesterday the first time i powered it up and only saw the smoke or dust that time, hasn't done it yet, warranty sticker is still in place, and the last owner did not even clear her username off it or the one save they had from 3/16/2007. really hoping its just dust from sitting for so long. i dont want to have to pack it up for return

ctrek3 said:

my old ps3 was a 40gb, this one is the 60gb cecha01, it only made that sound yesterday the first time i powered it up and only saw the smoke or dust that time, hasn't done it yet, warranty sticker is still in place, and the last owner did not even clear her username off it or the one save they had from 3/16/2007. really hoping its just dust from sitting for so long. i dont want to have to pack it up for return

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It isn't really often that dust causes that to go up. But if the factory sticker is still in place, that does say nobody got into it. 60GB FAT unit, though...that's worth keeping if for the full backwards compatibility with PS1/2/3 games (discs and digital alike). You can also look into upgrading the HDD inside...get maybe a 320GB for dirt cheap, if not a 500GB one...fortunately, it won't void the warranty since all you gotta do is pop the small rectangular panel on the side off with a flathead (the sticker usually covers the utility screw further up for removing the top casing off). After that, can google PS3 Fat HDD upgrades...and if I were you, look into dusting it out heavily and keeping watch on the playtimes on it.

I had an 80GB Fat model from Summer 2008 to Winter 2013 die from a severe YLOD. It was better to go for a 120GB Slim. Ever since, I thought the Slim units were very well designed...the Super Slims are utter crap, though.

The Laughing Mann said:

It isn't really often that dust causes that to go up. But if the factory sticker is still in place, that does say nobody got into it. 60GB FAT unit, though...that's worth keeping if for the full backwards compatibility with PS1/2/3 games (discs and digital alike). You can also look into upgrading the HDD inside...get maybe a 320GB for dirt cheap, if not a 500GB one...fortunately, it won't void the warranty since all you gotta do is pop the small rectangular panel on the side off with a flathead (the sticker usually covers the utility screw further up for removing the top casing off). After that, can google PS3 Fat HDD upgrades...and if I were you, look into dusting it out heavily and keeping watch on the playtimes on it.

I had an 80GB Fat model from Summer 2008 to Winter 2013 die from a severe YLOD. It was better to go for a 120GB Slim. Ever since, I thought the Slim units were very well designed...the Super Slims are utter crap, though.

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Thanks laughing man. if my 320gb slim didn't make that awful disc reading noise i would have never even looked for an old fat model, i loved my 40gb model and was playing FF13-2 at the time it died, was able to finish the game before it died and was working on unlockables and trophies it died right before the super slims released, and i jumped on a slim cause i did not really like what i saw in them, but when i put that game in or FFX remaster and hear that damn noise constantly... i just cant play and that sucks cause i have a lot of PS3 games to finish that are exclusives. i did eventually try out a super slim and i can't really hear the disc drive noise on that one even though i know some of them make annoying disc read sounds too, but i think with the higher pitch i just can't hear it or don't notice it.

but yeah this 60gb seems fine, sounds a little more like the old 360's with the disc read then calmns down. wish you could install the entire game to the HDD like on the 360 would have just done that. thanks again