I bought 3 PS3s for $50... how bad could it be?

[@rogercheetoofficial]

i swear, Matt's one of perhaps 4 people i've seen who can make frustrating technical and hardware issues feel like an entertaining journey

[@Beaut_Beau]

I bet the other 20 hours he spent on this but didn't film is him swearing in frustration lol

[@Cipher2k4wastaken]

ikrr

[@lucyinchat]

At least one of those three others is the guy who covered the history of the PS3s.

[@OnnieKoski]

So true! I love these videos.

[@stephanieiwaniuk6088]

Michael MJD is another one. Highly recommend his channel!

[@melody_florum]

20:14 I’d like to imagine someone in the far future buying this system as a broken system and trying to restore it only to discover cursed capacitors and eraser in the cpu

[@theocgaming9433]

"Was it like this from the factory?!?"

[@afizsouji]

"people in the old days are wild. they use erasers as thermal pads"

[@JeskidoYT]

@@afizsouji these days we use two droplets of thermal uranium

[@randallbro6749]

I'd call them an idiot because it's still stupid to this day.

[@whynotanyting]

This is what I imagine for every single repair.

[@soviut303]

I've heard of debugging, but this is ridiculous.

[@morgengabe1]

The first computer bug recorded was a moth in a supercomputer

[@cyphaborg6598]

@@morgengabe1 true lol

[@ryan20028]

The PS3-PS5 have had some rather bad issues with cockroaches.

[@koboarchives969]

a shot-vac against this thing is obviously needed.

[@BrowncoatInABox]

just like the how it got its name lol

[@dracomalfoyvevo]

Huge respect for disassembling it all without gloves. I would've disgust myself every moment 💀

[@soundspark]

I'm sure he washed his hands really well after.

[@creativecraving]

I wanted to wear gloves just watching it!

[@eebydeebyz]

@@creativecravingme eating rn:

[@eebydeebyz]

@@creativecravingI bit off more than I could chew and couldn’t eat anymore 😭😭😭

[@Ultima_Atulos_Maxim]

I've watched a lot of board and console repair videos, but never in my life have I seen someone solder capacitors to a *bent paperclip* and then solder that to the pads. It's amazing that that worked. You're a madman. Big fan!

[@Theunicorn2012]

l've watched a lot of board and console repair videos, but never in my life have l seen someone solder capacitors to a bent paperclip and then solder that to the pads. It's amazing that that worked. You're a madman. Big fan!

[@MeatbagTTV]

I've watched a lot of board and console repair videos, but never in my life have I seen someone solder capacitors to a bent paperclip and then solder that to the pads. It's amazing that that worked. *You're a madman.* Big fan!

[@KSupes]

I've watched a lot of board and console repair videos, but never in my life have I seen someone solder capacitors to a bent paperclip and then solder that to the pads. It's amazing that that worked. You're a madman. Big fan!

[@skinnyjeans404]

I've watched a lot of board and console repair videos, but never in my life have I seen someone solder capacitors to a bent paperclip and then solder that to the pads. It's amazing that that worked. You're a madman. Big fan!

[@Yohrog]

I repaired PS4s for cash a few years back and all I can say is that the dead bugs choking out the power supply were one of the main causes for the consoles overheating or short circuiting. Turns out that the warm power supplies make for highly desired bug nests...

[@lucyinchat]

It's not just an overheating issue, the gpu literally delaminates from the substrate.

[@fryingpan37]

@@lucyinchat what

[@battokizu]

@thicc doggo tsmc made garbage chips and a whole bunch of chips that affected any company that used them (apple ati nvidia primarily). So anyhow all phat ps3's are going to die.

[@informitas0117]

I read "swarm power supplies" and that was still correct.

[@Palmtop_User]

Literally one of the reasons we call problems with computers bugs is because going back to when vacuum tubes were used rather than transistors literal bugs would sometimes cause issues. Its a tale as old as computers

[@FMudanyali]

Hey there Matt, owner of the picture at 20:32 here! After more than 2 years after doing it, my PS3 still works just fine with cool temperatures and there has been no issues, so this procedure is really safe. One interesting thing is some PS3 models actually come with a plastic lid in the CPU hole, so this means even Sony thought it was a decent workaround haha. It feels kind of surreal to see one of my pictures pop up in your video after 2 years. Glad it worked out for you, and please wear gloves the next time! For anyone curious, you can find my guide as well as the original thread on google if you search for "PS3 eraser mod".

[@thatwindowsxpfan1234]

69 likes nice

[@matthewmatteomatheus6483]

Hello good sir. Thanks to your post, I did the same thing to my PS3 a couple of months ago and it works perfectly. Thank you.

[@SMBBM92]

Legend

[@gorfelbt]

Madman indeed

[@john_john_john]

I really wasn't planning on opening up my PS3, but this piqued my interest.

[@fahisaurus]

You were a brave man to tackle that PS3 without gloves.

[@arjdroid]

Plus, they're probably stolen

[@darkchevalier]

@@arjdroid without probably lol

[@fahisaurus]

@@arjdroid Likely not. My local classifieds site has many as-is fat PS3 models in the $10-30 range. Even a working fat console with two controllers and games lists for ~$100. It's not exactly a high value item worth stealing. Two had actual defects, and that good working one may have a software problem the owner was unaware of and assumed to be hardware.

[@parsipax6337]

it does not happen in humid areas of the world. I live in a humid area and never seen a repair guy wearing antistatic braces, gloves or anything, it just never happens.

[@fahisaurus]

@@parsipax6337 it’s less about antistatic, more about handling a PS3 with a bunch of dead cockroaches inside.

[@Kiyuja]

I had a lot of bugs on my machine over the last years of developing but getting such a first hand experience with fixing bug issues is kinda eye opening. I'm hella envious

[@gamesbyomar]

One thing I've learned taking these apart is that Sony had many different variations of the PS3. The outside may look the same, but insides could be totally different and not interchangeable.

[@robonator2945]

"we may look the same on the outside, but model B's are totally inferior consoles, and we need a final solution to deal with them" - Playdolf

[@Bockanator]

I was verbally screaming "PUT GLOVES ON!" as you where cleaning it

[@smallbutdeadly931]

A pack of disposable medical-grade nitrile gloves is always useful for these sorts of things

[@flamingscar5263]

same

[@s8wc3]

And do it outside...

[@andersenpeters]

Just came here to say the same thing, do you want us to send you gloves?!

[@jek__]

Eh, the skin is fine. It's not like it's biologically dangerous, just gross. Those thin medical gloves have a tendency to tear easily when even slightly brushing up against the kind of sharp hard metal angles you find inside computers

[@vintageshed965]

You sure are lucky, that changing the TOKINs did the trick. Since most of the times, they are not the cause of RROD, but the cracked BGA inside the RSX, caused by Nvidia's faulty design. It's basically the worst possible combination of running too hot, unsuitable underfill, high amount of heat cycles and bad solder type chosen for the BGA. There's over an hour long video delving deep into the RROD causes, done by @RIPFelix

[@xmlthegreat]

Came here to literally type this comment lol, although I had forgotten the channel name

[@0abu0]

🤓

[@mintpalmer]

Yup, good rec. I am not super versed in the ins and outs of these kinda things, but that video is certainly worth checking out.

[@animoun.v2]

@@creepysmilingcarl9742 The bumpgate incident - to the melting power connector incident

[@battokizu]

cough tsmc the fab maker cough made crap chips for its customers cough ati apple nvidia cough

[@ImperfectChaos0]

A little note about using the Dualshock 4 on a PS3. You actually CAN use them wirelessly, all you need to do is scroll to settings on the XMB, Select Accessories -> Bluetooth Devices -> Start searching and hold both the share and PS buttons on the controller. Rumble and the PS button still won't function but other than that it's still perfectly usable for a good selection of the consoles library!

[@MrMarr]

This also works with the switch pro controller

[@beardalaxy]

Oddly enough, they don't seem to work with Goldeneye 007. Every other game works but that one and it's the only PS3 game I still want to play xD

[@tooprood]

@@beardalaxy Gran turismo doesnt work either :(

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

But how do you exit from the game?

[@global8198]

@@qwertykeyboard5901 for me i keep a ps3 controller around just to turn my system off and navigate menus

[@KITT.007]

The instant nostalgia I got from that ps3 intro screen, some good and chaotic memories are stored in there

[@CLEVERCATMAN]

Eraser mod can actually cause the cpu die to crack so I wouldn't recommend it

[@costelinha1867]

To be fair, that ps3 was already on the brink of death, and he had 2 other functioning ps3's to spare, so I think it's ok.

[@NSHG]

While I agree as well - that last PS3 he worked on was literally the definition of a zombie PS3. Roaches in and out, bad caps, overheating RSX, and corrosion enough that I'm surprised it would even turn on. I mean I've had my fair share of nasty units but that thing is just atrocious.

[@ghostything]

The PS3s with the Emotion Engine board (yes the PS2 compatibility was hardware emulation!) are easy to spot. They're the very earliest models, and they have four USB ports instead of two, and you can lift up the black bit to the left of the disc drive and there's a load of card readers under it, SD, CF etc. If I recall, the silver disc slot surround is chromed on those too.

[@Muhluri]

intresting. I always wondered why certain video game manuals showed that opening with all the card readers and yet my own PS3 didn't have those

[@Muscleduck]

yup, the chrome trim is the easiest way to know. They also had a 60 GB HDD, but that could have been replaced since.

[@giltyascharged]

@@Muscleduck yeap i still have mine. its the first model i believe. I got it like a month after the ps3 released

[@Matt92Machine]

Unless you got the 20 GB model that didn't have the card readers.

[@phoenixyt124]

@@Matt92Machine imagine having a 20GB PS3 lol

[@MDigitalProductions]

I'm glad that Matt actually shows us the passage of time, by not trimming his beard, it puts into perspective of the struggle of starting a project and getting to it when you can.

[@theskullemoji]

What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie? Sofishticated.🤣

[@MDigitalProductions]

@@theskullemoji just seeing this, and you made me laugh 😂

[@Theunicorn2012]

l'm glad that Matt actually shows us the passage of time, by not trimming his beard, it puts into perspective of the struggle of starting a project and getting to it when you can,

[@General12th]

l'm glad that Matt actually shows us the passage of time, by not trimming his beard, it puts into perspective of the struggle of starting a project and getting to it when you can,

[@Josh.Davidson]

By the way, the NEC/TOKINs don't fail that often. Always check SYSCON logs. Also - the wire you used to bridge the 2 sides is far too thin - it will heat up excessively and may burn. This has happened to people who have done the NEC/TOKIN replacement before and can be very dangerous. You need to use a much thicker wire. Usually what happens is people go heatgunning the board to remove the NEC/TOKINs which temporarily "revives" the GPU on the board. Most systems where people replace the NEC/TOKINs end up failing again later as they were never the cause of the issue originally.

[@viniciusvidotto7536]

Didn't you saw the error code 1002 point out a bad VDD for the RSX? That's not a BGA problem, if it was, it would appear as 3034, 4402 or 4411. The Nec/Tokins were the problem on that unit, reported by Syscon and confirmed by swapping them. Heat would temporarily fix something in the case of BGA related problems.

[@Josh.Davidson]

Completely aware of this and I agree completely. The reason I mentioned it was simply to refute in the video where it is stated about the NEC issues being "common".

[@ZephyrCubic]

@@viniciusvidotto7536 You can't necessarily say any of this in absolutes. The caps were *a* problem, and may have been killed by a different problem, which could be anything from an intermittent power supply failure to, at absolute worst, cracking of solder beads under the GPU (which turns out to be not that uncommon on these systems, unfortunately). Again, I agree that the capacitors had indeed apparently failed, but given the age of the machine, a failure at this point in time is possibly below the life expectancy of that part, very possibly indicating a related but separate fault that caused this failure, and at the very least, the possibility of more than one point of failure, even if intermittent, should not be ignored. Please excuse any bluntness in my tone, I simply want to avoid people being misinformed and permanently damaging their irreplaceable devices in a misguided attempt at repair.

[@jtchoi2003]

@Brooke M. I figured the caps died from the uh, bugs and gunk that Matt cleaned out. All that disgusting stuff made -it- them run too hot, and then they got KO'ed.

[@jtchoi2003]

Oh hey Octal! I didn't realize it was you at first 😅

[@FarmYardGaming]

Matt, I've been binge-watching your content, and your obsession with capacitors has been helpful context for my Physics revision, so thanks!

[@Thebigskullman]

Man, I watched a 2hr documentary on the PS3’s YLOD issues, and even though it all ended with “the capacitors are *a* fix but not *the* fix… the CPU ultimately needs to be reballed too” climax of the documentary, your quick fix procedure really made me reconsider my plan. The plan after the documentary was to keep my fat PS3 stored away for a bit until the community comes up with some mass-produceable, refined fix years down the line. But I’m really tempted to try the paperclip capacitor mod just so I have a working PS3 in the meantime. Tl;dr, phenomenal video and love your work!

[@Kevaca]

The RSX is *not* the cpu, it's the gpu That's what having the problem, but it's also not *just* thr balls, but the underfill too

[@dizzydaisy909]

did you end up doing this?

[@CyclonesWorld]

The two PS3's I have now are both from Goodwill, and of differing price ranges. My Slim was $50 and I took a chance with it. $40 from Amazon for a new Bluray drive and it works well. Sure as shit though, a year later, snagged another Phat backwards compatible PS3 from the same goodwill. Not a single thing wrong with it. The PS3 market is good now, the top tier games are dirt cheap, and honestly, they don't even look that bad either. I'm happy with my steals.

[@DootNootem]

This is one of the few channels I'm always hyped for when a new video is uploaded

[@stationflyer9512]

me too!

[@nonogamer9117]

Same

[@xiii9354]

I would really like to see an update on the fixed PS3 in the future at some point after some use. The TOKIN caps have gotten a bad rep but it has been proven that they are not the primary cause of graphics related YLOD as other commenters pointed out. However in almost all cases that had any sort of a GPU related error, replacing them causes the console to temporarily revive and start working. Either you got really lucky with the machine and it was one of the few that had bad caps, or it's only a matter of time until it dies again.

[@DeadlyHellhound]

You’re probably referring to specifically the Ps3 models that contained a 90nm RSX GPU which that would apply. However, later fat ps3 models contained 65nm RSX Gpus which did not have such and issue, and replacing capacitors would fix them(generally, still read syscon errors before doing anything to your system)

[@xiii9354]

@@DeadlyHellhound Well I don't think Matt specified what version the PS3s in the video were aside from not being backwards compatible with PS2, and I'm not sure if he meant that they are not the first models ever released with hardware level backwards compatibility, or if he meant they don't have the software level either. Keep in mind that what I do know about the issue I learned from RIP Felix and his extensive look into the subject, but if I remember correctly the 65nm ones can still have this issue, it's just less common. As for the capacitors, the amount of times they have been actually the cause of the YLOD was rather low, but changing them revived the console in question for a while in almost all cases because of the heat involved. As I said in the original comment it's possible that Matt just got very lucky and it was a matter of the caps giving in, but I think an update in the future would be a good idea no matter what.

[@DeadlyHellhound]

@@xiii9354 judging by the insides and the thick heatsinks included with this system, im going to guess that it is a P01 model (second to last fat ps3 revision). The first non-ps2 compatible ps3s were the G models, and those models had a vastly different chassis inside but also had 90nm GPUs so theyre often found with dead GPUs. H models came soon after and had a similar chassis as pretty much all the later fat models shared at that point, although H, J, and K models had separate wifi/BT boards from the motherboard but still had the same form factor. H models also were the last 90nm models so you’ll find those junked as well. The only concerning models with 65nm GPUs would be the the first PS3s that came immediately after the H models, which were the J and K models. Even so, I rarely encounter any J or K models with faulty GPUs (even my K model ps3 I had since it released in late 2008 still works perfectly fine with original caps and everything) Keep in mind, RIP-Felixs video is based off mostly theories with a good amount of evidence to back up those theories. He never puts everything off as a fact simply because he hasn’t gathered THAT much information to really set everything in stone just yet (theres still a lot of development and experimenting regarding PS3s, this info is still relatively newish). So while I would agree that J and K ps3s with 65nm GPUs could be a concern since those models released immediately after the H models with faulty 90nm GPUs, there still just isnt enough proof that 65nm GPUs should be of any real issue over 40nm GPUs. There just isnt enough logged information to back up these claims (more people rather go for the 40nm gpus clearly since they are technically better GPUs anyway. But thats not to say that 65nm GPUs arent also a viable option)

[@xiii9354]

@@DeadlyHellhound That's genuinely a very informative comment, thank you. I think I'm just rather cynical of the cap replacements, I got 2 fats for a similar price as Matt, both with YLOD. I went into it thinking that there is a fairly easy fix now (didn't remember it was the caps, only that I saw a video about it) but after doing some research and seeing that video from Felix it was like being punched in the gut. One of them might have some sort of HDD related issue judging by the fact that it doesn't flash the HDD LED while the other does, so not all hope is lost. Still, knowing that it's a design fault even if this issue can be fixed, the RSX will be a ticking time bomb. The two I got were a C and a G model, the C being the one with no HDD light.

[@draconic5129]

I mean we could say he got lucky but he did check the error code before doing the replacement error code suggested that it was the capacitors, the problem with replacing the capacitors is that most people don't check the error codes before replacing them and just assume that it'll work. It might still die later, although if it does we're probably not going to get a video from him because he's definitely not skilled enough at replacing the RSX.

[@Yama69420]

Fun fact:if you hold the ps button and the share button on a ps4 controller for 5 seconds it starts to blink and if you go the Bluetooth settings on the ps3 it will state the ps4 controller as a “wireless controller” and if you press it you can use the controller wirelessly.

[@VeLvEtGuNs]

I do this same shit, I buy useless outdated electronics and spend money on parts (usually more than the total value of said unit) and fix them. Nothing beats that satisfaction though.

[@MkfMtr]

15:48 I love that in a classic movie fashion, seemingly, working on the PS3 for a while made you grow a beard.

[@andrejpopovic52]

For cleaning the ps3s, you can hold the eject button and switch the power supply on and the fans will spin up really fast and clean out the air vents...

[@samiwilmot7413]

What about ps4?

[@JeskidoYT]

Now granted Sony advises to this outside for safety reasons

[@andrejpopovic52]

@@samiwilmot7413 Ps4 doesn't have this, far as I know.

[@DoomWarriorX]

@@andrejpopovic52 also newer modell of PS3 don't have this feature anymore. I think it is only available for fat PS3s

[@andrejpopovic52]

@@DoomWarriorX Yes. Since you have to flip the power switch.

[@dracopliskin]

currently suffering with covid at 4AM thank you for the upload matt 🙏

[@LegendaryNuggets]

Currently suffering without covid here at 3:20 am

[@gdcalamity]

Currently suffering without covid here at 9:22am

[@lizzieaoi7140]

Not COVID but kinda sick, at 6:00 AM

[@costi2596]

How

[@EpicLPer]

Aaay, Corona-Buddies

[@noahcalland8316]

1:15, this was nodded to in a tv show called Person of Interest. In later seasons, they run an entire AI off a handful of PS3's banded together as a super computer.

[@noahcalland8316]

(This is a dumbed down explanation of events to avoid major spoilers)

[@truedesireelements2040]

You're AWESOME, YOU know THAT? I am incredibly grateful to have stumbled upon your video. I am NOW a happen subscriber and can't wait to see more from you. You are truly inspiring and motivating. I can't wait to tackle projects such as this. Thank you so much...

[@dustinvq37]

I'm glad you syscon'd it rather than just replacing the nectokins, as they are not the de facto cause of the ylod, which is a general hardware failure that can be triggered by any part failure the only true way to diagnose a ylod,glod etc is to read syscons… I had the YLOD on my CECHA01, the original backward compatible PS3. My syscon error was for the rsx, so I replaced it with one from the PS3 slim, which is the much cooler and reliable 40nm rsx Rather than the widely defective 90nm rsx that Nvidia originally produced for the original Xbox 360 and PS3. As an added bonus, I've gotten myself a way more reliable and cooler original PS3 that can play PS2 disks. Great video I hope to see your take on an original ps3/xbox 360!

[@CasualGamerDude]

I used to have a ps3 but It got stolen a while back, Love your vids man! You just inject such wonder and creativity into your videos!

[@julius4858]

How does a hole console get stolen lol

[@polipod2074]

@@julius4858 Probably burglars came in his house and stole it

[@Aremisalive]

@@polipod2074 Then sell it in a sketchy neighborhood in a lot of 3 for $50.

[@GenerationZ313]

@@julius4858 I saw an animated video by Man in a Motel where he admitted to stealing the PlayStation of his friend's neighbour because the neighbour left there house unlocked.

[@bitterlemonboy]

Oh, sorry about that. I'll leave it back where I stole it tomorrow.

[@SammyCola]

RIP Felix did a great video diving deep into the Yellow Light of Death, including covering the NEC/TOKIN caps issues (which isn't always the issue).

[@ichimichilichipichi]

Reading the title, I thought this was going to be a simple review video or something. I'm so glad I was wrong, such efforts that were put in this video! Loved it.

[@beardedwolf628]

In this video: Matt buys very clearly stolen PS3s

[@dizzydaisy909]

why are they very clearly stolen?

[@michaelboyle1805]

​@@dizzydaisy909why else would a random guy living in a sketchy neighbourhood have 3 fat PS3s for sale?

[@FliesLikeABrick]

I love the videos showing how accessible this kind of repair is, especially when the risks are low. It is a great motivation to people to try and fix/improve/mod all kinds of things that otherwise would enter the waste stream

[@phoenixyt124]

iPhones are a great indication of why right to repair is so unfathomably important.

[@Briskeeen]

Those PS3s were 100% stolen. Probably years ago, but stolen nonetheless

[@michaelboyle1805]

Yup exactly

[@bubgamingandvlogs3870]

probably

[@cappiecappie770]

i was literally thinking this, dodgy neighbourhood and only for 50??

[@akumanusia269]

So???

[@curllum]

Finding bug remains inside devices in MattKC’s videos is getting increasingly common

[@BigHatStudios]

Gloves! Invest in gloves

[@kirodrache]

Hey Matt, thanks for showing us your PS3 revival process! You should defenitely consider delidding though because that thermal paste under the chips head spreader is only worsening the temperatures, even to the point where it won't even make a proper connection to transfer the heat. We have only delid two PS3's so far, the backwards compatible ones even, but we felt much safer doing that than ewmoving the Tokins (well we also didn't have a boot problem but I guess for the long run it would be safer to replace them sooner than later) I hope this will get a follow up video with the mods or even with a delidding video! If you need any infos, tipps and tricks for the delidding process let me know, I have found some good sources where people show and describe how they did it and what thermal paste and pads they used to replace the old ones

[@jansenart0]

0:55 "Long story short, I am in receipt of stolen goods."

[@awii.neocities]

I swear, matt always releases his videos exactly when I'm on my phone, even when I live on the other side of the world. Either way, awesome video! I have an idea that you could buy a bunch of old MacBooks and try to fix them and see if they still hold up today

[@Phils3r]

very good job Matt. I'm pretty impressed by your fixing effort. Btw you can pair your PS4 controllers after a specific firmware update on the PS3. At some point it got support for PS4 controllers wirelessly.

[@TheoHiggins]

Since clearly all of us in this comments section have watched RIP Felix's video, then I shouldn't see any comments saying "Your RSX probably broke and the tokin replacement is only going to work temporarily!" since we can see in the video that his board is the exact one Sony shipped with the (in RIP Felix's opinion) TRULY fixed 65nm RSX. So his PS3 is guaranteed not affected by bumpgate.

[@canuckinsk]

Gloves make cleaning less disgusting.

[@BK2Modder]

Always cool to follow your project journey's and see how similar your thought process can be! Would be interested to see if the capacitor fix lasts for this console in a few months and it's not actually an RSX bump issue, so hope you can give an update on that later.

[@yadabub]

My second fat PS/2 came with a single dead roach in the HD bay. Other than a bit of fluff, it was otherwise entirely clean. This video makes me feel even luckier today, than I felt back then.

[@no-ld3hz]

More tips for the soldering! Usually 200-300 degrees at medium to max air flow. If you're putting down or picking up a component up with tweezers, don't go all the way down to the board, go 50% of the components width down with the tweezers, keeps it from flying off when you go to put it down. Kapton tape keeps stuff on while being heated. Happy Hacking!

[@nikkiofthevalley]

Kapton tape, not Capton tape.

[@no-ld3hz]

@@nikkiofthevalley ye my bad, shoulda called it polyimide tape as Kapton is a trademarked/brand name.

[@Mitchfaberskateboarding]

that was incredible to watch! everything you overcame to fix it amazing! well done.

[@TheRealLetharos]

Amazing video man! Always love a lil bit of tech gore that gets fixed

[@0PercentImagination]

I ended up with a PS3 that someone threw into a bush earlier this year, can't use it atm since it was completely filled with sand for some mysterious reason but surprisingly it does still work (including the disc drive).

[@Le_Grand_Rigatoni]

9:09 Please Matt, don't run fans underwater, that's going to rince the bearing oil away !

[@Luigi_bros4321]

Makes sense, the fan needs to spin smoothly and not get destroyed

[@Subjecttochannel]

I've heard of debugging before but this is ridiculous!

[@panjak323]

19:04... As electrical engineer, this caused me a great deal of pain... 1) paperclips are not as conductive as you think 2) by that 10 cm path, you introduced so much reactance that the capacitors became absolutely useless (the current doesn't reach from capacitors anywhere near fast enough to deal with transient loads)

[@dman8734]

I'm an electronics engineer. Why do you say they're now useless? The caps are tantulum, he's used some pretty heavy gauge wire and they're really not that far away. I'd be much more concerned if these were ceramic caps - but tantulum isn't going to be doing too much at higher frequencies. At those frequencies, absolutely the introduction of more inductance is going to be an issue.

[@panjak323]

@@dman8734 Not capacitors themselves, the extra length of the path to the board is the problem... Extra resistance and inductance, which totally defeats the point of the capacitors being there for handling transients in the first place. Also he didn't even use copper wire, but a paperclip which not only is not great conductor,but also is ferromagnetic, so skin effect is a huge problem a those frequencies. Capacitors could be ideal, but with that connection he made them essentialy useless.

[@craelectronics]

Another electrical engineer here. Had similar concerns. Adding extra trace length is not ideal by killing higher frequency filtering + making EMC radiation and immunity worse... But obviously it seems to work sufficiently fine. And as long as it does work, he was right in doing so. Sure you shouldn't put this into series production. But We've all hacked prototype boards up like that and surprisingly they are still working, though by all rules they shouldn't.

[@panjak323]

​​@@craelectronicsAs you know the problem with transients, is that they can be higher than nominal voltage. Although this adhoc solution might work well enough now, the voltage spikes can still damage and kill the memory over time. Ideally you would want to measure that on oscilloscope. Also stability might not be the best indicator, as the memory can have some amount of undervoltage tolerance, so it is seemingly stable even though not running up to spec. Still should have used copper wire.

[@pedrao_az9800]

Bro, U have open my mind. I have one PS3 Fat here, I took it to a technical assistance, but in not long time before it's came with the black scren. He had the Ylod, they fixed it, but usinig it for a little time he started with artefact (very sad). I noticed the temperature before the black screen came, the CPU and RSX took about 70ºC (158Fº). Maybe the problem can be the cold system, or my chip of HDMI ou AV. The board you used are really good, it's tell everything that was wrong in the PS3. Thanks man, u don't now how I'm glad to know these features.

[@ax0rz0]

9:08 YOU PUT THE BOARD UNDER WATERRRRR AaaaAAAaaaAAAAAAAAA

[@XENON2028]

it's grand cuz he cleaned it after and there was no electricity in the thing

[@tomburridge2317]

For anyone interested in a more in depth look at the capacitor issues, and in some cases non-issues, it's worth watching RIP Felix's video on the PS3 Yellow Light of Death.

[@extorter]

I second this. Very interesting to see the extremely deep dive on the history on that video.

[@PrincePoetic17]

"Imagine how I must feel with 3 PS3s. I think you'll find that I'm enjoying it 3 times as much." I can't tell if this video is a reference, or not, but if it is, good job, Matt.

[@123456789sha]

ahh de memories 😂

[@DJC0M3RAD3]

The explanation of where he bought it sound more like “I bought 3 possibly stolen PS3s for $50”

[@FadeSlayer2]

You actually can do ps4 controller wireless with no adapters but you still don’t get ps button functionality. I believe you can do a ps5 controller aswell

[@DJProPlusMax]

Great job, Matt! I wish you made more videos like this.

[@Cyphco]

I might have tried using some Thermal pads to put a little more distance between the CPU and Heatsink, some are probably efficient enough

[@mand_oh]

Great vid Matt, although I highly recommend you watch a certain video on PS3 GPU faults. Its called 'A PS3 Story: The Yellow Light of Death' by RIP Felix and it talks about common misconceptions about the PS3s failure points, including that the NEC/TOKINs are faulty. I'm glad the cap replacement worked in your case, but according to the information in that video the fix you did may have been a red herring for an inherent GPU fault, depending on the model of PS3 you have. I highly suggest watching the whole thing, even though it is a long watch, and checking to see if your models are affected, as the removal of the NEC/TOKINs may have been entirely unecessary, and this "fix" may only be temporary. A permanent fix may involve transplanting a pin compatible later model GPU onto these boards, which might not be worth it if these PS3s only do software PS2 emulation (or none at all). I'm not a PS3 expert or anything, but seeing the NEC/TOKIN myth continuing to spread without context is not good for the landscape of repairing these devices into the future.

[@MElixirDNB]

watching one video doesnt make you an expert. NEC/TOKIN chips are notorious for going bad in multiple electronics, not just ps3s, so stop saying its a "myth". Electronics are complex and can have many points of failure. In this case the error code was for the noisy voltage due to the bad caps, the yellow light didnt even show up.. totally different things

[@joonhkt]

Just did same comment, thanks to RIP Felix! About the NEC caps, they are notoriously excellent and fail mainly because of a non-adapted pcb design. The "notorious" you are talking about is mainly based on Toshiba laptops. We rarely hear about the other electronics using those caps, for various reasons, but mainly because they'r usually not used in consumer electronics where people will try to recap.

[@MElixirDNB]

@@joonhkt simply not true, laptops and all kinds of things use them, and they often cause failures because they rapidly lose their capacitance. Again, multiple things can break in electronics, there isnt one cause. IE something else may be ruining these capacitors, OR the capacitors are going bad causing the issue themselves, both can happen. I just found several laptop posts where these caps were causing a common issue

[@MElixirDNB]

@@joonhkt Even for PS3, these caps are well known to degrade over time and cause failures, which could be alleviated if you add some custom heat dissipation

[@MrCoolSponge]

@@MElixirDNB You said "all kinds of things use them and they often cause failures" I was wondering if you have any evidence to back this up The only the only information I can find about failing NEC capacitors in other products is in the one Toshiba laptop that from what I seen were poorly design causing the caps to die faster You seem to know a lot about them so could you tell me all these other broken or faulty products they have found themselves in and are the cause of?

[@costelinha1867]

I love how Billy just casually made a dramatic reanactment of the first computer bug ever documented, where a bug got inside a computer, died there, and it caused issues.

[@-aexc-]

if i was operating on that ps3 i would be wearing gloves, a mask and using a low power vacuum cleared to get the biggest chunks

[@silvanb]

All evidence points to these being stolen. Who would own 3 ps3s? The sketchy neighborhood. The insane price.

[@arifhossain9751]

shhh *plausible deniability*

[@kovy6447]

0:17 PS3, that costs 69 dollars

[@Nazasu]

Great video, but next time if there are bugs, maybe wear some gloves lmao. That just seems so nasty and I would never repair a system that has bugs without gloves.

[@der-andyman]

Hey pal, just a quick tipp: the wires you used to connect the + sides (mimicing the necs) are waaay too thin. Been there, done that, they will eventually burn due to the high current flowing there... I would suggest replacing it with some thicker wiring.

[@DietDrPp2]

Lol in honor of this video, it inspired me to pick one up myself! Grabbed mine for 10$ - with 3.50$ shipping it’s a FAT model CECHH101 with YLOD, came back to pick up some tips, hopefully I can find the serial connection so I can find some error codes. And get to the root of the issue/issues my ps3 could potentially have! Thanks for documenting your experience as I probably would have never considered picking up one of these of these older model ps3’s for repair.

[@notyourbusiness4169]

20:30 DO NOT DO THIS.

[@romeoramirez69420]

3:14 did you know that you can also make the PS4 controller wireless by holding the share button and the PS button together and go to the bluetooth settings and add the PS4 controller to make it wireless.

[@MegaManNeo]

You clearly deserve respect for fixing those PS3 consoles. I couldn't do such things which is why I'd probably have to throw away mine once it goes YLoD or something.

[@shawnunder7]

There are many others that repair PS3 consoles the actual proper way by reading the syscon codes and determining the ACTUAL errror instead of swapping out tokins and puttin a spacer between the Cell. This was not the way.

[@souldew2]

@@shawnunder7 i mean he did read the syscon error codes thats how he came to the conclusion to try swapping the capacitors

[@CriTiiKaLREAP3R]

That satisfaction and feel of success of you fixing it is so real

[@FliesLikeABrick]

I love all of your repair videos, and hope the educate and encourage other people to try and fix everything. Even when we fail to fix things, we end up with very cheap education in new areas.

[@erikt211]

To all the people shouting “wear gloves!” You’ve never worked on a car before😆

[@JustJessDev]

9:15 to skip the bugs

[@Kosik3]

6:52 put some gloveees onnnnn brooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[@David-gr8rh]

Excellent mods, well done. Can we see you do a small 5x PS3 super cluster or run mining

[@caphowdy666]

I still have my PS3 (would like to say original but I had it swapped by Sony when it YLOD) and it is one of the original European models with software emulation for the PS2. It actually works but when I put it into standby it does the flashing red light thing you usually get after the YLOD. I don't actually use it anymore and it's currently sitting with my PS4 pro in a corner of my room. It had been repaired a couple of times for YLOD but really not sure if it is worth the effort (and cost) of getting it looked at. Funnily enough, the main reason I would get it going again is because Hogs of war is on it (coincidentally that's the game you have in your description) which was never available here in the UK and I managed to snag it from the US store with a little account trickery.

[@rijaja]

I don't know how aware you are of the dangers of opening up a power supply (for anything, not just a PS3) but regardless, you should _always_ tell people not to do it unless they know what they're doing. Power supplies are deadly even when they're unplugged, and you have a large audience

[@ArcadiaP]

Someone else already mentioned it, but the video posted is the history for the YLoD and how the NEC/Tok chips aren't the issue in like 95% of the time; during the video is also why you are able to use SYSCON error codes for some diagnostics. It will be significantly more interesting if your repair actually fixed it and it lasts the test of time. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2G4fnppnruMkKs Nice job though on the deal. I'd also recommend the delidding one day, will help temps quite a bit, that's what I did with mine.

[@rraygen]

Right the video I wanted to suggest. They almost published at the same time!

[@PenguinYayOne]

And it's not really recommended to replace the NEC/TOKIN with tantalum capacitors (it's also in the video)

[@bounceysteve]

thank you so much for replying with this, I got scared the moment he mentioned the NEC Tokin

[@InotziaCityArt]

Why tf did you not wear gloves?

[@Cupofwaterandstuff]

Why would he need to

[@Dancedude1009]

Becuase it’s gross

[@Swinsl]

the fent ps3 is crazy

[@AlejandroRodolfoMendez]

Amazing work and it's nice to seing them working. It would be interesting to see if the other two required something else beside cleaning

[@sukunasthugshaker]

0:36 that reminds me of when my dad went to pick up a Xbox 360 in a dodgy apartment complex and he got chased

[@msand2396]

Totally not stolen.

[@PrinsessePeach]

You should have used the NEC TOKIN replacement made by RIP Felix, just using only tantalum capacitors will give you too high ESR and the system will fail again soon. The RIP Felix replacement uses different type of capacitors to lower the ESR to an acceptable level. Just watch the video RIP Felix made on the YLOD.

[@vdfritzz]

because I have 3 ps3's

[@anthony7564]

Dude I cannot believe you were able to pull this off, what a video!

[@souldew2]

matt: checks the syscon error codes, determines its a nec/tokin cap issue replaces them, it works comments: um actually its not a cap issue have this video on how its not. 🤓 (i understand that the caps arent always the issue and that the RSX is very flawed especially the 90nm version but like if it works it works, and i assume the he would have a follow up video or some kind of pinned comment about it being broken again if it was) also it entirely is dependant on the revision fat ps3 he got and whether or not it even has the 90nm rsx, if its a later phat ps3 like the JKL etc. that has 65nm rsx its entirely possible it genuinely was the capacitors being the issue since from what we know the 65nm while still possible its defective is way less likely to be so

[@nanmario8757]

1:00 "For the most part they're in pretty decent condition"

[@horsestickmpg8400]

Matt those are bed bugs in that PS3 you took apart I'd take all three consoles apart just to make sure you get all of the bugs out of them, those buggers can live dormant for a long af time and come back and infest your house really quick if not taken care of.. best of luck.

[@ianhaylock7409]

They're too big for bed bugs.

[@MaxVandenbussche]

Here I am doing some PCB layout while listening to Matt. Making sure to have a clean layout taking capacitor ESR and ESL into account. Then Matt just adds some wires and puts the capacitors to the side..... *flips table*

[@acomingextinction]

That razor trick worked astonishingly well. Definitely remembering that one.

[@steveharvey2102]

Hi, how's it going? First time viewer here and I don't pretend to know 95% of what you know, when it comes to the inner workings of computers. I'm an old school gamer and only upgraded to a PS4 around 18 months ago. Lol Not sure why I clicked on your video, besides curiosity. I really enjoyed the content and learned a bunch along the way. So I gave you a sub and thumbs up :) Cheers from Canada

[@Novix-YT]

the fact you never wore gloves makes me scared for your safety

[@OtavioFesoares]

That paper clip trick was genius and incredibly creative of your part.

[@diogo24m]

@MattKC Use a hair dryer on the sticker to remove it, the heat melts the glue

[@Johny40Se7en]

Have to hand it to you fella, you have the patience of a monk! A long time ago I had that stupid yellow light issue just before Christmas, and I opened it up to try and fix it, and just stripping it down to get to the RSX and CELL was a right pain in the ar*e. The old PS3 is such an over engineered POS. Never did get it fixed. I moved onto computers. So much simpler and straight forward. I'll never look back. Really enjoyed this, cheers 👍

[@gopro2027]

Wow as an avid PS3 software modding enthusiast this is such a cool video. Thank you :) might have to take a look at some of my old broken ps3's now