Has anyone ever...

I've recently got my hands on an original Backwards compatible PS3 CECHAxx that's only been used for literally an hour or less. I bought it off an old man that had purchased it for his grand kids to use when they visit him and he said they turned it on the first day and then never touched it after. I blame it on the fact that he only had the game Heavenly Sword and his grand children were 2 little girls lol. Anyway it's still running really old firmware and it didn't even have any scratches on it or signs of wear. I've taken it apart and replaced the thermal paste with arctic silver and I've installed an SSD. It runs cool and quiet but it's terribly ugly. Since cosmetics matter greatly to me I was thinking about trying to take the guts out and mount them in a really nice aluminum HTPC case. I know this will require plenty of time, effort and some fabrication but I think it would look amazing and not make me embarrassed that it's next to my HDTV. Has anyone on here do anything similar in the past? If so, how did it go? Any issues? Ruin anything? Share with me!

On another note, are there any places online that sell aftermarket parts for these that would be beneficial to this mod and the functioning of the unit? ie. better fans? longer ribbon cables, better power supply etc.

 

A quick Google search of "PS3 PC case" brings up lots of results... though I have to say it's probably much more work than you might thinking to do it properly. Have you done case mods like this before?

Have you installed CFW on it already if it's got old firmware? If it's 3.55 or under, it's quite literally just putting hacked firmware on a USB drive and installing it. A CECHA system in good shape with CFW can be quite valuable, so I'm not sure I'd recommend wrecking it and putting it into a PC case, but it's your unit and your call obviously.

As for the mods to what help the unit last longer... you could install custom heatsinks to make it last longer. Or an even simpler one if you keep it in the original case is to add a potentiometer to be able to speed the fan up. Will make it slightly louder but if it's on the other side of the room, this shouldn't be a problem and will keep it cooler.

 

Thanks for the reply, Mord.Fustang!

I've done PC mods and such before but I've never done anything with a console. I'm fairly savvy with electronics in general but I always know with new stuff that some issues will arise lol. I was hoping that maybe with the right case and heat sinks I could go less or no fans. Would this be a moron move? haha I've done some PC mods in the past with silverstone cases with fan-less power supplies and they are sexy. My condo is fairly small so I can hear the fans lol

It's running 1.90 firmware so maybe I should install CFW though I don't know if it would benefit me. I just keep the console for playing the old Silent Hill games haha. Once running CFW how hard is it to set it up to play PS2 games from the hard drive? I read online you can inject the iso from any ps2 game into a ps classics container and run it internally. Is this true? I'm completely new to CFW so I'm sorry if I sound like a moron lol

 

With a cobra cfw you can just use a .iso straight. But you could use ISO straight on fully compatible consoles anyway without the pad sync issue.

If it were me I'd just get rid of it for a tidy profit as a CFW machine get a PS2 for ultra cheap and grab a cheap console only PS3 Slim. I just wouldn't really want the ticking time bomb of the original phat PS3 when I could shift it on ASAP.

 

I'd change the case because it's ugly lol

 

No offense but unless you've done these mods before there's a chance you'll make it look worse. I think the PS3s all look pretty cool. The Slim (not to be confused with the super slim) is personally my fave though. Alternatively, you could always paint the case as well. Lots of tutorials online for it.

Edit: as for the PS2 ISOs, it's not very difficult, you could simply Google a guide though on how to do it.
To get CFW on it, you will have to first install 3.55 OFW (Official FirmWare), then install CFW. Then get whatever you need to install/rip PS2 ISOs.

 

I don't mind if I mess it up. It didn't cost me much and I have a backup one. The normal slim is my favourite as well; I have it in 3 colours.

 

This might seem like a strange suggestion, but have you considered placing the PS3 in the upright position? I agree that it's buttugly when lying down, but standing up it looks almost decent, like something from the future, which is always a good thing.

The same goes for the PS2 and PS4. Both look noticeably worse when lying down, but much more attractive when upright.

EDIT: PS2 fat of course. The slim models look like flimsy crap when upright