This post has got me thinking. My 60GB PS3 has been with me since July of 2007. That makes it like 2 1/2 years old, and I'm not sure if the YLOD is real or a ploy. What I do know is that I've built 3 computers and applied Artic Silver 5 on all of my CPUs and some of my GPUs, but I'm a little scared to open up my PS3.

I've seen the video's on Youtube and I'm wondering if its worth the gamble to take it apart. If I could only take a look at the white compound without having to pry the whole thing open, it would make the decision a whole lot clearer. I know for sure I don't want to pay for another PS3. That's just ridiculous.

Anyone here like to share with me their experience?

That sucks. Is it just me or are more members complaining of YLOD than RROD lately? Im not trying to troll at all im just really curious as to why this is becoming a problem as of late? Anyone know?

Have you tried removing the hard drive and hooking it up to a pc to grab your game saves?

I suppose because PS3 users are more active on this site (or there are more PS3 users).

If it's the old phat PS3 model, it's really easy to take apart and put some Silver paste on it, and when you put it back together it's extremely easy, just remember where the cables go hooked up, I found the hardest part was to remember where the screws went in lmao, After i fixed my Old PS3 after it YLOD i had like 3 extra screws i din't put back in >_>

But hey, the fix worked, It worked for 3 more months until it YLOD again, and it died for good, so i bought a slim.

Shoulnt be hard for you, If you build PC's before You can easly do that for your PS3, Trust me i build PC's and it's Easier.^^

That's exactly how I feel. My console is working fine, but I've read that the YLOD is a sudden thing. It doesn't give the owner any clues that something is wrong. I've been giving my PS3 more playtime recently. My family is finally getting the hang of watching movies through Netflix. I don't want it to die on me now. My PS1 still works if you tilt it to one side a bit.  I miss the good old days when it seemed like things were made to last.

To CloudPhoenix: Thanks for the info. I really don't want to let go of my PS3 Fat 60GB. I love its backward compatibility, look, and basically everything about it. I'm not a fan of the slim.

@ DraconianAC )

I think a symptom is the fans kicking in much earlier than when the unit was new as it's a problem with the cooling, which leads to a permanent deformation of important solder joints.

I'd recommend you to replace the thermal paste as you have experience in it, but if you don't have any silver left you really should use the way better and easier to handle (and often cheaper) Arctic Cooling MX-2 or MX-3 paste.
A good guide how to open the PS3 is gilksy's ylod guide on youtube - part one of six: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U70SgRDVcBo

The YLoD fix is only a temporary measure.

While it's interesting to break a PS3 down if you're into building PCs, odds are if you do the heat gun fix, you'll be doing it more than once if you insist on keeping your self fixed PS3. It's not a reliable fix.

Pretty sure the only definitive fix for the YLoD is either reballing the GPU/CPU (not a home fix job) or simply replacing the logic board altogether.

The key scenario when you'd want to do the fix as opposed to sending it to SCE would be to get it working long enough to salvage the data on your HDD if you used it for storing media or you have a ridiculous number of hours invested in your game saves. Starting over from scratch other than your trophies (which really don't help) is not very cool.

The only problem with going through SCE for a YLoD is you'll likely end up with a refurb with a formatted HDD.

The only problem with breaking the seal on a PS3 is that SCE service is not obligated to accept it for repairs/replacement although I'm sure there are a ton of exceptions to this, just like a lot of people have received free repair jobs from SCE on an expired warranty. But any warranty remaining is naturally void.

I did that too. mine 60GB died again last night, it lasted only 3 weeks, and I thought I did everything right?!.... damm damm damm, guess Im gonna have to send it in this time.

My guess would be because the 360s that RROD came out sooner than the PS3s so they have already went through the RROD phase. Now the PS3 is catching up and we are starting to hear about it. Both consoles have been fixed but I've learned my lesson and I'll be waiting on buying a release console in the future. Don't want to go through this console fixing crap anymore.