Same here, But only 2 "extra"

mine was 2 and one half years old, and i payed 600 euros for it... so it didn't feel that i had my money worth... with this ylod the PS3 is going to cost me in total 780 euros plus the games(have about 20 disc games and 5 or 6 PSN), one DS3, a logitech media keyboard (40 euros bluetooth witch can also be used in PC but i only use it in my PS3)... sony CAN'T really complain about me!

It's pretty disturbing seeing so much of these threads recently...

The HD consoles in general are starting to seem like they have about a two year life span, barring the ones that were made to higher tolerances.

Starting to wonder if it would be worth the trouble to design a closed loop liquid cooling system if there was a way to properly mount a pair of water blocks. Problem is even a simplified closed loop system (actually a pair) would end up costing between $150 and $200 since both the RSX and CBE would need their own.

For a console that costs $299 to replace, it really isn't worth it. The best quality TIM you can find is probably the most the average user is going to change and I'm not convinced whether that would really do the trick alone.

Only if you had a 60GB SKU and you really, really loved having PS2 BC, which really isn't worth that much trouble IMO.

I've torn apart a 40GB SKU so many times, I could probably do it by feel by now. After one fix that lasted long enough to back up the data plus about a week's game time and a few more fixes that didn't, I'm probably not going to bother doing another repair job if the current job doesn't last.

It's scary to think that changing the thermal compound on my PS3 will only buy me a few more months of game play. I wonder if it's inevitable for the Original 60GB PS3 to get the YLOD?

Depends on the amount of cumulative damage already done to that logic board.

Technically, EVERY piece of electronic equipment has a very finite number of hours (mean time before failure) before it stops working. It's only becomes an issue when a piece of equipment fails long before it should be replaced. Personally, I say 2-3 years is too short for a console, especially one that many paid $600, $500 and $400 for. But then again, the average amount of time before failure for PC laptops is supposedly about three years, but they often get replaced or supplemented right around that same time frame, making it seem less of a problem for anyone who doesn't intend to grandfather their computers.

Theoretically, if you could keep your console running very cool from day one, it wouldn't go through those extreme shifts between hot and cold that typically does chip solder joints in over time. While a high quality TIM will reduce those temperature shifts, it would probably make the most difference if applied when the console was brand new or had very few run time hours on it. Applying it to a logic board that was already damaged from use is probably only delaying the inevitable.

I blame hippies for making electronic companies remove lead from their products.
Id rather pay a disposal fee $25-50 for consoles/laptops/PC then have to replace it every 3 years.
 Im getting worried I cleaned out my ps3 (60 gig) and put new Thermal paste on it but it did something funny the other day when playing BF1943.. made a loud beep and the fans went to Max for about 1 second then it just sat there, I couldnt even reboot it with the power button.

Just finished changing the thermal paste on my PS3. Differences? It runs quiet at start and then gradually hits the same fan speed it did before the change. I can't tell if it's supposed to be quieter, but the sound isn't annoying enough for me, never was. One major difference is that it's faster. I don't know why; maybe it's just imagination but it loads up games faster for some reason. My photos used to take a bit to show, but now they are almost instant. I was able to put it back together without having any extra screws, but I broke the clip that holds the blu-ray wire to the Motherboard. I was still able to put it back together though, but I'm afraid of creating more damage if I'm to open it again.

My PS3 had plenty of dust bunnies inside, but one major thing I noticed was that the Emulation Engine chip looks burnt around the edges. You know that yellowish color... well that's what I saw and it lies on the area that the thermal pad doesn't cover. Here is a picture showing the location of the burnt marks. (highlighted in yellow)

I'm thinking of buying a new Thermal Pad that covers all of the Emulation Engine. That would mean I would have to open it again and do the 4~5 hour process again. I just don't know where I could get such a thermal pad. Anyone have any comments?

Any computer parts vendor should have a selection of thermal pads to choose from. NewEgg surprisingly doesn't.
http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Silver-Pad-Overclocking-performance/dp/B002VM7GO8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266766026&sr=1-2

It would be kind of a kick if a failed EE could result in a YLoD though.

The disassembly/reassembly process shouldn't take 4-5 hours after you've done it before since you should be familiar with the process. It takes me about 5-10 minutes to strip a PS3 down to the bare motherboard if I rush (there are fewer parts for the 40GB SKU). The longest part of a repair should be waiting for the board to cool down before moving it.

I have done mine twice now it takes me about 15 mins. BUT I didnt remove the shielding on the MB or notice the EE/GS, is there a heat sync for this piece alone? Im wondering if I should take mine apart again and check that now