http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/6172.html

If you're considering upgrading your old PlayStation 3 to one of the new Slim models, there are multiple reasons in support of that idea. But there may be another one you haven't considered...

Of course, all of this is nothing more than a theory; we're merely noting a running coincidence in responses from our readers and e-mails we've seen in our inbox. In the past, some firmware updates for the PS3 have proved problematic, but many times, they seem to hit older models harder. With the most recent update - firmware 3.10 that delivered Facebook to your XMB - some users were complaining of games and movies freezing on a continual basis and when further prompted, you will find that most of them have old 60GB, 40GB, or 80GB models. I'm wondering if Sony has a response to this, simply because the coincidence appears to be...well, too large to be just a coincidence. I know nothing of programming or how the firmware updates are delivered, or if it's even possible that older models would suffer more from these updates. I'm no tech guy; never have been. I'm only reporting on what I've seen and when I hear a complaint related to a firmware update and I ask after the model in question, 80-90% of the time the answer is expected: they have a PS3 that's at least a year or two old. So, is this all conjecture or might the newer models simply receive these updates in a more reliable fashion?

Perhaps we'll learn more about this in the future but in the meantime, I would say that if you're a Slim owner, I wouldn't be too concerned about downloading new firmwares (at least not for a while).

Personally I've never had any major problems.(only once with uncharted1.) Is there anyone that has had problems after updating the firmware?

I kind of agree.. alot of PS3s seem to be dieing from 3.0 and 3.01.. dont think 3.10 does it tho..

I think Sony should give extra warranty

there are more 40,60,80 GB units out there then slims, so of course there is a higher chance of one of those having problems with the update than a slim right now.. that's all there is to it

^Very logical answer.

well my 60GB PS3 is working fine, though I can't speak for all of the older models. I remember when 3.00 came out and PS3's were bricking left and right, and games were freezing and crashing! I was scared to update mine! the only problem I noticed is that after the update was that CoD:WaW was freezing up a bit, but it works fine now.

there's also the issue of which territory your old PS3 was made for, there's quite a difference between the NA and EU older models, especially in the way they handled PS2 B/C
I'd be interested to see the stats in percentages of YLOD or firmware bricked consoles between the regions.
I have a sneaking suspicion that it seems to be the NA ones that suffer the most but I can't confirm anything

@ Spankey )

if NA suffers from more firmware "bicks" then it's because users are more inclined to shut off an updating PS3 or there are more power surges/outs

from my experience YLOD is a problem caused by the thermal paste Sony used for the first generations of PS3s (possibly not all factories used the same) .. it loses too much viscousity if heated and hence flows from the chips making them overheat - I have a (german) 60GB unit that was close to dieing to it (freezed all 30minutes) and "repaired" it by exchanging the thermal paste

YLOD happens faster 1.) the longer your play sessions are 2.) if you have the unit standing vertical 3.) if you live in a hotter region/ have higher temperatures in your home while playing

I wonder if there are any statistics on pc crashes/freezes.

hmm I'd better be careful then

I also have an EU spec 60GB (upgraged HDD), play sessions vary from a 2-3 hrs a day on weekdays and sometimes reach 15+ hours on weekends, the ambient temp is normally 27-35 deg C (aircon's been busted for a while now). at least i keep it horizontal, vaccuum it every month and have a lot of space around it and keep it on it's own UPS

Only freezes I've had have been with Fallout 3, but I can't blame Sony for that lol

I'd better invest in some arctic silver or somesuch soon...

The days the Arctic Silver was the best paste are long gone ;). I'd personally recommend the Arctic Cooling MX-2, as it's way easier to apply, doesn't conduct electricity, has a better cooling effect and is cheaper .. or if you want the best paste out there the MX-3.

But considering the environment your PS3 is working in without freezing maybe your unit has a good paste already. The first sign of the PS3 having problems probably is the fan kicking in way earlier than when the unit was new. I had that after 2-3 month and the first freezing problems after 1.5 years with the unit being completely unusable just weeks after that.