So I just did my first thermal repaste, on my backup PS3. Arctic Silver MX-4, 'X' pattern. I didn't do anything to heat up the CPU & RSX before separating the main board but I cleaned up the old paste well. End result, temps dropped 33% (in the 40s). Booted up fine. But start up a GPU-intense game and it would freeze with artifacts while audio continued. I later read about reflowing. But I wasn't willing to put my main board in the oven. Supposedly the solder has to be melted and unmelted? And the CPU cracks due to settling? (Like a house?). When one of these freezes happened, the system wouldn't boot without freezing, until it 'cooled down' (yet the temps were good). So I kept at it. Let it idle in the XMB awhile, monitored temps. Then let it idle in games, even if it were in a catatonic, just to let the CPU & RSX adjust. Then I did a fan diagnostic (Hold Eject as you plug the power cord in). Waited awhile again. And now I've idled in the flames of the start of Infamous without a problem. Temps don't exceed the high 50s now.
So can someone explain what reflowing is and what just happened? Will my system be ok or are its days numbered like a 360 baked in a blanket to resolve a RROD?
So can someone explain what reflowing is and what just happened? Will my system be ok or are its days numbered like a 360 baked in a blanket to resolve a RROD?