Hardware Best thermal paste for Phat/OG PS3?

[lemonmaster]

After successfully installing CFW on my PS3 and getting a game running, I looked up some stuff and found out YLOD is a thing... Yikes.

I'm going to do a teardown and a nice clean up inside with a dust remover, I might replace the thermal paste. Good idea? Let me know and what you know/think would be the best paste to use.

I'm also going to make a 2nd thread asking about fan speed but answers to that is welcome too

 

[Foxi4]

I personally recommend either Arctic MX-4 or Noctua NT-H1. NT-H2 if you want slightly better temps, but you won't really notice the difference on console. I've used both Arctic MX-4 and NT-H2 on consoles with great success and can recommend both companies. You might get a lot of Arctic Silver 5 recommendations, but the paste is a rather old formula - used to be top of the range, now it's kind of middling.

There's also the option of liquid metal like Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut for maximum transfer, but there is risk involved since gallium alloys dissolve in most metals, particularly aluminium, and they're conductive, so don't use it unless you have experience and you're confident you can perform periodical maintenance. It cannot be used on anything aluminium or you may as well throw the part in the bin - not sure what material the coldplate on the OG was, but if it's anything other than copper then Conductonaut is not an option due to incompatibility.

I would go for conventional paste and replace the pads while you're at it with something better than stock - I personally use cheap, blue Arctic pads to great effect. The Sony ones are small, don't cover the entirety of the chips and tend to be misaligned in the machine. Cutting new ones is always a good idea.

 

[DinohScene]

I'd vote against using gallium to cool.
Use Arctic MX-4 or Noctua NT-H1 like Foxi said.

I'd personally let someone replace the thermal paste between the IHS and the GPU/CPU.
I've had mine replaced in 2019 and can say that it is worth the 20 or 30 quid I spent on it.

 

[Foxi4]

I'd vote against using gallium to cool.
Use Arctic MX-4 or Noctua NT-H1 like Foxi said.

I'd personally let someone replace the thermal paste between the IHS and the GPU/CPU.
I've had mine replaced in 2019 and can say that it is worth the 20 or 30 quid I spent on it.

Delidding is always an option, the stock compound is a big inhibitor of thermal transfer, good point. That, and PS3 heatsink are notorious for their low mounting pressure, so make sure it's screwed on nice and snug.

 

[lemonmaster]

I personally recommend either Arctic MX-4 or Noctua NT-H1. NT-H2 if you want slightly better temps, but you won't really notice the difference on console. I've used both Arctic MX-4 and NT-H2 on consoles with great success and can recommend both companies. You might get a lot of Arctic Silver 5 recommendations, but the paste is a rather old formula - used to be top of the range, now it's kind of middling.

There's also the option of liquid metal like Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut for maximum transfer, but there is risk involved since gallium alloys dissolve in most metals, particularly aluminium, and they're conductive, so don't use it unless you have experience and you're confident you can perform periodical maintenance. It cannot be used on anything aluminium or you may as well throw the part in the bin - not sure what material the coldplate on the OG was, but if it's anything other than copper then Conductonaut is not an option due to incompatibility.

I would go for conventional paste and replace the pads while you're at it with something better than stock - I personally use cheap, blue Arctic pads to great effect. The Sony ones are small, don't cover the entirety of the chips and tend to be misaligned in the machine. Cutting new ones is always a good idea.

How would I go about replacing the thermal pads?

 

[Foxi4]

How would I go about replacing the thermal pads?

I simply remove the old pads, measure the components they were on with a ruler and cut out new ones, or eyeball it if the space is cramped until I get it right. Of course this step is extra - if the pads still look like they're in good shape, there's no point in replacing them. I believe the ones in the PS3 are 1.5mm thick. Depending on the model they may be covering crucial components (BC models that feature PS2 hardware) or just power delivery (non-BC models), so going the extra mile may or may not be worth it for you. Most people just replace the paste since critical components (PS3-side CPU/GPU) are all under IHS'es, but I personally replace all of the thermal interfaces, especially on older hardware where the pads may be on their last legs. Even if you're only dealing with the power delivery of the console, a cool MOSFET is a happy MOSFET.

 

[pure3d2]

I use MX4 or Noctua NT-H1. Most of the overheating issues on the PS3 phatboys are caused by the dried out stock thermal paste between the CELL/RSX die and their IHS.

Delidding is the way to go, but that's risky.