Hey Woot Gang -


First time caller, Long time Wooter…


After 3 years, my old 80GB PS3 (The Fat Version) has reached its end. It received the dreaded Yellow Light of Death.

I gave Sony a call to see if there was anything I could do in this matter. I was given the option to repair my PS3 Fat or for the same price as the repair, I can get a refurbished 160 GB PS3 Slim. Decisions… decisions…

The reason for wanting to keep my old PS3 because I heard it’s a rare version which is backwards compatible. Granted, I only play a PS2 game once in a blue moon but I think it’s a cool feature. It has flash card readers and four USB ports which is not a real big deal to me I guess. I also like the touch sensitive buttons and the glossy look.

I never really played on a PS3 Slim so I’m not sure what the pros are besides it being slimmer and energy efficient. Not too fond of the buttons, but I wouldn’t be too picky about that.

I am torn between making this decision. So if any of you guys own a PS3 or not, I’d greatly appreciate your thoughts.

Many thanks!

pito12 wrote: slimmer and energy efficient.

As someone who likes to maximize her gaming space, those two are excellent sellpoints in my eyes.

pito12 wrote:
I gave Sony a call to see if there was anything I could do in this matter. I was given the option to repair my PS3 Fat or for the same price as the repair, I can get a refurbished 160 GB PS3 Slim. Decisions… decisions…

Have you looked at non Sony channels for a fix?

j5 wrote:Have you looked at non Sony channels for a fix?

No really. However, I did see a few DIY videos but i'm not sure if I want to go that route.

pito12 wrote:No really. However, I did see a few DIY videos but i'm not sure if I want to go that route.

Have it repaired, then sell it on eBay to someone who is willing to pay for the PS2 backward compatibility.

Personally, I'd try the DIY repair first. If that fixes it, you get the best version of the system for the lowest cost. If the fix doesn't work, well, then time to pick up the slim unit.

No matter what, the LAST thing I'd do is let Sony's "repair" dept get their hands on it. I know several people who paid the extortion... err... out of warranty repair fee, only to have the "fixed" unit die again shortly thereafter.

Turken wrote:Personally, I'd try the DIY repair first. If that fixes it, you get the best version of the system for the lowest cost. If the fix doesn't work, well, then time to pick up the slim unit.

No matter what, the LAST thing I'd do is let Sony's "repair" dept get their hands on it. I know several people who paid the extortion... err... out of warranty repair fee, only to have the "fixed" unit die again shortly thereafter.

I have to second that extortion theory. I too know people who had Sony repairs be as temporary as scotch tape. Back in the early PS2 days many of my friends had good luck with DIY fixes.

KtCallista wrote:I have to second that extortion theory. I too know people who had Sony repairs be as temporary as scotch tape. Back in the early PS2 days many of my friends had good luck with DIY fixes.

I'm appreciative of the comments. I think I will consider fixing it myself... wish me luck!

Thanks guys!

//Unhelpful//
Get a PC, problem solved. Sony has really gone down and is fairly crappy in just about every aspect now.//unhelpful//

KtCallista wrote:I have to second that extortion theory. I too know people who had Sony repairs be as temporary as scotch tape. Back in the early PS2 days many of my friends had good luck with DIY fixes.

Everyone who had a PS2 for any length of time had to realign the laser. I know I had to do that for mine and my brothers. My brother now has a broken PS3, which I would consider repairing if he had time to play it, or if I wanted any more money to go to such a fertilizer company. (I used to like sony)

FenStar wrote:Everyone who had a PS2 for any length of time had to realign the laser. I know I had to do that for mine and my brothers. My brother now has a broken PS3, which I would consider repairing if he had time to play it, or if I wanted any more money to go to such a fertilizer company. (I used to like sony)

My PS2 has lucked out with not having the laser problem, but we stopped using it for DVDs (other than my Japanese disks) a few years ago to help avoid that problem. We debated getting a PS3 or a blu-ray for Christmas and went with the blu-ray. As much as I'd absolutely love to play the Final Fantasy titles for PS3 and the new Ghibli collaborative game.... I don't have time, I won't have time, and the thing would get worn out being used for movies.

KtCallista wrote:My PS2 has lucked out with not having the laser problem, but we stopped using it for DVDs (other than my Japanese disks) a few years ago to help avoid that problem. We debated getting a PS3 or a blu-ray for Christmas and went with the blu-ray. As much as I'd absolutely love to play the Final Fantasy titles for PS3 and the new Ghibli collaborative game.... I don't have time, I won't have time, and the thing would get worn out being used for movies.

FF13 wasn't very good anyways. FF14 crashed and burnt like a ford pinto.

FenStar wrote:FF13 wasn't very good anyways. FF14 crashed and burnt like a ford pinto.

Yeah I heard the last installment was a non installment.

Third'd on the FF series going down the tubes. As much as I like the games in general, I just lost interest after the disappointing X-2, and haven't played one since. FFXI's MMO format was kind of a big turnoff too, I suppose.

Fen - what kind of problem does your bro's PS3 have? "Yellow Light of Death" or a failed blu-ray laser diode? I've not yet experienced the YLOD, but one of my brothers did, and he was able to get it working again by reflowing the solder to one of the parts. SAid it wasn't all that hard to follow the you-tube tutorials out there. I personally had the laser die on my 60gb, but a friend gave me the drive from his old PS3 (MOBO was toasted in a lightning strike, but the drive was fine) and it really wasn't all that difficult to rip the drive apart and swap the laser assembly.

Turken wrote:Third'd on the FF series going down the tubes. As much as I like the games in general, I just lost interest after the disappointing X-2, and haven't played one since. FFXI's MMO format was kind of a big turnoff too, I suppose.

Fen - what kind of problem does your bro's PS3 have? "Yellow Light of Death" or a failed blu-ray laser diode? I've not yet experienced the YLOD, but one of my brothers did, and he was able to get it working again by reflowing the solder to one of the parts. SAid it wasn't all that hard to follow the you-tube tutorials out there. I personally had the laser die on my 60gb, but a friend gave me the drive from his old PS3 (MOBO was toasted in a lightning strike, but the drive was fine) and it really wasn't all that difficult to rip the drive apart and swap the laser assembly.

12 was good though.

I don't know, I really haven't bothered to find out. There is a lot going on so he doesn't have time to play anyways.

FenStar wrote:12 was good though.

I don't know, I really haven't bothered to find out. There is a lot going on so he doesn't have time to play anyways.

I need to finish (or restart 12) one of these days. I haven't played my save file in about 3 years, but once you get used to the new fight system it's good.

Lol can I get a hell ya Mike.. Gotta love 97.1 sports radio..... But I would go with the fat. I never liked small consoles cause I always think they are going to break.

my brothers ps3has a blinking red light