Just a bit of an addendum: 1. This console was repaired in October of 2022, so nearly half a year of smooth sailing. (Update: Still working great as of July 2024 with daily use!) 2. Josh/Octal pointed out to me that BGA issues aren't necessarily as rare on these PS3s as I initially implied due to structural issues. Still not a super common issue, but not an incredibly rare point of failure either. No matter what, these 90nm GPUs *will* fail and if your PS3 is afflicted with a BGA issue that necessitates a reball, you might as well replace it with a 65 or 40nm GPU while you're in there.
nice i have a couple off 60GB and 20GB ps3s my main 60gb is liquid cooled mod was done in too 2011 still going strong video on my youtube channel if u would like too see anyway i was thinking about buy a frankenstein 60gb too see how well they hold. after waching your video i think i might cheers
@@cheezyfriez12I wouldn't go so far as to make THAT definitive of a declaration (after all, there probably are a few launch PS3's out there that have literally never been open or repasted that are still running pretty good today; some consoles are built better than others after all), but it's definitely at high risk still just due to the inherently faulty 90nm GPU alone. It may be able to last a long time, but there's no guarantee.
I’d love to have this done one day. But my A01 is working fine and has been for the 6 years I’ve owned it. I had it delidded 1.5yrs ago and it’s still great! The machine has I think around 5500 hours on it in total.
I respect the dedication and talent it takes to pull off something like this but when my 60gb dies I'm just gonna ride off into the sunset and get a PS2 and play PS2 games on that and play PS3 games on my super slim.
I had the 60gb... It died, got replaced under an extended warranty that sony honored for anyone who purchased a PS3 before one certain date, but that also died before a certain date. In my case, the referb also died a year later, and thats when I purchased torx drivers, a heat gun, and used youtube to "fix" it. That lasted about 1 month at a time. Sad times
The whole method of heating the ps3 was actually not at all a fix issentially you where torturing the ps3 rsx to temporarly work but it will fail again very quickly after
I've also always had a soft spot for my PS3, even though it ended up in a dump 😢. Fact is, the guilt of that has weighed on me for years. Call it stupid but I don't care. I should have known better. I loved that thing. And since the nec cap debacle, and now the Frankie... I'm simply compelled. Several months from now, I will be selling Frankies. It's become a serious goal. Also, they won't be marked up to 1k like the ones on ebay. I'm still getting my practice in on much less valuable components/devices. (as this is a little out of my forte). But I'm determined Be patient guys, I'm sure I'm not the only one that just wants to save these from the dump.
Beautiful! As a home video enthusiast I preferred a Slim PS3 for bitstream DTS HD and Dolby True HD through HDMI and HDMI CEC. But PS3 fat is the most complete PS3, and also from a design point of view is the best console I've ever seen in my entire life.
Thanks for this video. Answered the one remaining question I had about Frankenstein CECH-A's. Wanted to know if it would use the PS2 hardware instead of software emu under EvilNat. Great that it makes use of the hardware. Have ordered a Frankenstein CECH-A. Will throw a SSD in there and it will be perfect for playing my collection.
It sucks that frankie consoles and frankie sevices are so expensive. Normally, working PS2 BC PS3s that aren't known to be frankied are about 200 to 300 USD for a console without original box on places like eBay. A non BC PS3 is half of that! (about 70 to 100 bucks) A frankie *service* from a trusted installer is like 400-600 bucks by itself :c I guess you could cope with a 90nm RSX console if you don't play on it often, like my dad's old A01. (He was mainly an Xbox player) Sadly it died from a failed CPU delid.
Well reballing is not a common skill and replacing with another working gpu and doing all the work is labor intensive. Unless more places offer it then don't expect it get cheap anytime soon.
@@battokizu You're right, it is hard & delicate work. To be honest I would rather get a PS2 and later PS3 to not deal with the huge expensive of a BC PS3.
Frankie consoles are expensive because it's not a cheap service that can be done. Reballing in general is really only taken up by skilled professionals who REALLY know what they're doing with electronics, and even still it's a long and delicate process and just one little slight fuck up can cause everything to go awry. Further complicating matters in this situation is the fact that BC PS3's aren't exactly super common to begin with (they're not the rarest things in the world but they're far from the type of product you come across all the time in stores these days) and that they're highly sought after, so with all this in mind I don't think Frankenstein PS3's will ever really become something you can be super cheap unless you either have a really generous friend or neighbor who's willing to gift one or you're buying one used, which even then considering how valuable Frankensteins are I doubt many would want to put theirs up for sale anytime soon.
I believe since I had my ylod ps3 refurbished from Sony back in 2013. I most likely have a smaller gpu. The only thing I installed was a fan controller that I can manually adjust. I never had any issues since 2013
What I still want is a good psu replacment or mod because that SOB can BURN an egg not cook but BURN. A mod that isn't super complicated would suffice.
u can replace it with a psu from a 40gb ps3 they run much cooler i put one in my 60gb ps3 in 2011 when did my liquid cooling mod on my 60gb its going strong
@@seganutt I was going to do that but I heard that the psu for the 40gb model is barley any cooler also I heard that there might be some power delivery issues with the ps2 functionality. Still hoping for a nice internal modded psu that doesn't cook the motherboard.
Just bought a CECHC 2 weeks ago Kept it in bubble wrap for those two weeks until two days ago I used it for 2 days The first day I only used it to watch a blu ray film On the 2nd day the blu ray drive died and then hours later the YLOD starting appearing Meanwhile my absolute gigachad of a CECHL tanked a 45 degrees celsius summer of daily use at maximum fan speed and runs smooth with a missing capacitor on the board
The Frankie Phat ps3 is a great option for an all in one casual gamer for the 3 generations but has too hefty of a price. I cant wait till there is a cheaper method developed in the future.
Did he also replace the token capacitors? They do have a 1000hour @100C lifetime, would it make sense to replace them anyway? How does it handle the OC firmware? Any increase in ps2 performance?
1. No, it still has the original NEC/Tokin caps. As mentioned, those caps do not fail anywhere near as often as people say they do. No reason to replace them except if they've failed. 2. OC firmwares have given me nothing but issues on it. I have other PS3s that work fine with them, but the frankie pretty much immediately crashes once the XMB loads. Not sure if it's an issue with it being a frankenstein or if this 40nm RSX just clocks poorly. Bummer, but it is what it is. 3. PS2 titles are entirely unaffected. The PS2 is an entirely separate part of the board that doesn't touch the RSX at all. The few pieces of PS2 hardware that are handled by emulation on these A/B systems are handled by the Cell which hasn't been modified.
Makes me want to get my ps3 Frankenstein but the cost always holds me back. Do have other that I do play but my original I want fixed. Do not know when I’ll pull the trigger.
I have an old fat ps3 that I just use for ps2 know since it has issues playing ps3 games blue rays, dvds, clock battery or cmos battery has gone bad. I can play ps2 games for hours with no problems replaced thermal paste twice so it would have a longer lifespan playing ps2 once it dies I will use a ps2 with my retrotink 5x.
Hello , I had Josh repair my XDK not so long ago , and i understand he doesn't offer this as a service, but i'm here to ask do you know whom would offer the service, as i've the very same rev console as this , CECH00A/NTSC-J. Are you able to provide me with a contact?
Computer Booter (computerbooter.com) is the one guy besides Josh in the US that I know provides a quality service. I know there are a few other vendors that offer it in the US, but the names are escaping me. If you're outside of the US, I'm not sure who to contact.
There's no foolproof solution to the YLOD, but the 40nm swap is the closest thing to that. There's pretty much only like a 1% chance of YLOD at most with it in there.
do you recommend this more for CECHA01 or CECHE01 i know yours is A01 but im nervous about issues w A01 and don't mind that E01 is an emulator is A01 really better for PS2 games or about the same?
I'd buy an A over an E. E models do have compatibility issues with a number of games, I recommend you check the compatibility lists on PSDevWiki. As both A and E models are equally unreliable and both are going to require a Frankenstein mod, I'd recommend buying an A01.
CPU was never an issue because it was correctly manufactured with the appropriate underfill while the GPU wasn't. This was eventually solved and the newer revisions of the GPU use the right underfill
I always wondered, would it be possible to use liquid metal instead of thermal paste on these PS3s? (Kinda like the PS5 does) or would high-end thermal paste be better? Im kinda new to the topic of PS3s so I was curious
Factory thermal paste is typically really poor quality but a decent brand like artic MX5 or artic silver 5 will give you results as good as Liquid Metal and without the possibility of it leaking onto the board and shorting it out
Nice but not financially practical in 2024. Repair cost would be more than a ps2. And i would assume most would jailbreak a slim ps3 to avoid issue while being able to play 90% of ps2 games.
Ps2 CPU and GPU, SSD and 40nm GPU, wow you've really got the perfect PS3.
Only thing missing is freely avaiable chassis swap on other colors aside from black, but it seems no one's manufacturing them yet.
@@thelibertyking6735No. Piano black is the best.
Just a bit of an addendum:
1. This console was repaired in October of 2022, so nearly half a year of smooth sailing. (Update: Still working great as of July 2024 with daily use!)
2. Josh/Octal pointed out to me that BGA issues aren't necessarily as rare on these PS3s as I initially implied due to structural issues. Still not a super common issue, but not an incredibly rare point of failure either. No matter what, these 90nm GPUs *will* fail and if your PS3 is afflicted with a BGA issue that necessitates a reball, you might as well replace it with a 65 or 40nm GPU while you're in there.
Then the Frankenstein fix is the real deal.
nice i have a couple off 60GB and 20GB ps3s my main 60gb is liquid cooled mod was done in too 2011 still going strong video on my youtube channel if u would like too see anyway i was thinking about buy a frankenstein 60gb too see how well they hold. after waching your video i think i might cheers
So my A01 that I cleaned and repasted is doomed?
@@cheezyfriez12 I wouldn't say so I have a few that still work great just luck of the draw I guess u could go the hacks and liquid cool like I did
@@cheezyfriez12I wouldn't go so far as to make THAT definitive of a declaration (after all, there probably are a few launch PS3's out there that have literally never been open or repasted that are still running pretty good today; some consoles are built better than others after all), but it's definitely at high risk still just due to the inherently faulty 90nm GPU alone. It may be able to last a long time, but there's no guarantee.
Very good video my friend and I am glad it is serving you well my brother!
I’d love to have this done one day. But my A01 is working fine and has been for the 6 years I’ve owned it. I had it delidded 1.5yrs ago and it’s still great! The machine has I think around 5500 hours on it in total.
Wow didn’t know about this GPU swap, thanks bro.
Makes me want to tinker with my old consoles, 10/10 would watch again
I respect the dedication and talent it takes to pull off something like this but when my 60gb dies I'm just gonna ride off into the sunset and get a PS2 and play PS2 games on that and play PS3 games on my super slim.
I had the 60gb...
It died, got replaced under an extended warranty that sony honored for anyone who purchased a PS3 before one certain date, but that also died before a certain date.
In my case, the referb also died a year later, and thats when I purchased torx drivers, a heat gun, and used youtube to "fix" it.
That lasted about 1 month at a time.
Sad times
The whole method of heating the ps3 was actually not at all a fix issentially you where torturing the ps3 rsx to temporarly work but it will fail again very quickly after
@survivalhh2995 yeah I know... there's a good doco about it and why it took years to come up with the Frankenstein ps3 part list.
I've also always had a soft spot for my PS3, even though it ended up in a dump 😢.
Fact is, the guilt of that has weighed on me for years. Call it stupid but I don't care. I should have known better. I loved that thing. And since the nec cap debacle, and now the Frankie... I'm simply compelled.
Several months from now, I will be selling Frankies. It's become a serious goal. Also, they won't be marked up to 1k like the ones on ebay. I'm still getting my practice in on much less valuable components/devices. (as this is a little out of my forte). But I'm determined
Be patient guys, I'm sure I'm not the only one that just wants to save these from the dump.
I look forward to it!
I would buy one from you if you charge a reasonable price unlike those Ebay sellers. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for a BC model PS3.
Let’s get an update! How’s the progress
I have a dead A01 I am willing to donate to the cause.
Will gladly buy one
Good video.
ive still got a mgs4 model. still works
Beautiful! As a home video enthusiast I preferred a Slim PS3 for bitstream DTS HD and Dolby True HD through HDMI and HDMI CEC. But PS3 fat is the most complete PS3, and also from a design point of view is the best console I've ever seen in my entire life.
Beautiful. Love this stuff. Perfect while eating breakfast
Thanks for this video. Answered the one remaining question I had about Frankenstein CECH-A's. Wanted to know if it would use the PS2 hardware instead of software emu under EvilNat. Great that it makes use of the hardware. Have ordered a Frankenstein CECH-A. Will throw a SSD in there and it will be perfect for playing my collection.
Truly a treasure, it's awesome that you have one of these :)
It sucks that frankie consoles and frankie sevices are so expensive.
Normally, working PS2 BC PS3s that aren't known to be frankied are about 200 to 300 USD for a console without original box on places like eBay. A non BC PS3 is half of that! (about 70 to 100 bucks)
A frankie *service* from a trusted installer is like 400-600 bucks by itself :c
I guess you could cope with a 90nm RSX console if you don't play on it often, like my dad's old A01. (He was mainly an Xbox player) Sadly it died from a failed CPU delid.
Well reballing is not a common skill and replacing with another working gpu and doing all the work is labor intensive. Unless more places offer it then don't expect it get cheap anytime soon.
@@battokizu You're right, it is hard & delicate work. To be honest I would rather get a PS2 and later PS3 to not deal with the huge expensive of a BC PS3.
Frankie consoles are expensive because it's not a cheap service that can be done. Reballing in general is really only taken up by skilled professionals who REALLY know what they're doing with electronics, and even still it's a long and delicate process and just one little slight fuck up can cause everything to go awry.
Further complicating matters in this situation is the fact that BC PS3's aren't exactly super common to begin with (they're not the rarest things in the world but they're far from the type of product you come across all the time in stores these days) and that they're highly sought after, so with all this in mind I don't think Frankenstein PS3's will ever really become something you can be super cheap unless you either have a really generous friend or neighbor who's willing to gift one or you're buying one used, which even then considering how valuable Frankensteins are I doubt many would want to put theirs up for sale anytime soon.
I believe since I had my ylod ps3 refurbished from Sony back in 2013. I most likely have a smaller gpu. The only thing I installed was a fan controller that I can manually adjust. I never had any issues since 2013
Sony have you give a another gpu? ^^
@@Teternus-b9zSony used to install 40nm GPUs in their repair centres that’s where this mod originated from
What I still want is a good psu replacment or mod because that SOB can BURN an egg not cook but BURN. A mod that isn't super complicated would suffice.
u can replace it with a psu from a 40gb ps3 they run much cooler i put one in my 60gb ps3 in 2011 when did my liquid cooling mod on my 60gb its going strong
@@seganutt I was going to do that but I heard that the psu for the 40gb model is barley any cooler also I heard that there might be some power delivery issues with the ps2 functionality. Still hoping for a nice internal modded psu that doesn't cook the motherboard.
my 60gb has been using one for 12 years now no problem ps2 games play fine @@daviddennen7479
Just bought a CECHC 2 weeks ago
Kept it in bubble wrap for those two weeks until two days ago
I used it for 2 days
The first day I only used it to watch a blu ray film
On the 2nd day the blu ray drive died and then hours later the YLOD starting appearing
Meanwhile my absolute gigachad of a CECHL tanked a 45 degrees celsius summer of daily use at maximum fan speed and runs smooth with a missing capacitor on the board
The Frankie Phat ps3 is a great option for an all in one casual gamer for the 3 generations but has too hefty of a price. I cant wait till there is a cheaper method developed in the future.
You know your stuff man!
very serious video about the frankenstein ps3s
Did he also replace the token capacitors? They do have a 1000hour @100C lifetime, would it make sense to replace them anyway?
How does it handle the OC firmware? Any increase in ps2 performance?
1. No, it still has the original NEC/Tokin caps. As mentioned, those caps do not fail anywhere near as often as people say they do. No reason to replace them except if they've failed.
2. OC firmwares have given me nothing but issues on it. I have other PS3s that work fine with them, but the frankie pretty much immediately crashes once the XMB loads. Not sure if it's an issue with it being a frankenstein or if this 40nm RSX just clocks poorly. Bummer, but it is what it is.
3. PS2 titles are entirely unaffected. The PS2 is an entirely separate part of the board that doesn't touch the RSX at all. The few pieces of PS2 hardware that are handled by emulation on these A/B systems are handled by the Cell which hasn't been modified.
I fixed the yellow light of death back than
Makes me want to get my ps3 Frankenstein but the cost always holds me back. Do have other that I do play but my original I want fixed. Do not know when I’ll pull the trigger.
I have an old fat ps3 that I just use for ps2 know since it has issues playing ps3 games blue rays, dvds, clock battery or cmos battery has gone bad. I can play ps2 games for hours with no problems replaced thermal paste twice so it would have a longer lifespan playing ps2 once it dies I will use a ps2 with my retrotink 5x.
Hello , I had Josh repair my XDK not so long ago , and i understand he doesn't offer this as a service, but i'm here to ask do you know whom would offer the service, as i've the very same rev console as this , CECH00A/NTSC-J. Are you able to provide me with a contact?
Computer Booter (computerbooter.com) is the one guy besides Josh in the US that I know provides a quality service. I know there are a few other vendors that offer it in the US, but the names are escaping me. If you're outside of the US, I'm not sure who to contact.
So a frankenstein console will never get YLOD or will it just minimise the risk of it happening?
If its 40nm its 99% safe
There's no foolproof solution to the YLOD, but the 40nm swap is the closest thing to that. There's pretty much only like a 1% chance of YLOD at most with it in there.
I keep watchiny these videos trying to find out what mods i need to make inorder for me to fix this. Who knows?
Any idea where i can get one of those? 🧟♂️
do you recommend this more for CECHA01 or CECHE01
i know yours is A01 but im nervous about issues w A01 and don't mind that E01 is an emulator
is A01 really better for PS2 games or about the same?
I'd buy an A over an E. E models do have compatibility issues with a number of games, I recommend you check the compatibility lists on PSDevWiki. As both A and E models are equally unreliable and both are going to require a Frankenstein mod, I'd recommend buying an A01.
So what about the cpu for the CPU? Why is that not as unreliable?
CPU was never an issue because it was correctly manufactured with the appropriate underfill while the GPU wasn't. This was eventually solved and the newer revisions of the GPU use the right underfill
I always wondered, would it be possible to use liquid metal instead of thermal paste on these PS3s? (Kinda like the PS5 does) or would high-end thermal paste be better? Im kinda new to the topic of PS3s so I was curious
i believe it is possible to apply liquid metal on the die, not on the ihs though
The liquid metal is a big issue destroying ps5s just from having them vertical for too long
honeywell ptm 7950 is your friend.
Factory thermal paste is typically really poor quality but a decent brand like artic MX5 or artic silver 5 will give you results as good as Liquid Metal and without the possibility of it leaking onto the board and shorting it out
awesome, do you know where I can buy one?
Nice but not financially practical in 2024. Repair cost would be more than a ps2. And i would assume most would jailbreak a slim ps3 to avoid issue while being able to play 90% of ps2 games.
Computer booter did my 40nm Frankie
How is it going?
@@SGVSOUTHSIDE love it. He also did a 20gb for me as well
can you update safely ?
Yes you can update fine. I had to update my Frankenstein to 4.91, and it worked perfectly fine.
I hate Sony rn
I hated The PlayStation 3 leaving a huge chunk of Physical DISKS left on PS3 library! What a waste!