Dealspwn writes: The YLOD. The Yellow Light of Death. This is the dreaded sickness that PlayStation 3 owners fear. With my PS3 nearing its sixth birthday, it finally happened to me. While hardly as prevalent as the Red Ring of Death in the Xbox 360’s early days, the flashing yellow light is still cautiously feared amongst the PS3 community.
In order to cope with this grim occurrence I’ve incorporated the experience into my regular feature, The Sunday Seven. This isn’t a guide on how to fix the problem yourself, no, no, that’s a different fire hazard for a different day and for someone else to tell. This is what was running through my mind as I tried to come to terms with it and ultimately how to bring it back to life.
Hopefully, this won’t happen to you. So use this as a cautionary tale, an amusing anecdote by someone clearly a bit too much attached to a console or as a comparable accompaniment to your own past woes. Let’s face it; this is probably some form of karmic retribution any smugness of having a PS3 when everyone’s 360s were melting.
Console gaming used to be cheaper, more convenient, and reliable--at least until the current generation arrived. Now, it's worse than PC gaming. Here's why.
Lol, No. This is getting more and more ridiculous the more we hear about the next gen consoles.
give me god of war series, the last of us, little big planet series, uncharted series, yakuza, gran turismo, infamous series, Resistance series, MGS, ICO, Killzone series, Motorstorm series, Yakuza series, Heavenly Sword, Folklore etc on PC.. i'll shift with my eyes closed... until then.
plus i find console logistic more simple. buy one and use it for years to come. no upgrades. no nothing. i agree they break (just like my PS3 broke last weekend) but that was after like 5 years. yeah.. i am sad. for now Vita is gonna keep me busy. and Vita is another beast. i want every PS3 games on it.
Give me Day-z, Sim City, Leaugue of Legends, Starcraft II, Dota II, Elder Scrolls Online, Smite, KOTOR, Torchlight, Company of heroes, and Thousands of quality indie games on Consoles..
It works both ways dude. There are, and always will be pros and cons to the Console vs. Pc war.
@nix
unfortunately for the PS4 none of those games will be on it, at launch anyways. Its going to have to build the library over years. Essentially PS4 will start life with 0 games.
PC has a library ready and set to go as of today and it can only get bigger as the next consoles arrive. It literally has 1000's of games on board.
Console gaming library is pretty small when you think about it compared to PC and in the end thats what really matters. New consoles hardly will have any games.
Its not hard getting a PS4 for those exclusives by the way. I am sure Sony will release 2-3 of those 8 hours games every year. No biggie get a console for those. No point compromising the entire multiplat library over those few games. Might as well buy them on the platform where you really can build a library.
PS: some of those PS exclusives are already there on the PC via PS2 emulation. Again unfortunately its the next PS that wont be playing em.
How about all the fantastic games that are only on pc?
Oh . . . that's right. They don't have Sony on the case, therefor you don't consider them good and you don't care.
@sofresh412 Day-Z is headed to consoles and if you have no interest in most of the PC exclusives why bother building a gaming PC? I love both so I have both, but I know lots of people who just don't care about the vast majority of PC exclusives. Also, I wouldn't mention Sim City 3 as a reason to get a PC...
Not to mention all the other free to play games the PC has to offer like Warthunder, Warface, Warframe, Loaded, Firefall, Neverwinter, Hawken, PlanetSide 2, Tribes, Smite and all the others f2p games out there, right now you can't compete with PC gaming, it has better hardware and it has free games and good quality games like Planetside 2 Hawken and Warthunder, then you got all the MMO's out there and the best race simulation and if that isnt enough you can mod your games so you can play Skyrim with next gen graphics or the unique experience of DayZ.
@Sy_Wolf
Rocket said there is a chance it will be on consoles if the games sell well on PC and he said that Sony i think did the approach beside that it still a PC only game
These days I find my PS3 Slim freezes / locks up far far more than my PC does. Now that's not to say it was always the case but I feel that the PC drivers have matured a lot.
Then there's the argument of cost; well I'm on my 2nd PS3 but my PC has remained much the same when put together some 5 years ago (3Ghz dual Core/8800GT512/4GB ram) and while I can't play some new games with all the visual features on there's not one game that doesn't look far better than the PS3 games - mostly due to anti-aliasing, very little texture compression, decent draw distances.
While I liked the frontend menus of the PS3 and adding a theme these days it's been taken over with links that take up most of the screen and more recently blasted adverts - it's virtually pointless using a theme now and knowing I have no control over this reminds me how much nicer the PC is to use these days - why does Sony think I'm unable to use a subdirectory to click for psn store etc as with settings!!
Don't get me wrong I enjoy using the PS3 and there's been some great unique games but today I was playing UT99 with extreme hi-res textures and a new Nali Weapons mod and C&C Generals Zero hour - both games older than the PS3 (UT99=14yrs). Both look and play fantastic even today and both genres just don't play well on consoles due to the simple inflexibility of not supporting keyboard and mouse/trackball.
@OpenGL
"Some games on PS3 like Gran Turismo 5: Prologue..."
Stop right there, GT5P could most certainly be played w/o logging in to PSN. Now you're getting silly...
^ You should've read his entire sentence.
GT5:Prologue requires online if you buy the digital version.
people who like MMOs and Strategy games, build a PC, people who like all the other genres buy a home console, people who love both, build a PC and buy a home console.
The amount of like/dislike disparity clearly shows N4G is filled with console fanboys. If SONY has some exclusives then PC has many great exclusives too. Infact the exclusives like on PC are so rare that they are not even found on other consoles.
If PS3 has Last of Us then Xbox/PC has Left4Dead series. If SONY has UNcharted, then MS XBOX has Gears of War.
But both these consoles cannopt run games like Starcraft 2, Simcity, DOTA2 and many others.
Replying to sofresh412
None of those games you listed interests me.
They're nothing like the games nix listed.
Will this nonsense ever end?
It's about the games! It has always been.
If you are a gamer you see all of them as platforms, cunduits to exhilarating experiences with varying playstyles and different social communities.
We are lucky to have these many options; let the companies fight between themselves for our coin and try not to be manipulated by media sensasionalisations.
Don't hate on your own kind by being a prejudicial drone.
It's pointless, rediculously stupid and it makes you look like a fanboy every single time.
free, awesome deals, easier messaging system, not cluttered with endless menus to flip through.You can buy games that came out a year ago for $5 on Steam, and Xbox Live tries to sell last gen games for $20. Both services have an online storefront, but Steam's storefront is easier to navigate. In addition, they are more upfront about game details than Xbox Live. Also, Steam offers better gaming previews with footage of almost all of the games whereas Xbox Live only does this for select titles.
-Free
-Dedicated servers >>>>>> P2P
-Cheap games
-Steam Cloud
-Less Advertising
-Custom community groups for anything
Best to play video games on a pc.
Steam? That almost-always-online service that requires an intrusive third party client to be installed on your computer and reserve itself the right to confiscate everything you bought? No thanks.
I had to move to consoles a yea ago because I realized that Steam-free gaming on the PC is not possible anymore - even physical disks are encrypted with Steam. Even worse, when game publishers and Microsoft realized how easily PC gamers betrayed all their principles for cheaper prices, now console gamers have to fight a desperate war not to allow those rotten services take hold on the console market.
You may choke with your Steam DRM and always online crap like Diablo 3 and SimCity (that sold millions), I'm staying with my console. I prefer slightly worse graphics and more expensive prices to intrusive services and DRM.
So instead you prefer console DRM. Which restricts you from playing any of your old games on the next machine.
You pretty much have 0% chance of playing a PS3 game on a PS4. At least on PC you can play your old games many many years later.
I wouldn't consider that DRM, DRM is something added for a specific purpose, the PS4's inability to play old games was an unfortunate inevitability given they were no longer using the Cell processor.
I've had my Steam account since 2004 and every game I purchased then will be playable forever and the service as a whole has been very convenient.
PS4 on the other hand is making all of my PS3 PSN purchases irrelevant, hardly convenient and much worse than Steam's DRM, which by the way works in offline mode. Some games on PS3 like Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and Warhawk cannot be launched without connecting to PSN if you don't own the physical version(yes Warhawk can be played offline in split-screen), so the PS3 already has always-on DRM for some games.
@decrypt a generation for a pc gpu is 2 years,console are fixed hardware, they can't improve technologically with out making cut backs in some areas to have a better system over all.
@OpenGL not sure about gt but warhawk is a multiplayer game so that comparison doesn't make sense as there is no single player component.
Consoles almost always have a different architecture each gen, and the lack of backward compatibility is an unfortunate side effect of that. Believe me, if Sony could easily add backward compatibility to the PS4 (and PS3) they would gladly do it. PC, on the other hand, has the same Windows and the same x86 architecture since 95, so backward compatibility is a non-brainer. And yet, sometimes you have to struggle to run old games.
Steam, on the other hand, is a completely artificial barrier that stand between the software - the game, and the hardware - the PC. When I purchase a [physical] console game and I have the hardware - that's it. I don't need to call the shop I bought the game from and ask a permission to run it. This is one of the reasons people are so mad at Microsoft - they want to add that artificial barrier to the Xbox 720, because they see that PC gamers so happily accepted it.
@ Nyromith
"Believe me, if Sony could easily add backward compatibility to the PS4 (and PS3) they would gladly do it"
Actually no, they don't want BC on their new consoles. It's not profitable to Sony. Sony want's to sell the same game again and again. That's what happened this generation and that's what's going to happened next gen with the PS4.
...and for Steam being always online, it's not true. For single player games you only have to install it and play it once (to activate), then you can play your steam single player game offline any time you want.
@Nyromith the cfw scene recently got backwards compatibility to work with "non backwards compatible consoles", almost all games...Google it yourself, PS2 classics manager. That is something Sony should have offered for free...A way to to rip your old games and convert into PS2 classic format but no they charge you for your game again. Sony could easily come up with something similar for PS4 to play PS3 games. There's no such thing as non backwards compatible in this day in age with the tech available.. but there certainly is a such thing as greed.
tell that to max payne 3... amongst others... and actually Sony would have added ps3 backwards compatibility at least in launch consoles if they could if for no other reason than, that in Japana such a feature is very important to them. However it really isn't currentlly possible to emulate the cell using x86 architecture- not at the moment anyway..
I dont care what you guys say im getting a ps4 day one since gaming on consoles is what I actually like and not on pc, and if I want to game on pc ill just buy my games on it dont you think
STEAM is an open service it allows gamers to run their own mods and servers. Extremely cheap games and simplified modding via steamworks just point and click the mod you want hassle free. Is just a better service than what you get on PSN or xbox live
You're definitely the type of person who has never used Steam before. I don't know of a single person who uses it and dislikes it. That aside, you don't HAVE TO BE online to play games on your steam account. Time and time again people make this stupid mistake.
Not to be rude or anything, but why do you think consoles are the best? Just asking, not going to be hostile towards your opinion.
Edit: Why the disagree, just asking lol.
Why are people even comparing Consoles to PC's, why don't we just compare Vita and 3DS to Iphones and Androids now....
Agreed that the state of consoles has worsened, though not that PCs are any better. These days no console game is ever "finished", and the constant system updates makes one pine for the good ol' days when a console was locked down. But he left out the primary cause: the consumer has also gotten a lot worse. Conditioned by years of atrocious PC software and OSes, they simply accept and buy any form of abuse. In-game advertising, games shipped as beta tests, everything-as-a-service, patched-patches, and now a whole new set of invasive abuses on the horizon. This situation only exists because so many are willing to suck it down and cough it up.
Thank you that's what I been trying to say. It started on the pc with CD keys, long ass hour installation games onto the pc hard drive. Endless patches, freezing and crashing games. Until now that PC gamers said enough is enough. That's what console gamers need to do is to stand up and not put up with the bs of these corporations.
There is really no argument about what is the more feature rich platform (PC), the only advantage that consoles have is the price of entry. I own a 360 for exclusives and all I have to say is 'eighty dollar controllers'. And the games all look fuzzy.
The PC is an open platform with limitless possibilities, better input devices, superior networking, and can also help you do your taxes and make 3D models for work. And watch movies. And shop any store. surf the internet. All for no additional 'subscription' cost over your internet bill.
I have always found PC gaming better even though I owned all consoles this gen...
Cheaper in the long run
More versatile
Higher chance of bw compatibility
And no you don't need a top tiered machine with constant upgrades. I remember the days where you had to look at the system requirements but nowadays not so much
Lastly better and smoother graphics
This is true.
I have a backup laptop from years ago and it can still play all of today's games on medium settings, it has an x1600 Radeon and I'm shocked at how fast it can still run newer games. The only drawback is that it generates too much heat and shuts down frequently, but that's due to poor case ventilation.
On my other rig the thing hasn't required any upgrades and it's been a cheaper way to game over home consoles.
I've become highly disappointed with the Xbox 360, especially with the proprietary hard drive prices (I could get a 500GB PC HD for the price of a 50GB Xbox 360 HD) and piss poor graphics and paid networking services (which is less convenient and offers FAR less features than Steams -- a lot of people have forgotten to mention that Steam games also automatically come with toolshop or modding software for free).
I'm looking forward to the PS4 but if MS keeps price gouging with the 720 the way they have with the 360 then it's so long and good bye.
Console gaming has become an abomination that is being morphed by big budget companies that rape you for your money. Please dont buy the PS4 all its gonna b is just another little black box with buttons on it.
Thanks. After a sea of intelligent, well reasoned responses from other PC users it was a relief to see that not all of them are that mature.
Console gaming was more expensive back then games used to cost around $70-$120 and some consoles were more expensive like the 3DO
Next generation is going to be even worse, console only gamers, prepare to be raped without a condom.
Pc gamers are already being forced f**ked lol.
Why focus on console gaming when your platfrom has many problems of its own?
why do pc gamers even care is the question?
some people like spend thousands USD for a PC and later change parts every six months, when Nvidia shows a new technical demo. In the past days NVIDIA unveiled the GTX Titan, an enormous graphics card that costs $1,000.
Are you serious? 1000 bucks to play the same games that old game machines like 360 or Ps3 like the amazing Bioshock and Tomb Raider.
What a waste of money¡
:(
u dnt need thse cards to play the games u could buy a 50 buck card and play them so they look like 360 or pay say a hundred and still play them on high, i paid 400 total for my pc and plays all games on high at this time in future if i wana play newer games on high pay couple hundred for new cpu or card, or not its my choice, do research before you run ya mouth off
Ok Gabriel1030, the GTX Titan is way way way way way overpriced. Those who spend thousands of dollars on their PC are because they love they're PC Enthusiasts, for me I only spent around $1000 USD on mine, and still it is running as great as ever. Please, didn't your mother tell you to think before you say?
Ragthorn It's my personal opinion.
LOL. Really 1000 bucks for a single card,for play the same games that a 360, are you serious?
Sorry no offense, but if you are a designer, programmer or engineer and need a super PC for WORK in programs like Solid Works, Pro engineer or Autocad, I understand that you need a super PC, but 1000 for only the graphics card to PLAY. The worst is that you need change this device each 6 months, also the RAM and maybe the cooling system.
Please, didn't your mother tell you to think before you pay?
@Gabriel
Yeah, because everyyyyyone changes their parts every 6 months.
Personally I change my RAM all the time! The new 8GB DDR3 1333hz is much faster than my 8GB DDR3 1333hz and I can't stand it. My water cooling CPU cooler isn't cooling also so I need to buy a new one like freaking socks.
At Gabriel1030, I have a GTX 460 dating back early 2011 and I didn't need to upgrade that $200 graphics card just to play games. This graphics card runs all the new games like Bioshock and Tomb Raider on max settings fine. My computer is made up of parts from 4-5 years ago and I'm still getting high definition graphics.
Playing games is one hobby, but being a PC enthusiast is another. You can't hate on PC enthusiasts for being PC enthusiasts. Do you hate car enthusiasts because they spend hundreds and thousands on a Lamborghini or Ferrari? No.
always whinge whinge im so high n mighty with my opinion, who the fuk cares what u choose to play games on as long as u enjoy yourself who gives a rats ass what some nobody on the interweb thinks
I'd rather lay on my couch and play than to have to sit at a desk. I play on all platforms. PC is cheaper in the long run but with kids and friends coming over I prefer playing on a consoles because of local multiplayer.
If you have a 360 just literally plug in your controllers and you're done.
If you have an HDMI compatible TV just plug your PC in and run Steam in Big Picture Mode. Games like Borderlands 2, Blur *cough*Dolphin*cough* and other games via Steam have plenty of offline splitscreen options
http://forums.gearboxsoftwa...
I hate people who still use this argument against pc's....you can plug your pc into your tv and relax on your couch plus like the comment above says steam big picture mode makes it an even better experience
PC gaming was always been awesome. Console gaming always comes down to 5-10 exclusive games per system for me. At above, it's pretty easy to play PC games on a tv from your couch. And local multiplayer is almost dead anyway.
I play both, I have just as much fun on both.
You have fun just playing PC games, I'll have fun playing everything, I pity the fools that don't.
Some very well put reasoned arguements from the PC crowd in here. I thank you for your maturity.
However I prefer console gaming for ease of use, knowing my hardware choice will still be valid 7-10 years down the line (no need to upgrade that is, knowing my day 1 ps3 is still as valid as one sold today), the exclusives and the ease of plug and play gaming on any tv in any room at anyones house.
Im happy with my choice, as im sure you're all happy with yours. I dont need you to see things my way or change your opinion, I just ask that you respect my opinion and not try to change it because its one you dont agree with.
Even though I am a console-only gamer, PC is king:
-More exclusives than any console platform
-Cheaper games
-Mod support
-Superior online play
-Emulation
Good point but personally I just hate checking system requirements , antivirus bs, bugs , etc ... I use pc all day and when I get home rarely touch my laptop
opinions opinions.... and IMHO .. . console gaming has never been as good as gaming on a pc.
@SonyPS4 + bubble
and I will add
-you can always play any game that you bought (and even ones you havent) even if you upgrade or use a new computer.
- screen resolutions that fit YOUR budget ... same game nothing changes but if your willing to shell out more money you can play at any resolution you want (multi monitors or 4k tv)
- cheaper than consoles in the long run.. (what you save on games)
- THE BIGGEST LIBRARY of games that there will EVER BE (ok this should have went up top with point #1.
- MOUSE + KB > controller for some games... and u can plug in a controller for games that you prefer to use one with
( but im hoping next gen system uses the option to use a kb like UT3 tried to do for ps3 but with less lag ) (yea that input lag was terrible and it was the only reason i even got ut3 for ps3 cuz i felt like i would pwn all :P ..i got pwnd )
- cheat codes (trainers) for fun games that lack them (can go with sonyps4 "mods")
- im alt tabbed and typing this ....while playing N4G's most hated game waiting for the next round to start
Yay, I love it when us PC Gamers are recognized as good folk, always have to have those PC braggers that ruin our reputation *cough pissed999 cough*. Well I just want everyone of you guys to enjoy on what you play on, but in my opinion I will always prefer PC gaming from reasons said above, like games costing less, DRM Free, my overall preference w/ mouse+keyboard, and alot of other reasons.
At this point why are people even trying to prove their platform of choice is BESTESTS? Each platform has been around long enough to prove itself, and the internet has argued back and forth over and over and over.
Pick what fits your style and play some games, stop worrying about what other people prefer. Seriously get over it.
This is both a positive and negative.
In consoles, you kinda need a large community for games that have peer-to-peer online or else you spend ages trying to find a match.
This also means that you'll encounter a lot more people, some good, some bad.
On PC, there are dedicated servers so you're good as long as there's enough people in your area to keep one server alive.
Even when there are multiple servers to choose from, I stick with a few favorite and play with the same group of people the frequent the servers. We're closer friends because of it.
... but yea, the PC games that don't have dedicated servers tend to die quick, aside from CoD which dies a bit more slowly.
But COD on PC kinda died a terrible death after MW2. I'm not sure if the crowd came back but I do know they lost a huge amount of popularity among the PC community.
PC gaming is vastly larger overall. It's just very fractured to the point that there's a ton of different small communities. There just isn't that console sheep mentality of buying the next big game en masse. People play the same games for years and there's always mods or cheap older games. The longevity of PC games is really what killed it as a market for the publishers.
Sounds like people hate people. I wish we could but judging on how people don't agree with you (besides me), people just hate people.
Ugh, I'm really starting to hate the PC crowd all over again and it's obviously their selfish asses that are making this article popular.
It's the fact that both console and pc elitists tend to bicker amongst each other trying to convey the reasons why their console is superior to the other.
There are arguments for and against each platform but what drives the article to the ends of the earth is that idiots tend to create 10 worded comments that are absolutely ignorant.
Ok I these arguments are getting on my nerves. They both have ups and downs. Consoles get hits such as uncharted and Metal gear and PC has games like Arma and Torchlight. PC has the option to be upgradable but console has parts that are better for the cost. Some ports suck on both console and PC. Console can have used games where PC has sales more often. My point is it's a roller coaster and the list goes on I have both PC and PS3 though my life would not be the same without one or the other and neither would this generation.
The thing that always set the PC apart to me was the ability to easily mod games. I have several Skyrim graphics mods installed, entire new levels created for many other games, and the ability to tweak a lot of gameplay parameters that you just can't do on a console. With Steam Workshop many mods are just a click away.
I have all the current gen consoles and enjoy playing them, but the ability to mod games is the thing I find most lacking so I will usually pick up the PC version if available over the console version.
I like getting all my games on Steam. Downloading is the future. This whole act of receiving something in a case and taking a disc out and putting it in a tray is getting quaint. Only collectors care about that shit!
My favorite(notice how I said "My" not "your") exclusives are on playstation
/argument
/thread
Since PC gaming doesn't exist anymore... im not sure how console gaming can be worse?
People who compare console specs and flexibility of the OS/game code(mods) to that of a PC is really missing the point of consoles entirely. Consoles, while focused on graphics(specs) is not the only thing consoles have. the tradeoff to having a console rather than a PC is a far more simplified, fast, streamlined, easy to buy(just grab a box and checkout, not so simple with buying or building a gaming rig) and comfortable experience as opposed to PC and usually at an affordable price that reduces with age.
Its also got its benefits for devs, static hardware(same specs fo all machines) means easier optimization, easier bug fixes and overall postrelease maintenance.
Also this article is trying WAY too hard to justify it's title. Comparing PC gaming gripes of finding/downloading/installing of drivers/driver updates, patches, compatibility, and hardware configurations to the few PS3 games that take forever to install but require no effort on your part? don't really see how something completely automatic is just as troublesome as something he says he had to do manually.
You can't compare PCs to consoles. It's a stupid comparison.
When a console allows you to write a document, while watching a video, and utilizing a variety of other programs at once such as photoshop or Maya, then compare them, as of right now though? Two completely different beasts.
I use to like console gaming for the convenience of popping in a disc and playing the game and that outweighed my complaint of consoles being so closed and moderated. Now even that is gone with online passes and having to download patches. I honestly see consoles closed platform PCs which is bad
Consoles are far, far cheaper than PCs, considering that, in order to actually have a superior PC at some point in a console's lifetime, while still playing games throughout the generation, you need to buy a more expensive PC at least twice.
ex: 2006
Buy a PlayStation 3
or
Buy a Pentium D with an nVidia 7800 GTX (which cost a ton at the time). Avoid claiming superiority on gaming forums, because you know its not even remotely true, at this time.
2008
Keep you PS3
or
Upgrade your old PC to a Core 2 Duo with a 9800 GT (which cost a ton at the time). Hesitate to claim superiority on gaming forums, because yeah, PC games don't really take advantage of your hardware yet, and its not all that superior, mostly due to generic OS inefficiencies.
2010
Keep your PS3
or
Upgrade your old PC again, to a i7 with a GTX 480 (which cost a ton at the time). You probably also need a new PSU, mobo, and memory. Start to claim gaming PC superiority with confidence, on gaming forums.
2012
Keep your PS3
or
Upgrade your old PC, maybe just the GPU this time, to a GTX 680. Rememeber to claim PC superiority on gaming forums, even though its obvious.
...on top of that BS, remember that PS3 gamers can SELL their games after using them, for a reasonable price. PC gamers...nope.
There is NO WAY that PC gaming is cheaper.
I'll take PC gaming over consoles any day of the week. If only for the single fact that the pc community (for the most part) isnt full of bratty whining foul mouthed little pests. It isnt even possible to jump into a online console game today without the endless stream of annoying wanna-be bad ass children blasting some shitty garbled rap into their mic, and how cool they are for mentioning smoking a bowl, and yelling that one is a "Fing, Fag, N word, Jew, Bitch etc etc every 10 seconds. Christ, at least think up something original...yeah yeah ok Im a "big gay fag", for the 1000 time in the last 30 minutes, gee whiz you sure made me mad with that one. pfft. It made me want to pull my fucking eye out after a short time. "Well just mute them or dont use a head set" you might say? Why should I have to do this at all? I dont have this sort of shit on PC. I dont need to, or want to play with little fuktards who live in their mommys basement and whos beddy bys time is 9pm.
PC has, again, for the most part, an adult community who will kick and ban you for acting like a typical immature console gamer. My great PC experiences by far outweigh the very few great times on console. I know there are plenty of great console gamers out there as I have played with many myself; but I just cant stand all of the morons that come with it. Im not 12 years old, so why the fuck would I want to hang out with 12 year olds online?
I love some of the console exclusive games and if I do get another console it sure as hell wont be to play online with the millions of annoying little twats.
I simply get a better all-round experience on PC. Period.
Console gaming was always worse than PC gaming, in every way. Overpriced and substandard.
Insecure fanboys, insecure fanboys everywhere.
If you want a console buy a console, if you want pc gaming buy a pc. If you want both.. Buy both. And let that be the end of it.
These discussions are nonsense, it all comes down to a matter of taste and the amount of money in your wallet.
"My PS3 YLODed six months ago. As a videogames journalist, who needs its console to work, I had the necessity to buy a new one the next day. However, this is the story of how i felt (and I think it matches with the story of those who went through the same."
Source: MyGames.pt
it's true. All fat ps3s will ylod eventually regardless of how good you take care of it. I got me a slim, but even I'm not sure when that one is going to last. Sony needs to do something about the heat.
My fat 60GB died, I re-balled it and it's been working even better than before for one whole year. Anyone who tries that ghetto hair dryer technique doesn't deserve to own a PS3 in the first place.
When you spend so much on a product it only makes sense that you would try to fix it the best way possible and not the dumbest way possible.
My Phat 80gig died on me. The first time I didn't re-ball good enough. I was scared of over doing it. Then it died again and so did my buddies. I showed him how to do it and we got them both going again. Don't use it too often but it works like a charm. Phat 60 is still going strong though
I had mine for about the same time and it died. I reballed it and then it died. Reballed and it died again. You see the pattern? That's why I kept my ps1 and ps2.
Well, that was yours, my psone still works.
My PS2 is blind after my long term abuse and torture, and my PS3 is still as good as ever.
It does matter how you take care of them
then may I ask you why mine ylod then? I can assure you that I took good care of the ps3, but it still ylod on me. Just because yours works like a charm doesn't mean it won't happen. I have people that disagreed with me before and then a year later they come back telling me that their console finally ylod. Nothing lasts forever, but people just find this hard to believe.
I always clean the vents every week
It is standing on a wooden platform so it can release the heat easily.
I let it rest every 3 to 4 hr
And I keep it in a well ventilated and cool room.
Still, it depends that which serie of which country too.
Most of the ylods happen in USA as it seems.
Every single ylod victim that I've met in forums and such places came from USA
Tristan Charles Writes: September, 25th 2010 marks a day which will live in video gaming infamy. This travesty took place the day I recieved my copy of ” Start The Party” in the mail for review. Ironically, the “party” surely didn’t start for this aspiring games journalist. This day of epic woeful proportions was the day my PlayStation 3 console fell victim to the heinous Yellow Light of Death.
Honestly the first thing I did when this tragedy unfolded was cry out loud like a little school girl… no exaggeration. Second, I tried my utmost best to recall every single instance of possible system abuse I can imagine. I listed everything ranging from excessive prolonged use to downloading EA’s immensely disappointing NBA Elite 11 Demo. Honestly, I would completely understand if my PS3 decided to commit suicide after running that monstrosity on my system and thats no lie.
More after the jump
Quite a good guide
Im a YLOD victim, my 40gig (500hdd upgraded) has had YLOD 3 times in 15 months, i aint payin 2 hav a refurb, ill buy a Slim when my 40 totally dies (ive already backed up my files)
Touch wood my PS3 is runnin cool and quietly at the mo, last time i got YLOD (2 months ago) i used the none clean Flux and Clamp bendin guide from Gilsky, ive removed the HDD cover to let sum air in and every once in a while i take the shiney plastic cover off to also let sum air in/out
My PS3 will fight 2 the end
Ive been a YLOD victim twice
Each time I've had to pay $150 to get it repaired...
I wish I didn't because I keep all of my electronics in great condition so its the fault of faulty hardware yet I still have to pay to get it fixed.
makes me wonder how many times you have had your 360 repaired or how many you have bought.
Highly unlikely as you require a PS3 to have the misfortune of YLOD...back to your bridge troll and get ready for your casual box to provide seconds of entertainment on it's industry changing Kinect
I have had to have my PS3 repaired/refurb twice. The first time I had blu-ray failure which cost me £145. The second time was YLOD and got a refurb for free the next day. Sony did this for free as I had already paid before for a refurb, even though my guarantee had expired ages ago. This new refurb PS3 I have noticed the fan comes on fairly quickly, way before the system gets hot, and keeps it cool. It runs with the fan going but I've noticed this PS3 never gets hot only warm. I was just wondering if Sony have made the fan start working quicker so that it stays cool and doesn't melt the solder which was a big problem in the old models of PS3.
@ greenringoflife: Sony only charged me once for a refurb even though my guarantee ran out.
Wow you guys are a bunch of idiots. I guess it's impossible for someone's PS3 to YLOD twice, right?
Reball with better Solder
Replace existing fan with 19 blade original Sony fan
Replace Thermal Paste with better premium paste.
That should do it
I think it's very easy to fix a YLOD'ed PS3. Most of the time, YLOD happens when the thermal paste, that Sony uses to pull heat away from the processors, dries out which causes the system to over heat. I just recently replaced the thermal paste on my 60gb PS3(I also replaced the original power unit with the one that comes in the old 40gb phat PS3s which runs cooler and more energy efficient) even though my PS3 hasn't YLOD'ed yet since you never know when a hardware failure will strike. The thermal paste I used is IC Diamond 7 because it's superior to the Arctic Silver 5 paste and vastly superior to the cheap paste Sony originally used on the system.
2 weeks ago it lasted 3 years aand 6mnth havent got the 250 at moment send back to sony but with all the games coming out i went out and got a ps3 slim 320gb . i took my dvd out of the machine now i can send it back to sony australia has i put the machine back together when im ready its going back to sony to get repaired
My 20gb JUST recently YLOD. Ive had it since release, and it sucked, but oh well. I bought a new 120 gb PS3 and its nice and much quieter. Still it sucked having that happen, and now my Socom game is stuck inside.
Honestly, I think waiting for the slim was the smartest move I've made in my past purchases.
has got to be at least 25%
Come on people speak up, make a stink about this, Sony should not be allowed to get away with lying about this and charging 150 bux for everyone they fix.
I've never seen any data to suggest anything that high. Even the very first models don't seem to have that high a failure rate.
Every XBox owner I know has had at least one RROD, I just got a call last night from the last friend who still hadn't suffered a dad 360. His lasted 2 years and 8 months, but he doesn't use it much. I don't know a single PS3 owner that's had a YLOD.
My first PS3 is an 80gb fat (now 640gb) and is still running fine. I vacuum it monthly and backup every week or two.
If the fan is noisy then it may very well be covered in dust. If you're out of warranty then you may want to crack it open and give it a really thorough cleaning. Dust is the enemy.
The original PS3 model is nearing 4 years old. Naturally there will be more and more reports of consoles failing. Eventually the failure rate of all consoles will rise.
As far as I know the YLOD can be caused from several issues aside from worn solder. A dead fan, old thermal paste, and failing power supply can cause the YLOD.
I generally rate a console's failure on two factors. The first is time of failure in a given expected lifecycle. The second is the frequency of the same cause. In the case of the original PS3 the solder is indeed the weakest link in the hardware reliability. However, if the PS3 lasts 3+ years before failing then I probably wouldn't add it to the failure rates of defective units.
how come my Intellivision (yea most around here are to young to know that one), SNES, N64, GameCube PS2 both fatty and slim) and my PS3... all running fine
gave away the PS1
Their life expectancy was much longer. They were built to last. Now that online and digital downloading are here we are getting hardware with shorter lifecycles. The industry is shifting away from ownership and more towards service.
If Xbox Live, Onlive, and PSN are any indication it's a step toward access to content with no ownership rights. Just a license. Logically this can only conclude that, in their eyes, a console doesn't need the same reliability anymore. Why? When they move on it won't matter if the console works or not. They control the software and will likely end your access.(Think about the original Xbox Live service)So, regardless if the console lasts 30 years or more, the console isn't worth anything anymore.
Right now Sony's PS3 has the longest life expectancy. Back in the days of Intellivision they built things with ownership in mind. You can't say that today and that's regarding most entertainment products. Again, my original post points to life expectency...which is much shorter today than yesterday.
as long as your PS3 is out in the open getting air and dust your vents once a month and it should last another 10 years.
You're wrong. There is a problem in the conception of the console. Dust can help it to overheat, but cleaning the vents is not the key to prevent any YLOD.
Beside that, YLOD is a generic issue. It signifies overheating problem, but it can comes from severals parts of the console.
Like xtreampro_REVENGE! says:
"Reball with better Solder
Replace existing fan with 19 blade original Sony fan
Replace Thermal Paste with better premium paste. "
Can help to prevent, but you can never be sure.
My 60gb died 1 month after warranty, i had to pay 200€ to get another second hand one. My friend is on his second YLOD. We are both very carefully with our hardware, pc or console. There is obviously some hardware issue with the old fatties, especially the 60gb.
I had my blu ray laser fixed for $150 only a month after my warranty ended. Then it lasted another year and got YLOD. I payed my game store $100 to fix it and it lasted a week so they put that $100 towards a 160GB and I've had it for a month. It feels so good to not have to worry anymore if I'm going to go without a PS3 to play. I think the main reason I've had my PS3 fail on me is because I play for long periods of time. About that part in the article where he said to shut off the power switch, well my slim doesn't have a main power switch.
i thought according to the majority of n4g "users" that the yellow light of death was only a myth.
This thread just started. There are many disagrees to come.
I'm watching a movie on my 3.5 year old 60GB model right now. I love it and I hope it never breaks, but I would pay to have it repaired if it does.
My Launch 60gig just YLOD on me last night. Almost went for a solid 4yrs.
I've decided to get this 'sucka fixed by a local shop for $100 the first time.If it YLODs again, I'll probably buy a new slim and say good bye to my PS2 titles (12 of them, which I haven't played recently anyhow).
Launch 60 died recently,a power 'core' issue not a faulty solder dream.Bought a 120 slim and moved on.
Should have paid for a 'refurb' in hindsight.......twice.....
Slims run beauty yet so did my 60 for 4yrs....will be interesting to see if the slim can endure 4yrs.
Either way,its all good :)
hmmm,Odd parts inside my 60....I assumed they were heat reduction technologies.....made in mexico yet labeled USA.......I feel foolish.
I laughed,you get bub. :)
why does Hellsvacancy have 1 bubble?....a question that bears answering.
clearly he made a comment that could be interpreted as negative toward ps3. that kills your bubbles quick round these parts
Im suprised all 3 of mine are still working. My launch 60gb, my MGS4 ps3 & my slim. Ihad a 20gb but I traded it in to buy my slim. I think im just lucky I dont play on one system all the time because I also use my 360 aswell which is the only system I had go out on me out of all the systems I own. My wii is being used by my nieces & nephews lately since I havent been really playing my wii much but my nieces & nephews love it. Almost everyone in my family & friends who owned a 360 has had it rrod once or twice but what can u do when u put so much investment into it but just keep sending it in until your 3 year warranty is up. All 3 systems has its failure ratio but its not going to stop those consumers from buying it again if they put so much money into it. Its sad to have YLOD or RROD happen to u but reality is it does exsist, u just have to make sure u are ready for it or it will creep up & hit u when u dont least expect it.
My 40GB got the YLOD right before God of War 3 but my replacement Slim is quite nice. It puts out considerably less heat, and based on internet reports, the Slim units are a lot more reliable.
i own a 60gb bought it in Bahrain in 2007, no problems so far i even leave it on over night.
Lol, what a load of rubbish...
"If you hear your fan at all on your PS3 while playing a game, it could be a key indicator that the YLOD may be on its way"
What? The fan only turns on when the CPU and GPU reach a certain degree... Not when YLoD is on it's way. The PlayStation 3 doesn't know when it's coming. Either do you... Besides, almost ALL 60GB fans spin at full speed...
"Back up ALL of your files!!"
What? What for? YLoD doesn't erase your files... SONY DOES! Bastards. All they do is replace the solder which keeps your CPU and GPU to your PlayStation 3's motherboard and they slap a new HDD in that sucker...
And WTF people!? YLoD is easily DIY fixed in 60 minutes! Why send it to Sony? Afraid? Just take it apart, put it in the oven for 15 minutes on 200*C and let it cool off. Fixed. Yes, it's that easy. Bunch of noobs on here.
well explain why all my files are gone and I was unable to recover them. Look I experienced this and I am sharing what unfortunately happened. Thats all... It doesn't take a pro or novice to see signs of something going horribly wrong.
Plus the reflow process is not always guaranteed. That's the harsh and honest truth. I purchased an extra slim after my repair... I would recommend reading the second half of the article
I can't explain it. Because it just doesn't happen... Something must've happened with the HDD...
Because Sony's hard drive encryption package makes it so the hard drive can only be read by the console that last formatted it. If you took out your hard drive and received the exact same console back that you sent in, your hard drive should still work fine.
The heat-gun fix is the worst fix you could possibly ever do. Gilksy himself said on the PS forums that a permanent fix for YLOD is to have your PS3 re-balled with Leaded solder.
The heat gun method causes irreversible damage to your motherboard and if you keep on doing it (since it's not a lasting fix) you will eventually damage the solder and motherboard beyond repair.
Sony's repair department use a precise infrared BGA Re-flowing/Re-balling station that accurately targets the solder under the GPU or CPU and heats it at a very specified and precise temperature which is definitely NOT 200*C. But even after all that treatment Sony's refurbished PS3's still break down and that's because of the solder itself.
Anyone who thinks they can permanently fix a $600/£425 piece of electronics with a heat-gun is an idiot or a 'noob' as you so harshly put it.
EDIT: @Below: I said the heat gun method will eventually put your console in a state beyond repair, you can't keep on doing as it'll eventually take a toll on the GPU, CPU & motherboard.
You can't a re-ball a motherboard that's been damaged since re-balling requires the motherboard to be in a mint condition.
That's true. Re-balling. I lost the correct word. Thanks. There are enough professional companies who do it for about $60. And the problem is solved. Permanently.
Beyond repair? No. As you said, re-balling with replace the solder with "better" solder.
I know, but 200*C is enough heat to do the solder to melt, and fix it. Permanently untill now with my PlayStation 3 (without re-balling).
And noob isn't harsh, it's a perfectly normal word. It's even in the dictionairy these days...
I always preheat it. cook it for 10 mins. then let it cool down.
gotta do it like every 4-5 weeks though. I guess I should reball it, but I kinda enjoy tearin it apart and fixin it myself.
"RROD" has to be at or near 50%.
Mine was.My ps3 YLOD is also 50%. Difference being 2weeks vs. 4years. Am I one in a million...? I doubt it.
It's only a question of time, and that goes for all electronics. They all die eventually.
If you want to express failure rate as a percentage then it should have a time frame attached to it, such as the chance of failure is 50% per year. But in reality the failure rate is not constant over time.
At 50%/year then only 25% would make it into their 3rd year and only 12.5% into their 4th. So I doubt the XBox failure rate is that high. That would mean 7 out of every 8 would die before the 4th year.
At 10%/year then about 81% make to their 3rd year and about 73% make it to their 4th year. So even at that lower rate you have over a 1 in 4 chance of failure at some point over a 4 year period.
At 5%/year, which is acceptable by most peoples standards, then about 90% make it into their third year and about 85% make it into their 4th. So almost a 1 in 6 chance of failure at some point over a 4 year period.
My 40GB (upgraded to 500GB) died while playing UC2 around November or so. Opened it up to try and fix it but no luck so far. My bro bought a slim so mine is just collecting dust atm.
rubbish....indeed.No oven,fan,cpu or gpu can save one from such idiocy.
That easy....just like baking hash cakes and resumes.easily cooked.
Exactly. I can even post a video of it sometime if people want me to? I will have to wait for my PlayStation 3 to YLoD again though...
I oven baked a ylod Ps3 mobo a friend gave me to fix, worked for a few months after that.
Unfortunately, turning off the power switch when the PS3 is not in use (for long or short periods) does not ward off the YLOD. I live in a state where electricity is at a very high price and whenever I stop using the PS3, I always turn off the power switch in the back. However, I still go the YLOD right after my warranty period.
And yes, trying to fix the YLOD with a heatgun is only a temp fix as well. However, what else option you got besides spending $150 sending it in to Sony so that they will most likely give me another refurbished unit? The least you can do is try as you most likely have nothing to lose anyways...unless of course you're super broke and can't even afford to buy a heatgun or thermal paste. HAHA
My ps fatty lasted a month and 2 days. I went and bought another one but don't use it nearly as much and its now 2 years old.
My 80 gig (500gig) now has been really REALLY REALLY loud even when watching a movie,(the loudest it gets is when im playing GOW3) it got a little quieter after I vacuumed it, but still makes a lot of noise and the only time it freezes on me is when im using the internet browser but in rarely happens, but I shall start to turn off the power from the back from now on and give it a good vacuum more often. I don't want it to die!
Another way of preventing your PS3 from getting YLOD is to leave it running on the "Dashboard" for 5 - 10 mins after playing a game for extended periods of time. This allows the console to cool itself down using the fans before you shut it off. I personally think this is the MAIN reason the PS3 gets the YLOD simply because everyone who has unfortunately had the YLOD has always stated that it happened on start up, not mid-way through a game.
To back this up, if your console does start to overheat you get a message that says. "Please restart your PS3" or something along those lines. This is so that the console can cool down using the fans whilst its idling on the Dashboard.
So in future, anyone who uses their PS3 or Xbox for extended periods of time, let it cool down on the Dashboard for 5 - 10 mins before shutting it off.
Its funny at the gamers that are gay for sony and microsoft. Ive on the 5th 360 from RRoD and my 2nd ps3 from YLOD. Get over it kids,there both unreliable piece of sh***.
Keep your room at 78*F. The fan should never have to speed up to get air. It only means the incoming air is not enough to cool the unit. It wastes energy and the fan will suck more dust in while causing wear and tear on the fan.
My original model PS3 never needed to increase fan speed. I found that 78*F is the highest room temperature before the fan kicks in. My launch PS3 is going on 4 years with only a minor Blu-Ray laser issue (resolved by standing vertical). Vacuum the vents and keep it in an open area.
"...everything ranging from excessive prolonged use to downloading EA’s immensely disappointing NBA Elite 11 Demo. Honestly, I would completely understand if my PS3 decided to commit suicide after running that monstrosity on my system and thats no lie."
i'm glad my ps3 didn't want to do that. that game was a joke, it had to be.
glad you liked the joke, and i'm glad at least SOMEONE caught that. Oddly enough, it was the last thing I did play before my PS3 YLOD'd
I mentioned in the Article about GopherMods LLC. I went sent my ps3 through them. Only 69 dollars for an Attempted repair.
"The company that I HIGHLY recommend, hands down, would be GopherMods LLC, which is based out of Minnesota. These guys have a 24 hour turn-around time when it comes to fixing your PS3 after . Repairs cost around $69.00, and youdo not lose any data on your hard drive. You recieve a free 60-day warranty with an optional 6 month warranty for an extra cost.
Services include:
Blinking Red Light Sony PlayStation 3 Repair Service – YLOD – Yellow Light -
PS3 Games Disk Reading Repair /Movies/Blu-Ray Sony PlayStation 3 Repair Service -
Sony PlayStation 3 GPU RSX Reball Service (Coming Soon)
Sony Playstation 3 Preventive Maintenance
Sony PlayStation 3 - Wi-fi – Bluetooth – Wireless – Connectivity Repair
Sony PlayStation 3 Power Issues
And best of all, if the technicians are unable to fix your PS3 you will receive a full refund (Minus delivery and optional insurance charges)
Check Out Gophermods.com They Fix RRoD Xbox 360s and Apple Products as well!"
Unfortunately they were unable to fix my console: and this what they said.
"Unfortunately after working on your console, our team and I were unable to get the console to function properly. It falls into a small category of the 5-10% of Playstations that are not repairable due to the fact console’s initial heat damage was too extreme to be repairable by any method.
Why was it not repairable?
We were not able to resolve the blinking red light/yellow light issue with your console. Generally speaking, when these consoles do fail, this general hardware failure does catastrophic damage to the RSX chip and unfortunately, it is evident here that the RSX is dead. . The RSX is also known as the GPU (Graphic Processing Unit). The RSX is one of the main processors on your PlayStation 3’s motherboard.
Such a failure is is a sign that the problematic area is not a bad lead-free solder joint on the BGAs that integrate the RSX processor onto the motherboard. However, it is the BGA pads that may have been destroyed and consequently, the console will not be able to be repaired. The only way to ever be certain about this specific situation, would be to look at your motherboard under an x-ray scope, but unfortunately such machinery is on the industrial level and at industrial price and not something we or anyone for that matter would be able to offer.
Can I recover my data?
Unforutntaely, any data on the unit is not recoverable. Sony made sure that no data off hard drives can be recovered for specific security reasons. Not even Sony can recover the lost data."
Although they could not fix my system. I would still go back to them if I had any further issues with any other system I owned. The FULLY refunded me for repair costs and I just got back my YLOD PS3 today... They are a very respectable repair resource
"
I too have suffered this 3 times already, even though I took very good care of it. I vacuumed it once or twice a month, kept it clean, and used it for no more than 3-hours per day (average). Finally got a slim, because I had enough. The fat is just sitting in my other room. Rather than getting a temporary heat-gun fix, I plan on getting it reballed so I can at least get my data off of it and use it strictly as a movie player.
YLOD is just as old as RRoD, not necessary for this day and age.
Do not try to fix the YLOD. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth.
What truth?
There is no YLOD.
I've never had a YLOD since I've had my PS3...RROD though....well thats a different story
I remember I once got it when Halo 3 came out...waited all year for the sequel and I had to send my 360 away on the day it came out :|
God, I really hate the term 'YLOD', it just implies that the problem was as bad as the RROD and it wasn't even close.
I've had to RRoD and one YLOD. The YLOD happened right before kz3 came out. Lol I'm still not the same since my phat ps3 died... I have 4 years worth of gaming on my baby... Someday I will ressurect her to pull my files. Until then I will continue to cope and live with a slim.