PS3 RLoD - Fix or rebuy?

OfTheCarmen

Cow Humper
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2007
5,208
PS3 has been running "hot" for a while now, and the fan has just been getting louder and louder.  Well today it finally seems to have given up the ghost and repeatedly is going to blinky ref light when trying to turn on.
 
Local place advertises $29 diagnostic + $99 fee for fixing "red light problems".  From some quick googling, this entails taking the thing apart and reapplying some insulating gel or whatever and possibly replacing the power supply.  While I could probably do this myself, I just really dont have a lot of desire to do it.  I dont build PC's anymore, and dont really derive joy from messing with electronics.
 
Gamestop is advertising $129 used PS3 40GB models like the one I have, and they have a warranty on them I think (at least 30 days iirc).  
 
A new 500GB model on Amazon is $220, and a 250GB is $202.
 
I've also been hemming and hawing about getting a next gen console, but I think that's a bit more change than I'm looking for right now as none of my games or peripherals would be applicable.
 
I'm usually pretty cheap about most things, so the $129 refurb from Gamestop is currently seeming like the best option to me.  Heck, they may even be willing to give me a few bucks for my broken PS3 model.
 
Are there any other things I'm not taking into account with this?  Are the rumors of backwards compatability for the PS4 any more credible than they have been?  Is Gamestop known to rape baby kitties?  
 
Also curious if there are some other "low effort" tricks to try and resolve my issue, maybe at least to get my data off the HD (just some game data, nothing I'd be too sad to lose).
 

derekson

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2010
6,224
This happened to me late last year. I decided to take the opportunity to get a PS4 rather than try to fix or replace an outdated console.
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2006
7,873
SS Botany Bay
what version of PS3 (fat, slim, etc.)? it's been a while, but I think one of the main culprits is Sony switched over to a cheap fan design at some point late in the fat PS3 era, so even if the fan is spinning (which is a big if), after a while they don't actually cool anything down. might be as simple as replacing the fan, which would require you to open up the box, swap out the fan at a cost of about 10-15 bucks and use some thermal paste on the install.
 

Vinho Tinto

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 9, 2003
7,046
Auburn, MA
Has anyone ever received a "error 8001000A" message on their PS3? It started happening on my machine a few weeks ago. I cannot connect to my network with it now.