Watercooling PS3 (first gen)

[skorpien]

Hi all,

I know this isn't everyone's favourite topic around here, but I figured I'd ask anyway (please forgive me). I have a first gen PS3 (60GB upgraded to 500GB, backwards compatible) that I've had pretty much since PS3 first launched. I love playing it, but one thing I can't stand is the jet engine that starts whenever it heats up. My TV stand is open air, no enclosed cabinets with plenty of room to breathe, yet when I'm gaming or watching a Blu-ray, I have to crank my volume just so I can drown out the sound of the fan.

I've looked into replacing the fan for a quieter, more efficient fan, but then I got to thinking "what about watercooling?"

Searching yielded little results... Then suddenly, Alphacool released this little gem which seemed to be exactly what I'm looking for. If I were to get one of these and, say, one of the Swiftech rads with integrated res and pump (with a rad stand and external PSU to power it all), would it be feasible? I'm not looking for portability as this thing stays put until I have to dust around it. I'm just wondering if this is a fool's errand or if it'll work.

Also, would I need to actively cool any other components with a fan in place of the stock heatsink? Since I'll be using a PSU to power this setup, I could run a molex cable inside of it for a 120mm fan or something...

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

They work really well. Did one on a buddy's ps3 and his 360 and wow what a difference it would be a great idea to use swiftechs mcr320 drive rev 3 I have one in my pc and love it

 

[skorpien]

Thanks! Say, for your buddy's PS3, did you rig it in a way that when you power the PS3 the pump and fans power on too or is that something you have to manually turn on and off before and after powering on the PS3?

If you could provide any details on what parts you used and how you set it up, that'd be greatly appreciated

 

[m0r7if3r]

some design inspiration for you:

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

We used the factory thermal take system that came in my kandalf case and used a rad stand to stand it up. Pump and res mounted to a board. 3/8" tubing ran out the back. Had an extra 450w Antec PSU that we jumped the ATX connector, and used the switch on the back I the PSU to fire up the liquid cooling. It would be very very VERY easy to wire the pump into the play stations PSU for power. We are just lazy. We used the koolance block that is no longer available. but the alpha cool is a way nicer block!!

 

[skorpien]

That is one sexy Wii! Not going for anything that extreme but I'll keep that in mind should the urge strike.

Yeah that's what I figured on doing as well with jumping the PSU and manually turning it on and off... I'll have to look into whether the PS3's PSU is capable of running a pump and rad fans so it'll kick on with the PS3. That would also save me from having to buy another PSU.

Btw, you didn't have to install another fan to cool the other components in that PS3, did you?

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

No I did not. All though what we did do just for ****s and giggles was take ram sinks and place them in various warm spots on the mobo. After the stock ps3 fan was out I didn't want anymore damn fan noise out of it. They have good venting on them do no need to worry about anything else.

And yes, the stock PSU should be more than capable of running a small pump and like 3 medium speed Yate loon fans. I have a bunch of info in regards to its power points. Let me try and hunt it up for you.

Edit: If all else fails, here is a 400w ATX PSU with switch for $19.99 shipped

Edit 2: The first generation PS3, 60 and 20GB versions had the strongest PSU of them all. It was a 380watt system. That is plenty to run your setup and 2-3 fans CPU and GPU were both 90nm fwiw

Let me remind you of a couple things, first when removing the blu ray drive be very careful of the ribbon cable. The rip EASILY, trust me

Second is make sure the TIM is applied perfectly and the block is SEATED perfectly. If not you will get a YLOD, which I have gotten 3 time from removing and installing heatsink/waterblock. Just a little heads up

 

[skorpien]

That's quite the useful post! Thanks! This gives me hope to run everything off of the PS3's PSU. We shall see how it goes

Also, thanks for the heads up. I'll have to be extra careful with that ribbon cable. Don't want to have to set things back by having to order a replacement. And if I get the YLOD, I'll know to check my TIM and mount.

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

when you get a YLOD, the number one cause 99% of the time is the block not being seated properly.

You'll love your new ps3 after that. Everything seems to run significantly better too

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

If you wanted to go that route I'll sell you my Swiftech MCR320 Drive Rev3. I have been wanting to go to all standalone stuff for the sake of not being able to use a second reservoir.

 

[skorpien]

PM sent

 

[jmdixon85]

If you wanted to go that route I'll sell you my Swiftech MCR320 Drive Rev3. I have been wanting to go to all standalone stuff for the sake of not being able to use a second reservoir.

Lets keep all selling to the classifieds or PM's please. Thanks

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

I was just advising him. PM has already been handled

 

[skorpien]

So, I'm looking to finalize my shopping list for some other parts (I have the rad/pump/res combo coming in the mail; MCR-320 Drive Rev 3 with MCP-35X courtesy of Modz ) and I'm thinking of how to rig this all up to start with the PS3 rather than having to switch the pump/fans on and off manually. I've come to two possible solutions and need some advice:

1. Use the existing PS3 PSU to power everything (pump and 3 fans). I've been looking up pinout diagrams and I believe I can rig the PS3's PSU to power everything. I'd rig it to a molex connector and split that out into another molex connector and three 3-pin fan headers.

2. Use this little device to allow me to turn a dedicated PSU on and off with the PS3. I can splice a molex connector from the PS3 into this and connect the PSU into the other end. I believe this will allow me to power everything on with the PS3 too, and in case the PS3 can't provide enough power for everything I think this will be the better solution.

As an afterthought, I was thinking about using the PS3's PWM wire on the fan to control the speed of the pump (at the very least) and possibly the fans using something like the Sunbeam Rheosmart fan controller, but I'm thinking this would be a tad overkill. The MCP-35X isn't extremely loud at full speed and neither are the fans I'm intending on using.

Or I can use a non-PWM fan controller to control the fans and rig the PWM wire from the PS3's fan to control the MCP-35X? Come to think of it, would anybody know if the PWM wire from the PS3 can actually control the PWM functions of an MCP-35X?

What do you all think? Any ideas and input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[pwnmachine]

This would be a cool mod, but wouldn't it be cheaper and easier just to buy a PS3-slim? They are near silent.

 

[ssjwizard]

In this situation I would not run PWM at all since you dont have control over the curve. I would probably look into one of the less expensive DDC variants and use a standard single channel fan controler so you can set the speed of the pump/fans once and be done with it. A triple 120 rad for a PS3 should practically run without fans TBH.

 

[skorpien]

Nothing worth it comes cheap and easy Nah, you're absolutely right, but I've always wanted to do this and want to see it through. Besides, how many people can say they have a watercooled backwards compatible 500GB PS3?

In this situation I would not run PWM at all since you dont have control over the curve. I would probably look into one of the less expensive DDC variants and use a standard single channel fan controler so you can set the speed of the pump/fans once and be done with it. A triple 120 rad for a PS3 should practically run without fans TBH.

I've already purchased the MCP-35X with the rad so that's pretty much set in stone. If I were to use a fan controller I'd just control the fans and let the pump run at full speed. Though you make a good point about it practically running without fans and maybe just some low speed fans will be good enough with this setup?

 

[Modz 4 Higher]

You could run Yate Loon low speed fans. Great fans about $3-4 each. I would tap into existing PSU. Not sure what the rating was on it that I pm'd you, but will be plenty. I like idea #1. With the molex and 3x 3pin fan headers

Pwnmachine, this build is going to cost him just a bit more than what a ps3 slim cost, and end the end he will have a BADDASS Watercooled PS3 and not an air cooled one

 

[skorpien]

You could run Yate Loon low speed fans. Great fans about $3-4 each. I would tap into existing PSU. Not sure what the rating was on it that I pm'd you, but will be plenty. I like idea #1. With the molex and 3x 3pin fan headers

Yeah I do recall that conversation, which is why I proposed idea #1. Come to think of it, if I do use a 4 pin molex connected to the PS3's PSU and the power is insufficient, I can easily switch to idea #2 (that is if my PS3's PSU isn't fried in the process lol).

Thanks for the fan suggestion. I might be tempted to get some blue LED ones...

 

[Conumdrum]

Blue LED. Is it color or performance you want? 'Good' fans are black or that aweful noctuna tan. Generally....

Pick specs and performance first, then color if you can.