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PS3 apparently immune to over-heating
Author: Joe MartinPublished: 14th August 2007
The PS3 apparently ran for more than 108 hours in a sauna without failing, proving excellent heat performance.
However, that isn't enough for some and fansite PS3 Fanboy has apparently proved the that Sony's latest console is nearly invulnerable to heating issues by subjecting it to some of the most extreme heating tests we've ever seen.
The first test was simple enough - running the PS3 in a normal living room. This produced nothing unusual, except a whirring disc drive after 12 hours of solid reading. The next two tests are where the extreme stuff starts - popping the PS3 in the back of a freezer van and inside a sauna.
In the freezer, where the temperature was -17°C, the PS3 gradually became more sluggish before blacking out completely. However, upon investigation it was discovered that the PS3 had only failed because condensation had made the power cord a bit too wet and the actual hardware was still running fine.
In the sauna, where the temperature was around 49°C, the PS3 performed amazingly - with only a slight burning smell coming from the device after a massive 64 hours. Apparently, the console was still running fine after a staggering 108 hours at temperatures approaching 50°C.
While it's obviously a bit extreme and it's definitely not suggested that the PS3 be run in any but the normal, intended conditions, it's still an impressive feat for any piece of hardware and Microsoft could doubtlessly do worse things than copy the PS3 approach to cooling. Its definitely a timely turn-around from previous complaints about the console.
Ever had a problem with your console over-heating? Drop us the details in the discussion thread.
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Comments (29)
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The cable has 2 layers of insulation ..... (and if it did get condensation there would be a big bang aswell)
How can i get "too moist" ?????!?!?!?!
They need to wrap it up in layers of towels and let it bake itself and see how long it lasts then.
sony has done quite a good job tho.
@completemadness maybe its not the wires themself but the plug/connector or what ever you call it.
as for the sluggish performance, thats quite normal, my cellphone usually gets extremely sluggish when nowboarding with -17 to -35C although i think it might just be the screen itself
50oC was the ambient temp (the temperature of the air being blown onto the cooler) the Athlon XP would be way hotter than 50oC if the ambient was 50oC.
The PS3 is only air cooled, thats pretty good going, a lot of PCs wouldn't stand up to it.
PS3s cooling system is rather impressive.... the first time i saw it open i was all OMFG HUGE!!!!
Definitely. It doesn't feel 'cheap' when you hold it. Not saying anything bad about the 360, but it feels 'light' compared to the ps3. Then again, makes it easier for LANs .
( 49C ? you call that a sauna?? you cant even get sweaty there. normal sauna is usually 80-100C..!! ) D'uh...
You will get burned or even get into a boiled meat to get into a sauna with 80 - 100 Celsius temp. You mean 80-100 Fahrenheit ..!!
Primary School Dropout..!!
I wouldn't call that "extreme" conditions, but it is definitely higher than average temps, heh.
Aggies
Excuse me, what?
He seems to be from Estonia, and as he has the same kind of sauna habits as we Finns do, he isn't lying.
I go into a sauna that's at 80-100C. It's not that bad, because it's so dry. If you didn't understand how you can survive in a sauna without getting burned, maybe you should actually check for some facts before you go out saying stuff you have no clue about. Thank you.
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now: that ps3 is pretty impressive imo. 50 degrees celsius is about 25 degrees more celsius than the temperature that regular xboxses fail under, while idling/doing nothing.
so yeah. well done on that one, sony.
Under many circumstances, temperatures approaching and exceeding 100 °C (212 °F) would be completely intolerable. Saunas overcome this problem by controlling the humidity. The hottest Finnish saunas have relatively low humidity levels in which steam is generated by pouring water on the hot stones. This allows air temperatures that could boil water to be tolerated and even enjoyed for longer periods of time. Other types of sauna, such as the hammam, where the humidity approaches 100%, will be set to a much lower temperature of around 40 °C (104 °F) to compensate. The "wet heat" would cause scalding if the temperature were set much higher.
But it's worth bearing in mind that the humid air of a sauna is actually somewhat more conductive of heat than might be considered normal.
we heard a high-pitched whine, and then a bang. when we looked at the console, the radial fan had shed all of it's fins through the back of the case (through the aluminum heatsink) and the fins then lodged themselves in the drywall behind it.
claymore V2.0 = PS3
LOLOLOLOL EPIC!!!!!
depends..... if something is made to run at a certain range of temperatures it will not run that great outside that range....
Sony did their homework and passed the course, While Microsoft failed the course as MS didn't do the homework MS needed to do.
I want to see competition!
The 360 has the software, while the PS3 has the hardware.....now let's hope both consoles get the best of both worlds because we, the consumers, will win.
I'm glad that nobody was hurt, that is pretty funny
PS3 = my next console gaming system (once the prices go down)
Oh god, that sounded stupid.
my friend didn't think it was at first, but I helped him see the funny side of things. Sony also express-shipped him a new console free of charge. (with a replacement HDMI cable for the one that the fan blades shredded)
That's the least they could do. Wow. That's insane!
with a note not to talk about the "incident" to anyone?:D
If the air was moist enough to kill the power cable, a 100 degree sauna would kill you, the air itself would be boiling, it'd be like pouring a boiling kettle over yourself. You're thinking of a dry sauna, where 100 degrees isn't unusual. For really humid ones, about 40 degrees is normal, so 49 degrees is quite a hot sauna!
I work for one of the big Silicon Valley companies as a hardware engineer. I often times do a lot of EDVT (electrical device validation testing) on our hardware.
As an industry standard our products must pass the EDVT testing which involves having the device pass 4 different tests while under full load. The 4 tests (we call them corners) are:
High Voltage - High Temp
Low Voltage - High Temp
High Voltage - Low Temp
Low Voltage - Low Temp
High Temp = usually 55C sometimes 60C
Low Temp = usually -5C sometimes -10C
To pass the spec, the device must run 12 hours at each of the 4 corners. It sounds like the PS3 exceeds this standard based on the length of time they ran the tests, at least the temperature test, I doubt the voltage was margined.
So as far as industry standards are concerned, passing the testing the PS3 underwent is great....to bad the 360 can't do the same.
On a side note...NOTHING is "immune" to overheating. Give me the PS3 and I guarantee I can make it overheat!