Firmware 3.61 Causing PS3's To Overheat?

[Robin]

I know there's a firmware thread but this is quite important as a developer has confirmed there is a real issue with the 3.61 firmware (unlike hearsay). Rockstar has received reports that fat PS3's are overheating after updating to 3.16 and it happening not only after playing LA Noire but also with other PS3 games. Rockstar was able to replicate the issues in house with a variety of games with their units shutting down after a short period of time. They have already contacted Sony about it and I hope Sony do something about it because with the free games on the way the chances of YLOD are going to shoot up.

I actually noticed this the other day, my PS3 was kicking into a higher fan setting earlier than usual, even sitting on the XMB and took way longer to drop back down a notch. I even have hard numbers because I timed the fan stages when I applied AC5 back when my PS3's was on an earlier FW. I'm hoping 3.17 comes out quick and they test it properly this time!

“We have received some reports of PS3s overheating while playing L.A. Noire or beeping three times before shutting down/turning themselves off, mostly on older 60GB and 80GB fat models.”

“Primary reports seem to be that updating to firmware 3.61 will cause PlayStations to overheat. There have been various reports of this on a few different games now, all reporting their PS3s turning off or ‘Red Lighting’ after having installed 3.61.”

“This can range from games randomly freezing to PS3s turning off anywhere between 30 mins use to two hours. We have confirmed locally that multiple games (Rockstar and non-Rockstar) overheat or freeze only when 3.61 is installed.”

“At this time we are recommending contacting Sony directly to report the overheating issue. However, this is not the end of our support; we are continuing to test L.A. Noire on all firmware versions and hardware models to isolate the issues and see what can be done. As always, we will update this article as soon as we have updates.”

“The issues of PS3s overheating appears to be due to the latest Sony firmware update
. We recommend contacting Sony if your console is shutting off during play.”

Rockstar quickly removed the post from their website, probably after Sony had a go at them but there are still people having issues. Has anyone here noticed any problems?

 

[Dragonistic]

60 fatty ran from 7pm til about 1:30am last night with no issue whatsoever not to mention running the 9hour enduro overnight earlier this week plus 4-5 dream championships before it with no issue (Bob), fan speed same as it's always been on this refurb and heat out the rear was normal. Seems interesting though, but why would it make such a difference?

 

[Scaff]

Rockstar quickly removed the post from their website, probably after Sony had a go at them but there are still people having issues. Has anyone here noticed any problems?

Or it could be that 360s started to do the exact same thing when playing LA Noire and blaming 3.61 on that would be a bit of a leap.


http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2011/05/18/rockstar-claim-firmware-3-61-causes-ps3-overheating/
http://support.rockstargames.com/en...-if-you-are-crashing-or-freezing-in-l-a-noire


Scaff

 

[Robin]

Seems interesting though, but why would it make such a difference?

I really don't know, Rockstar said it!

It might be something to do with LA Noire being really graphics intensive but they said they tried other games and it did the same. Maybe all this extra security that has been put into the firmware has made the console work just that bit harder at all times and with the fatties running hotter than the slims it might be tipping them over the edge.

I haven't had a shut down yet but I have noticed the fan goes up quicker. I guess we will see a clearer picture when everyone is properly back online.

Or it could be that 360s started to do the exact same thing when playing LA Noire and blaming 3.61 on that would be a bit of a leap.

So why did Rockstar initially single out the PS3 and why is the story being reported all over the web mainly as a PS3 issue? Also remember the PS3 version is slightly better graphically so it works the system harder.

Robin.

 

[Sharky.]

It might be something to do with LA Noire being really graphics intensive but they said they tried other games and it did the same.

According to reports 360s are doing the same thing while running L.A Noire, so it can't possibly be a 3.61 firmware issue!

People (I'm not suggesting you, Robin) jump to conclusions waaaaay too quickly, if their console/game stops working they always blame the latest update even if they have no concrete evidence to prove that. Rockstar's initial statement - that they tested both R* and non-R* titles on 3.61 - was nothing more than an attempt to say "hey, don't look at us. It's not our game that's doing this" - as a developer you don't want to come out and say that playing our game will kill your console. On top of that, GTA4 and RDR were far from gentle on the hardware... R* doesn't have the best of track records when it comes to making system-friendly games.

 

[McRoflSandwich]

I'm wondering as their could be some truth in this...

Basically, I was playing Aliens Vs Predator last night and I noticed that after doing the update yesterday, my fans seemed to be running louder than they were doing earlier on in the day (prior to the update). Then it happened. It froze for around 3 seconds, powered down, beeped three times and started to flash red. I thought it could have been the YLOD again, so I was expecting to have to reflux it again. But there wasn't a yellow light, which was weird.

But, after reading this today, I thought I'd try to power my PS3 back up seen as though it had had chance to cool down. Sure enough, it powered up and was running fine on the XMB whilst I copied all my data across. I left it running for about 15 minutes before shutting it down. So, I don't think it was YLOD to be honest. I've seen and repaired three YLOD PS3s now and they all do the same thing. Shut down with the three beeps/yellow light/flashing red light within 2-3 seconds of powering on.

So maybe my error last night was due to something else, could it be due to the update causing it to run hotter than normal. Which explains the fans running louder than they did earlier on in the day. I've no idea, make of it what you will...

 

[pay2021]

YLOD happen to me, fat 80gb launch 2 1/2 years old, previusly the fans starts run louder like never before, and happen when playing GT5 a endurance race (4 hours, B-spec), friend of mine have the same exact issue, im pretty sure that is a problem for fats launch model, i bet.

Some fattys cant handle new games, looks like, not a software issue IMO.

ps: now have a slim model and the fans dont run so noisy like my oldie fat.

 

[Moot]

I had a total freeze in game in GT5 yesterday, the only time i have experienced that. But it could be a coincidence.

 

[HKS racer]

@ OP, do you mean 3.61 and 3.62 instead of 3.16 and 3.17 software update right?
As precaution my 250gb PS3 slim (horizontal) stand on 4 plastic caps to reduce the heat under the console. Anyway it's better Sony go fix this problem because in summer their console will be cocking eggs and bacon.

It simply does everything lol

 

[Touring Mars]

I've added a '?' to the thread title, since I think it would be fair to say that the jury is still out on this issue...

As precaution my 250gb PS3 slim (horizontal) stand on 4 plastic caps to reduce the heat under the console.

Mine stands on my Xbox 360

 

[Neal]

^ The ambient temperature in Glasgow negates the effects of standing it on the Xbox George Foreman lean mean grilling machine.

 

[HKS racer]

Mine stands on my Xbox 360

maybe if you have enough space you should consider placing booth vertically

 

[Christhedude]

well it didnt over heat with mine but i definitely noticed some major slow downs with GT5, GTA 4!

Chris

 

[Robin]

@ OP, do you mean 3.61 and 3.62 instead of 3.16 and 3.17 software update right?

Yeah sorry about that, I got mixed up because its been such a long time since I updated.

On top of that, GTA4 and RDR were far from gentle on the hardware... R* doesn't have the best of track records when it comes to making system-friendly games.

Tell me about it! GTA4 had quite a few issues.

Hmmm, maybe its time to upgrade to a cooler running APS-231 PSU, or maybe put the whole innards in a PC case.

 

[Scaff]

So why did Rockstar initially single out the PS3 and why is the story being reported all over the web mainly as a PS3 issue? Also remember the PS3 version is slightly better graphically so it works the system harder.

Robin.

All of which is now rather absent from the R* sites and forums.

As to why, well call me a cynic but it was an easy way to divert attention and as you mention yourself here "so it works the system harder", implying its the title not the firmware.


Scaff

 

[Robin]

All of which is now rather absent from the R* sites and forums.

As to why, well call me a cynic but it was an easy way to divert attention and as you mention yourself here "so it works the system harder", implying its the title not the firmware.

Of course Rockstar are never going to admit it if the problem lies with their game, when they posted the comments it may have been, as you stated, a way to divert the blame to the firmware... then when Sony said its not us Rockstar removed it because they knew all eyes would turn back on them. Basically they should have never said anything in the first place. When I said 'works the system harder' I meant in addition to extra heat which may have been caused by the new firmware.

I was mainly interested in the bit where they said other titles were doing the same which is why I thought it might really be the firmware. As it stands we don't know which side is covering up the truth! Sony don't want yet more bad press and Rockstar don't want Noire labeled as a console killer.

Robin.

 

[jmarkln]

Its all over the web now, that the update 3.61 seems to overheat the older models of ps3s. Rockstar games even commentetd on this, yet sony keeps dening it. Its thousands of people having the same problem including me. ITS NOT A COINENCEDENCE! Sony had better do something or I think they are going to start seeing lawsuits. Its only obvious that this is sonys problem and they need to fix it. I contacted fox news about this problem too and next the better business bureau.

 

[McRoflSandwich]

Well I'm not sure about working the system harder, but like I said above. I played the same game both before and after the update. I only quit the game to perform the update. Playing the same game afterwards resulted in my fans spinning much faster/louder and the system generally giving out more heat. And this comparison was made within a few hours. Then my system failed. I'm not sure as it is a coincidence to be honest, a lot of people are reporting PS3 failures after updating.

 

[Dragonistic]

Well I'm not sure about working the system harder, but like I said above. I played the same game both before and after the update. I only quit the game to perform the update. Playing the same game afterwards resulted in my fans spinning much faster/louder and the system generally giving out more heat. And this comparison was made within a few hours. Then my system failed. I'm not sure as it is a coincidence to be honest, a lot of people are reporting PS3 failures after updating.

And they do every... single... time. It's old now, it's people convincing themselves it's the update and they group together when they see someone else who thinks it was the update to and it snowballs. Whereas when a PS3 breaks at any other time, people get busy on the phone to Sony and don't make a big fuss. There may well be cases of updates breaking systems, but it seems highly unlikely that they would break systems in such an uncorrelated fashion (i.e. why would my 60 fat work fine when another 60 fat breaks on the same update, or why would R*s systems break and no other companies?).

Compare this to the leap year problem of the past when specific models all went wrong in the same way with no real exception.

 

[HKS racer]

Well I'm not sure about working the system harder, but like I said above. I played the same game both before and after the update. I only quit the game to perform the update. Playing the same game afterwards resulted in my fans spinning much faster/louder and the system generally giving out more heat. And this comparison was made within a few hours. Then my system failed. I'm not sure as it is a coincidence to be honest, a lot of people are reporting PS3 failures after updating.

And I'm considering to avoid update (I didn't done yet) and wait for the (hopefully) 3.62 fix, I'm not racing online in these days and I don't care about their 2 games gift... IF I can avoid update, because it's about a week I'm not useing it, so maybe I have to update, even for the offline.

Sony... It simply mess everything...

 

[McRoflSandwich]

And they do every... single... time. It's old now, it's people convincing themselves it's the update and they group together when they see someone else who thinks it was the update to and it snowballs. Whereas when a PS3 breaks at any other time, people get busy on the phone to Sony and don't make a big fuss. There may well be cases of updates breaking systems, but it seems highly unlikely that they would break systems in such an uncorrelated fashion (i.e. why would my 60 fat work fine when another 60 fat breaks on the same update, or why would R*s systems break and no other companies?).

Compare this to the leap year problem of the past when specific models all went wrong in the same way with no real exception.

Yeah I know exactly what you mean. If someone sees that someone elses system has broken after doing th update they will jump on the bandwagon.

But, I was just showing my experience with it. The fans were definitely running louder and hotter than before the update. Yes this could just be coicidence, it just felt weird to me how my system was doing the same as reported online. ie, no YLOD, just beeps and flashing light. Yet today, once it had had chance to cool down, its been working...

I've no idea what to make of the whole situation to be honest. Because, like you said, theres no logic behing which systems are breaking. As in, only certain 60Gbs seem to be breaking, yet others run fine.

 

[Xenn]

A load of tripe really. My PS3's still going strong, and it's a 80GB phat model.

 

[Dragonistic]

But, I was just showing my experience with it. The fans were definitely running louder and hotter than before the update. Yes this could just be coicidence, it just felt weird to me how my system was doing the same as reported online. ie, no YLOD, just beeps and flashing light. Yet today, once it had had chance to cool down, its been working...

Be aware similar things happened to me before my second 60gb properly died on me and would just spazz out everytime it tried to turn on. I think there's alot of placebo to because I don't even notice my PS3 noise at all until someone points it out to me.

For all we know R* realised they'd been dunce's and it was their own end/they didn't really know hence it disapearing, who can say. After the whole Midnight Club LA fiasco with R* I don't trust them so much as a company as I once did, though the products are still of good quality some people in the company don't sound so good whilst they were butchering the team behind Midnight Club and ultimately hurt the end product. Even if they were right in this case, they have no business to point the finger immediately and should be dealing with Sony personally before releasing information publicly and as such I don't think Sony would button it were the update really nuking them after the recent events they would not want millions of systems breaking down.

 

[CodeRedR51]

No issues here so far and I have a 60gb fatty. I also run a small house fan pointed at the front vent of the system which (in my eyes) seems to help a little.

 

[McRoflSandwich]

Be aware similar things happened to me before my second 60gb properly died on me and would just spazz out everytime it tried to turn on. I think there's alot of placebo to because I don't even notice my PS3 noise at all until someone points it out to me.

For all we know R* realised they'd been dunce's and it was their own end/they didn't really know hence it disapearing, who can say. After the whole Midnight Club LA fiasco with R* I don't trust them so much as a company as I once did, though the products are still of good quality some people in the company don't sound so good whilst they were butchering the team behind Midnight Club and ultimately hurt the end product. Even if they were right in this case, they have no business to point the finger immediately and should be dealing with Sony personally before releasing information publicly and as such I don't think Sony would button it were the update really nuking them after the recent events they would not want millions of systems breaking down.

Yeah I know what you mean about R* just pointing the finger. It's easier for them to do that than to admit its them though

Alright, well maybe this PS3's on its way out too. The first one I had died a week after launch with YLOD. My current PS3 has died twice already with YLOD and both times I've been able to fix it. But it was a straight YLOD, no messing about. Unlike this one, where its booting/playing games quite happily now after last nights fiasco. Also had YLOD on my brothers and cousins 60Gb Fattys. And they did the same thing as mine originally did.

But I am sure that it was louder afterwards... I'm sure of it... I suppose it could just be a placebo though

I guess we'll never know for real unless Sony releases anything officially about it being their fault.

 

[Sharky.]

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/05/19/rockstar-games-and-sony-joint-statement-on-l-a-noire/

So apparently it's not L.A Noire and it's not 3.61 either (obviously, 360s are crashing too)

 

[Robin]

^ You gotta love that statement they issued, so if its not Sony or Rockstar who is causing it... the devil? I guess they are saying its normal.

Them issuing a statement does indicate that something out of the normal is happening because Sony would never usually weigh in on 'speculation' or comment on 'small events'. I guess they are trying to stop the bad press or something.

 

[Dragonistic]

I think it's just more placebo, lot of people get a new game, new update similar time, zomg my ps3 broke it must be one of those things! When a developer like R* puts out a statement as it did, Sony is almost obliged to clarify the situation, it's hardly a small issue when one of the largest games companies out there puts your system down you wanna set things straight to avoid any negative press.

 

[AUS_Topgear]

A load of tripe really. My PS3's still going strong, and it's a 80GB phat model.

No issues here so far and I have a 60gb fatty. I also run a small house fan pointed at the front vent of the system which (in my eyes) seems to help a little.

Both you guys been running L A Nore game? My fan runs a bit harder and longer after playing gt5 for a few hours and i noticed this before i heard all this. But no shut down and i always let the timer turn off the PS. 3 Its set for 1 hour which charges my mike for a bit as well before it turns it off. It took a bout 15 minutes for the fan to slow down a bit last night. I got the fat 80G, 2.7 year old, never broken down and played every night. I got all backed up ready though.

 

[Dragonistic]

I got all backed up ready though.

Little off topic, but thanks for reminding me I'm overdue an updated back up.