OmegaPirate said: "Coud you explain this in a bit more detail buddy? i own the launch 60 gig model, (from launch date itself) - sorry to sound like a jackass but i ve never heard about the fan testm or the power/eject trick. At the moment ive got its sat horizontally (as standard) With nothing surrounding it at all, that aint killing it is it?"
It was something floating around the internet that was either put up out of malice to make people try it, or just by a genuine idiot but the problem was people started believing this rumour. But you asked me to explain, so I shall:
The newer model of PS3, no PS2 compat etc has a function (bug?) which is not in any comsumer documentation and as such it's intended use is not exactly known but people have assumed it is some sort of fan cleaning cycle as it will blast the system fan at full whack for a few seconds before shutting off again. To do this I believe you turn off the main power switch at the back, touch and hold eject while turning back on the main power. The PS3 then cranks the fan all mental.
The model of PS3 you and I have does not react to this combination, it's simply different/older hardware.
Any PC tech will tell you that a machine with such a heavy airflow throguh it for cooling will accumulate a lot of fluff and dust in the average house, but a PC can be opened and cleaned where a console can not. Perhaps Sony realised this was a problem post launch and added in a small functon to help blast the dust out?
Anyway. The rumour was that the older PS3's could do this trick too, and all you had to to was stand it "upside down" and turn it on, where upon the console would spin the fan as fast as it could and eventually shut off. This is, in not so technical terms preventing the cooling system from working and causing the console to crank the fan in an attempt to remove the vast buildup of internal heat, and eventually shutting down with an overheating warning (flashing red light). As I said this was either a rumour put about online for fun by a fairly malicious person, or a total moron.
I only bought it up thought because in the last bombcast Jeff actually made mention of this in passing. I do not expect the Bomb lads to really put much thought into the hardware side of consoles and they themselves openly admit to not really caring about the technical specifications of the hardware, they just care about the games. Which is perfectly fine, but I just know a few people heard him say that and then went to try it out because if we are honest, we tend to trust people in the podcasts we listen to!
So it's just a warning for those confused. Do not block the PS3 vents! It is not good!
This applies of course to the 360, the Wii (even that can get warm!) and any other machine that needs an airflow to cool down!
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