Is it easier to delid the RSX or CELL on the 60gb fats?

[SeanRanklin]

Wondering, since i will be replacing the NEC's soon and figure i'd change the thermal under the lids but cant remember which one of them was significantly harder to do, the cell or rsx?

 

[nCadeRegal]

Cell, watch @NSC-Modz YouTube video. They are very indepth and comprehensible.

 

[DoublesAdvocate]

For me it's always been much easier to remove the cell. RSX is sometimes glued on rock solid, sometimes takes almost no effort at all.

 

[SeanRanklin]

For me it's always been much easier to remove the cell. RSX is sometimes glued on rock solid, sometimes takes almost no effort at all.

I've had the opposite effect. I got the RSX glue off with almost no effort. Plus i felt safer with using a regular blade as i knew i was only cutting onto a ram module.

However i managed to scratch my HS a little where the DIE sits. It looks worse than it is, but i'm wondering two things 1) will this be a problem to be reused now 2) what did you guys use to stick the lid back on?

https://i.imgur.com/Nl86Yhr.jpg

 

[DoublesAdvocate]

I've had the opposite effect. I got the RSX glue off with almost no effort. Plus i felt safer with using a regular blade as i knew i was only cutting onto a ram module.

However i managed to scratch my HS a little where the DIE sits. It looks worse than it is, but i'm wondering two things 1) will this be a problem to be reused now 2) what did you guys use to stick the lid back on?

https://i.imgur.com/Nl86Yhr.jpg

1) Just a block of copper it means nothing.
2) You don't need to use anything to stick it back on, if you're having trouble getting it to line up when reassembling you could always put thermal paste on the memory modules just to hold it in place.

 

[SiegHart93]

I want to delid my PS3 CECHA01 but im not confident on doing it by myself ! it's too risky and im afraid of turning my ps3 in to a fat box of trash :/ ! Anyway is there an easy method to do it safe without destroying the GPU and CPU ? can it be done with a razor blade ?

 

[snkplkn]

I want to delid my PS3 CECHA01 but im not confident on doing it by myself ! it's too risky and im afraid of turning my ps3 in to a fat box of trash :/ ! Anyway is there a easy method to do it safe without destroying the GPU and CPU ? can it be done with a razor edge ?

See the videos on Youtube. And Razor blade is NOT recommended. You need something like Flat thin and blunt painting spatula and a lot of patience.

 

[SeanRanklin]

1) Just a block of copper it means nothing.
2) You don't need to use anything to stick it back on, if you're having trouble getting it to line up when reassembling you could always put thermal paste on the memory modules just to hold it in place.

Thanks.

Being as OCD as I am, would I be able to use a dab of superglue instead? Just to hold it down?

 

[DoublesAdvocate]

Yeah I was gonna suggest that as well but I figured you'd have thermal paste around anyway since you'll be swapping it out at the same time.

 

[SeanRanklin]

Yeah I was gonna suggest that as well but I figured you'd have thermal paste around anyway since you'll be swapping it out at the same time.

I do have thermal paste but that surely wont be strong enough to hold it firmly down right?

 

[DoublesAdvocate]

I do have thermal paste but that surely wont be strong enough to hold it firmly down right?

The force of the back plate and heat sink are what holds it firmly, once those are on that thing isn't gonna move unless you drop it from space. I just meant you could put some thermal paste on the memory modules to add a bit of adhesion while reassembling it since it can be a bit tricky to make sure it stays lined up once you've removed the original adhesive.

 

[sandungas]

Thanks.

Being as OCD as I am, would I be able to use a dab of superglue instead? Just to hold it down?

Dont use superglue, if at some point you want to replace the thermal paste again the superglue is going to be a huge annoyance
In my oppinion is way better to stick the IHS to the RSX with silicone, i took your photo to show you where to add the silicone
This silicone doesnt needs to be a very special type btw... the only requirement is it needs to resist the heat up to 100ºC or so

As mentioned before this is optional because the pressure of the heatsink can hold the IHS in place... but personally i like it because the OCD

*The same can be made with the CELL btw (but in CELL is better to add the silicone "bumps" in the corners)

 

[DoublesAdvocate]

Dont use superglue, if at some point you want to replace the thermal paste again the superglue is going to be a huge annoyance
In my oppinion is way better to stick the IHS to the RSX with silicone, i took your photo to show you where to add the silicone
This silicone doesnt needs to be a very special type btw... the only requirement is it needs to resist the heat up to 100ºC or so

As mentioned before this is optional because the pressure of the heatsink can hold the IHS in place... but personally i like it because the OCD

*The same can be made with the CELL btw (but in CELL is better to add the silicone "bumps" in the corners)

Probably should also mention only to put it on whatever side does not have the small SMD components next to the die

 

[sandungas]

Probably should also mention only to put it on whatever side does not have the small SMD components next to the die

No need to worry about that, the silicone is not electrical conductive, so you can drop it on top of the small SMD components

 

[sandungas]

No need to worry about that, the silicone is not electrical conductive, so you can drop it on top of the small SMD components

To be more precise... i mean the silicone for general purposes, used at home, in the bath, kitchen, to seal the glass of a window, etc...
Is the kind of product very easy to buy locally, i guess we could say is "pure silicone"
That one is an electrical insulator


There are other silicones with special components, i remember @littlebalup mentioned he was using another type of silicone used in car engines to create "gaskets", it have metal particles (i guess with the goal of increase his density and his heat transfer)... and as a side efect it becomes electrical conductive
Dont use this one in the blue spots of my drawing

@littlebalup was using it on top of the RSX memory chips in the corners (not touching any electrical component)

 

[DoublesAdvocate]

To be more precise... i mean the silicone for general purposes, used at home, in the bath, kitchen, to seal the glass of a window, etc...
Is the kind of product very easy to buy locally, i guess we could say is "pure silicone"
That one is an electrical insulator


There are other silicones with special components, i remember @littlebalup mentioned he was using another type of silicone used in car engines to create "gaskets", it have metal particles (i guess with the goal of increase his density and his heat transfer)... and as a side efect it becomes electrical conductive
Dont use this one in the blue spots of my drawing

@littlebalup was using it on top of the RSX memory chips in the corners (not touching any electrical component)

I'm just thinking it might add more strain to those tiny little components if he ever needs to take the IHS off again.

 

[sandungas]

I'm just thinking it might add more strain to those tiny little components if he ever needs to take the IHS off again.

But if at some point he needs to remove the IHS again is going to be a lot more easyer, it requires some care though, is not just a matter of pulling from the IHS, or rotating it that could work too, this ones are a bit agressive procedures

Originally, in the positions where i painted the blue dots there is a big gap (of the same height than the DIE + a bit more because the RSX IHS have 2 heights)
Just to use an intuitive example to calculate that gap... there is people that was removing the IHS of the RSX by inserting a credit card + a knife in that gaps... so we can calculate roughtly the height of that gaps is something around 2 milimeters or so

In the way i suggested, instead of the gaps you are going to have 4 "columns" of silicone... and you can "cut" them just by inserting the credit card
The point is to remove the IHS (after sticking it with silicone in the way i suggested) we need a "cutting tool" (the credit card, or any other sheet of plastic)... but the tool is made of plastic, so is imposible to make scratches

 

[snkplkn]

But if at some point he needs to remove the IHS again is going to be a lot more easyer, it requires some care though, is not just a matter of pulling from the IHS, or rotating it that could work too, this ones are a bit agressive procedures

Originally, in the positions where i painted the blue dots there is a big gap (of the same height than the DIE + a bit more because the RSX IHS have 2 heights)
Just to use an intuitive example to calculate that gap... there is people that was removing the IHS of the RSX by inserting a credit card + a knife in that gaps... so we can calculate roughtly the height of that gaps is something around 2 milimeters or so

In the way i suggested, instead of the gaps you are going to have 4 "columns" of silicone... and you can "cut" them just by inserting the credit card
The point is to remove the IHS (after sticking it with silicone in the way i suggested) we need a "cutting tool" (the credit card, or any other sheet of plastic)... but the tool is made of plastic, so is imposible to make scratches

Is Silicon really needed at 4 points? I don't think we need to seal RSX of CELL very securely after delidding. In case of RSX, Silicone at only two opposite points is sufficient to keep IHS intact. Similarly in case of CELL, just a tiny pea size silicone is sufficient at 2-4 places just to keep IHS intact on top of chip after re-installation of thermal paste under IHS. The IHS will be securely placed on top of heatsink after re-assembling PS3. Also minimal amount of Silicone means easy removal of IHS again in case of reapplying thermal paste under IHS.

 

[ElGris]

I want to delid my PS3 CECHA01 but im not confident on doing it by myself ! it's too risky and im afraid of turning my ps3 in to a fat box of trash :/ ! Anyway is there an easy method to do it safe without destroying the GPU and CPU ? can it be done with a razor blade ?

I would recommend you to use a VERY thin wire used for cellphones' screen repair on the corners of the CELL, and then you can use a very thin piece of metal, malleable, that can be found on many things. See my thread on hardware mods for more details.

The RSX is pretty easy, just apply heat for a minute or so, on the corners and put something flat under the IHS, on the side where's the CELL. Watch tutorials, is not that complicated if you study it enough.

 

[sandungas]

Is Silicon really needed at 4 points? I don't think we need to seal RSX of CELL very securely after delidding. In case of RSX, Silicone at only two opposite points is sufficient to keep IHS intact. Similarly in case of CELL, just a tiny pea size silicone is sufficient at 2-4 places just to keep IHS intact on top of chip after re-installation of thermal paste under IHS. The IHS will be securely placed on top of heatsink after re-assembling PS3. Also minimal amount of Silicone means easy removal of IHS again in case of reapplying thermal paste under IHS.

It needs to be symmetrical, so either 2 or 4