Ok, so I'm planning to buy a PS3 Slim very soon, maybe within a month max (although I'll be saving the unboxing for a certain day in December so I don't feel like crap on that day). I was browsing through Amazon reading the reviews and I found a particularly disturbing review about the console exploding.

I don't buy a single word of that review, but it does bring up some questions regarding the PS3 Slim. Namely, it's reliability when it comes to coping with tropical heat. I'm in Malaysia and the temperature regularly hits between 85-105 degrees Fahrenheit indoors on sunny afternoons without air conditioning. I do have air conditioning in my room and I don't leave my console plugged in and powered 24/7, but I have to use one of those USB cooling fans with my PS2 slim to ensure that it doesn't overheat, so I was wondering if I need something similar for the PS3 to ensure it stays cool. Warranty will be an issue as I'm planning to import my PS3 from the US instead of buying the Japanese version they sell locally.

So I'd like to hear if PS3 Slim owners in the forum have this issue with their units, and any tips on keeping the unit cool.

Discussion starts now.

I'd say the PS3 Slim is safe and I wouldn't worry about it exploding. I have the bulky PS3 and although it does get pretty warm, it doesn't overheat and explode. Plus, there is a switch (similar to the PS2) where you can turn it off when not in use.

So, I say get one if you really want it.

That switch isn't on Slims, iirc. Also, they have real buttons, not touch-plate technology like we do~

I like real buttons anyways.

I feel like a spaceman :ashine:

The PS3 slim has both an abnormally large fan and a sizable heat sink. It seems a lot better set up for dispersing and expelling heat. The only slim I've had any experience with stayed on and didn't crash the week I had it, a heat wave week. :)

I haven't heard of it overheating like the classic PS3 (can we call it that now?), but I'd still play it safe and buy an external cooler. Always do.

Yeah, I can only say basically what I said in my PM. I've read several reports before of XBox 360s overheating, but I've never heard about this in relation to any type of PS3. And I agree with what you said about how if what this person said had had happened had really happened, then there would have been something in the press about it. I would still like to read that review, though. Could you provide a link to it?

Ok, done more reading on the Slim. Apparently the yellow light thing currently only affects European units. But I'm reconsidering my choice and may try to get a phat PS3 instead because it can also run Linux.

Edit: Casual e-mail with a shop I'm planning to buy the PS3 slim from:

Hello, yes we can confirm that a few of our own customers have reported problems with the Slim PS3 freezing but we haven't received a report of the Blu-Ray drive failing yet.

Some of our international customers request that we test a PS3 console before shipping it to make sure it works. We can provide this service but this will delay the shipment by 1-2 days. Thanks.
I do NOT want people to plug equipment that I'm to connect to my TV and room hub (and thus, my complicated room network of power and data lines), even for testing, for reasons that sane mortals cannot comprehend. Unfortunately, getting a DOA PS3 Slim that yellow lights on me as soon as I plug it in isn't something I'm looking forward to getting on that day, either.

I just played for 3 hours or sth. Only a slight hint of heat. My macbook gets hotter within a few minutes.

Well, we'll see how it goes then. Order placed and awaiting arrival of console. I've decided to take my chances and grab a slim. Worst comes, I'll just have it serviced locally for more $$$, since it's unlikely that Sony would want to service a U/C console when the official unit sold here are /J ones.

In the meantime, I'm in the market for PS3 Slim cooling fans. My PS2 Slim needed one, so I assume the same for the PS3 Slim. Given the nature of Malaysian weather, I'd probably need it.

Good choice. The Linux on the PS3 was pretty limiting anyhow and you're not missing much in that regard.

Stupid hypervisor...

Well, I wish someone could figure out how to trash the provided NetFront browser and install Firefox or something webkit-based instead. I was stuck with Netfront on another Sony device I had years ago: a Clie UX50 that I used throughout college. It was crap. Most sites doesn't work correctly, sites that was totally made in flash (which was all the rage towards the end of my college years) doesn't work because the browser doesn't support flash, which is stupid if you consider the fact that the thing shipped with a separate Flash player application, and no cut and paste. Which is just goddamn irritating. Then again, the Wii's browser doesn't have all those either, although it supports flash...

Still, maybe Netfront has improved through the years. I'll find out once the PS3 arrives, I guess, assuming it doesn't hate my guts and yellow light on me when I plug it in.

In case anyone is wondering, the UX50 is now a paperweight. The battery gave up and there's no way to replace the battery now. Sony has also discontinued support for it.