I tried bending them, too, and it seemed to work for a while. However, when taking it apart again after the fan started going 100% after 5 minutes of COD MW3, I could see that the thermal paste, which had initially been spread across the entire chip from the pressure, was now dried. This means that the clips that I had bent had returned to their original shape and were not applying the same pressure to the chips. I verified this by visually inspecting the clips - they were almost flat again.
I tried doing it again without bending the clips, but I imagine that there is little pressure on the chips at all. I will now go the copper shim route.
My PS3 was working fine - I thought I would do some preventive maintenance since I've done thermal paste application on dozens of PC's and laptops. I have disassembled and reassembled my PS3 over 15 times now trying to fix what I broke when I disassembled it the first time. The heatsink simply will not make contact with the chips any more.
If your fan is not ramping up all the time, just leave it alone.
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Also, putting paper as a spacer will not make anything catch fire. Paper does not burn until it is exposed to temperatures of 451 degrees Fahrenheit or higher (hence the name of the book by Ray Bradbury). Your PS3 will not exceed 200 degrees F under worst case scenarios, and I see no possible way for your chips to get up to 450 degrees F.
I tried bending them, too, and it seemed to work for a while. However, when taking it apart again after the fan started going 100% after 5 minutes of COD MW3, I could see that the thermal paste, which had initially been spread across the entire chip from the pressure, was now dried. This means that the clips that I had bent had returned to their original shape and were not applying the same pressure to the chips. I verified this by visually inspecting the clips - they were almost flat again.
I tried doing it again without bending the clips, but I imagine that there is little pressure on the chips at all. I will now go the copper shim route.
My PS3 was working fine - I thought I would do some preventive maintenance since I've done thermal paste application on dozens of PC's and laptops. I have disassembled and reassembled my PS3 over 15 times now trying to fix what I broke when I disassembled it the first time. The heatsink simply will not make contact with the chips any more.
If your fan is not ramping up all the time, just leave it alone.