Diablo PS3 Mod

[DTX]

This is my finished "Diablo PS3 Mod" and the name is mostly based on the color scheme and RGB glow effects. I took a lot of pictures along the way so I would like to document it all in individual sections from start to completion rather than chronologically. I will try to write and release one per weekend if time permits so please be patient. This is my first attempt at modding and other than some residential electrical experience, I had to learn and research everything myself. This is in no way a tutorial or guide and if you attempt to replicate any part, do so safely and at your own risk. Hopefully if you are willing to go on a similar journey, you won't have to start from almost nothing like I did. This build took 1-2 years of mostly research and part sourcing, and about $1000 worth of parts not including tools.

 

 

[DTX]

Part I - The Complete Part List

 

This is the complete list of parts and items used on this PS3 mod not including consumables like solvents or tools. I won't post links to each item but I will mention price and website/marketplace. If you are interested in a specific item, you should be able to find it based on pictures and names. All prices are based on what I paid when I paid for them, rounded to the nearest US dollar and do not include taxes or shipping.

 

Image Album: Part I - Parts - Imgur

 

Part List:

Spoiler

• PlaysStation 3 [Image 1] - CECHA01 60GB Model bought from GameStop for $600 in Spring 2007.
• Phanteks Enthoo Pro Tempered Glass Case [Image 2] - A case big enough to fit the PS3 motherboard, with a PSU Shroud to stand the PS3 on, with front Expansion Bays for the Fan Controller and many fan locations. Bonus points for the RGB Controller. Bought as PH-ES614PTG_BK from Newegg for $105.
• Corsair CX550M Powder Supply [Image 3] - PSU with a single 12V rail and powerful enough to power the PS3 and everything else on the mod. Bought from Amazon for $69.
• Lamptron Fan Controller FC5 V3 [Image 4] - Fan Controller that is standalone, can be controlled from outside the case and supports up to 30W per channel with 6 Fan channels and temperature probes. Bought from Amazon for $76.
• MX-4 Thermal Compound [Image 4] - Non-conductive thermal paste with above average performance. Bought 4 grams from Amazon for $8.
• Noctua NF-P14s redux-1200 Fan [Image 5] - Fastest non-PWM Grey Noctua 140mm fan. Fan controller does not support PWM so I wanted fast and quiet non-PWM fans. The grey color is good enough for the RGB halos. I bought 5 from Amazon for $75 total.
• Noctua NF-P12 redux-1300 Fan [Image 5] - Fastest non-PWM Grey Noctua 120mm fan. Fan controller does not support PWM so I wanted fast and quiet non-PWM fans. The grey color is good enough for the RGB halos. I bought 2 from Amazon for $28 total.
• Noctua NA-SYC2 Fan Splitter [Image 5] - Six fan channels and seven fans, I needed a 3 pin fan splitter. Bought from Amazon for $8.
• Noctua NA-SAVP1 Red Pads [Image 5] - To go with the Noctua fans, makes them vibrate less. Bought 4 16-packs from Amazon for $28 total.
• Phanteks Halos RGB Frame 140mm [Image 6] - Turn Noctua fans into RGB fans and was compatible with my case. The 6th frame is for the PS3 fan/back. Bought 6 as PH-FF140RGBP_BK01 from Amazon for $60 total.
• Phanteks Halos RGB Frame 120mm [Image 6] - Turn Noctua fans into RGB fans and was compatible with my case. Bought 2 as PH-FF120RGBP_BK01 from Amazon for $21 total.
• Phanteks RGB LED Strip Combo [Not Pictured] - Two 400mm LED strips with an extension to RBG the PS3 PSU and back. Bought as PH_LEDKT_Combo from Amazon for $14.
• Western Digital 1TB Black Drive [Image 7] - Fast, reliable 3.5 inch 7200rpm hard drives for both internal and external storage. Bought 2 as WD1003FZEX from Amazon for $130 total.
• Sabrent USB 3.0 to SSD/HDD Sata Adapter [Image 7][Image 19] - Used to connect the external HDD to a USB port on the PS3. The HDDs gets powered directly by the Corsair PSU. Bought as DC-SSHD from Amazon for $7.
• Sata 22 pin to Data and Power Extension [Image 7][Image 17] - This is one of the magic parts, it is hard to find in the split configuration. Used to extend the Data Sata connector out of the PS3 Sata port and the Sabrent Adapter Sata port. Bought 2 as B07NTBJGTK from Amazon for $11 total.
• 24 pin ATX Red LED Switch Jumper Cable [Image 8] - Used to power on and off the Corsair PSU. Later modified with a latching switch button. Bought from Amazon for $9.
• CableMods EPS Extension Cable [Image 9] - Used to provide 12V power to the PS3, 4 18-AWG wires for 12V load and 4 18-AWG wires for ground. Bought from Amazon for $9.
• CableMods Molex Extension Cable [Not Pictured] - Used to provide 5V power to the PS3, 1 18-AWG wire for 5V load and 1 18-AWG wire for ground with an extra 18-AWG ground wired connected to the PSU board to ground it. Bought from Amazon for $7.
• CableMods Molex to Sata Extension Cable [Image 10][Image 20] - Used to provide 12V power to the RGB controller on the case. This shares the same PSU cable that supplies 5V to the PS3 so there is no competition for power. Bought from Amazon for $9.
• Amass Black XT90H Connectors [Image 11][Image 12] - Originally intended to connect to the motherboard directly but end up being too lose for the plugs. Used on the 12V plug of the PSU. Bought from Ebay for $13.
• CR2450 Horizontal Battery Holder [Image 13] - Used to replace the original still working CR2032-LC1 with store bought CR2450 batteries of the same chemistry and voltage but 3 times the capacity. If the original lasted over 14 years, this one should last about 40 years. If it ever dies, I can just throw in a new one. Bought from Amazon for $9.
• CR2450 Battery [Image 13] - Same voltage as original but 3 times the mAh capacity. Bought as a 2-pack from hardware store for $9.
• Heat Shrink 2-1 Kit [Image 14] - To finish and insulate connectors and solder joints. Bought from Amazon for $9.
• Rosin Core Solder [Image 15] - To join cables and connectors, leaded solder. Bought from Amazon for $8.
• Thermalright 1.5mm Thermal Pad [Image 16] - Used to replace original pads on the PS3. Bought from Amazon for $16.
• Thermalright 2.0mm Thermal Pad [Image 16] - Thicker pads needed for some places, along with the above is enough for one PS3 including the BD drive pad and HDMI Controller pad. Bought from Amazon for $17.
• 16mm Latching Push Button LED Switch [Image 17] - Better looking switch to turn the Corsair PSU on and off. Easier to mount on the front of the case than the original and harder to accidentally press while the PS3 is running. Bought from Amazon for $9.
• M3 Round 80mm Standoff Column [Image 18] - Used three to secure the PS3 to the case, mostly just keeping it from tipping over, all weight rests on PSU Shroud. Bought as a 10-pack from Amazon for $13.
• Jarlink Vertical Laptop Stand [Image 18] - This is a stand for the PS3 assembly, it actually clamps the PS3 motherboard and serves as a base support for it. Bought as CA021D from Amazon for $19.
• Cable Matters Sata Cables [Image 19] - Needed a red 18 inch Sata cable to extend the internal HDD using a male coupler. Bought as a 3-pack from Amazon for $7.
• Dalco Sata Male to Male Coupler [Image 19][Image 21] - Used with a Sata cable to extend the modified 22pin Sata cable from the PS3 Sata port to the HDD cage. Bought from Amazon for $9.
• 9 pin USB Male to Dual USB Type A [Image 19][Image 20] - This is another magic part. Used to pass through the two front USB 2.0 ports to two USB ports on the PS3. The third USB port is used for the Sabrent adapter for the external storage and the fourth port is blocked by a standoff column but I can get port back with a right angle USB extension. Bought from Amazon for $11.
• HDMI Extension Cable [Image 22] - Just a short extension cable from a Chromecast. I want to keep the HDMI external yet not bulky. Reduce wear on the HDMI connector by plugging into the extension instead. Got it for free. Stick next to it is a Magic-S Pro to use DualShock4 on the PS3 since native support is garbage. I couldn't fit it inside, might one day with a right angle USB extension. For now it goes on a front USB port.
• Miracle Gel Nail Polish [Image 23] - I tried to spray paint black and had terrible time with the smell letting it dry inside and in the end my top coat got messed up anyways. Wasted many weeks removing that paint to start from scratch. I had to paint the parts using nail polish which also wasted many weeks. It looks alright, I used 3 black, 2 red and 2 clear top coat bottles. Bought them locally for $55.
• Odds, Spacers and Ends [Image 24] - About $30 in Spacers and Bolts from Amazon, About $20 in Bolts, Washers and Nuts from BoltDepot and $15 on an Black IO Shield from Ebay.
• Furry Helper [Image 25] - Private security and oversight for the project. Priceless.

 

The total comes to about $935 not including the PS3, unused parts, mistakes, taxes, shipping and cat treats which easily put me over $1000. Let's call it a $1000 Mod Cost plus the PS3 Console.

 

There are 4 more Build Log Parts that go more into depth of about what was done to the PS3 during the mod.

[DTX]

Part II - Teardown, Cleaning and Painting

 

This section includes disassembling the PS3, cleaning the PS3 and painting the exposed surfaces of the PS3.

 

Image Album: Part II - Teardown, Cleaning and Painting - Imgur

 

Teardown:

Spoiler

[1] - The PlayStation 3 CECHA01 60GB model originally bought brand new from GameStop.

[2-3] - Removed the warranty void sticker, pulled out the rubber stopper and removed the screw that was hidden under the rubber stopper.

[4-6] - Slid the face of the PS3 towards the HDD bay and lifted it to the side. Removed the metal clip that was holding the first screw.

[7-10] - Removed the HDD cover, removed the blue screw securing the HDD cart in place, slid the cart to towards the front USBs and pulled the HDD cart out of the PS3. Saved the 640GB HDD that was used to replace the original 60GB HDD that came with the PS3.

[11-13] - Removed the exposed screws: 5 Long screws, 1 Medium screw and 2 Very Short screws.

[14-18] - Lifted slowly the top half of the shell from back to front. Carefully unplugged the ribbon cable for the Card Reader by releasing the black ribbon clip and set the whole top shell aside.

[19-20] - Unplugged the Wifi antenna from the Wifi module. Unplugged the external power plug from the back of the PS3 PSU.

[21-25] - Carefully unplugged the Wifi module ribbon cable from the Wifi module by releasing the black ribbon clip. Removed the 4 Short screws securing the Wifi module and saved the screws and Wifi module for reassembly. The shield on the Wifi module can be removed for painting and reattached, just keep in mind it clips around the PSU facing edge so don't force it, that side comes out last and goes in first. Carefully unplugged the Wifi module ribbon cable from the motherboard by releasing the black ribbon clip and saved it for reassembly. Note the orientation the ribbon cable has.

[26-30] - Removed the Short screw from the Wifi antenna board and saved both for reassembly. The Wifi antenna board can be physically removed after the PS3 PSU is removed as it is taped down. Make note of the orientation the cable connecting the PS3 PSU to the motherboard has. Carefully unplugged PS3 PSU power cable from the motherboard.

[31-34] - Removed the 5 Short screws securing the PS3 PSU and saved the screws for reassembly. Note the PS3 PSU must be lifted vertically as it has 2 banana plugs coming out of the motherboard that go into the PS3 PSU. The PS3 PSU and Wifi antenna board can now be removed and saved for reassembly. The PSU will be further disassembled at a later point.

[35-39] - Carefully removed the power cable for the BD drive from the motherboard. The Long screws securing the BD drive have already been removed by this point. Lifted slowly the BD drive from the back and carefully unplugged the BD drive ribbon cable from the motherboard by releasing the black ribbon clip. The BD drive can now be removed and saved for reassembly. The BD drive board can now be dusted and cleaned with dry forced air and a soft clean brush either dry or with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol. The medium black chip in the center of the BD drive board needs a 2.0mm thick thermal pad replaced where the red thermal pad is on the motherboard top shield. Do not remove the thin pad glued to the large chip. The BD drive can now be carefully brush painted whole.

[40-42] - Left all the other pads and cushions where placed.

[43-44] - Note the way the Power Eject board ribbon cable is oriented and how deep it is inserted. Carefully removed the Power Eject board ribbon cable from the motherboard. Removed the 4 Short Screws securing the Power Eject board bracket and saved the screws, bracket and Power Eject board for reassembly. The bracket can be painted.

[45-48] - Removed 5 Short screws and 2 Tiny screws securing the motherboard and saved them for reassembly. The Tiny screws are unique and must be inserted into the same threaded holes during reassembly. All Short screws are identical and should fit into the threaded holes on the motherboard shield of the same size for the Wifi and PS3 PSU. Removed the screw and washer from the ground cable from the top shield. Removed the last Medium screw from the corner by the ground screw.

[49-56] Lifted the motherboard shields and back plate out of the bottom shell and set the bottom shell aside.

[57-61] Carefully released the clips from the back plate and pull it away from the motherboard shields. The external power plug is attached to this part.

[62-66] Carefully flipped the motherboard shields over and unplugged the fan cable from the motherboard. Removed the 3 M3 sized Fan screws holding the PS3 19-Blade fan and set the screws and fan aside for reassembly.

[67-70] - Carefully flipped the motherboard shields over and note how deep the Heatsink screws are before removing them. Removed the 4 Heatsink screws and pressure plates from the Heatsink on the back and saved the screws and plates for reassembly. As far as I am concerned, they are identical and I lost track of which went where.

[71-78] - The Heatsink is now held in place only by the thermal paste so it might give a big of resistance. Carefully removed the Heatsink from the PS3 shields by pulling it up and away from the HDD cage.

[79-83] - The top shield protects the power banana plugs whenever it is installed but once removed, be careful not to break them off. If necessary/working on the Cell side, reinstall the top motherboard shield to protect the banana plugs. Flipped the shields over and removed the 2 HDD cage screws and saved them for reassembly. Carefully removed the PRAM clock battery by unplugging it from the motherboard and softly twisting the holder lose. Flipped the shields back to the top side and carefully removed the top shield by lifting from the front side as there are hinges in the back by the HDMI and Ethernet ports. Top shield can now be saved for reassembly, painted or used whenever necessary to protect the banana plugs.

Cleaning:

Spoiler

[84] - With the motherboard protected by the bottom shield, the motherboard can now be dusted and cleaned with dry forced air and a soft clean brush either dry or with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol. Removed all dust and residue from this side of the motherboard.

[85-89] - Note the location of the 5 1.5mm thermal pads of 0.5 x 1.5 cm size. Close ups of the 4 quadrants and the top side of the motherboard after cleaning. Brown/White residue can be removed by dissolving it in 99% Isopropyl Alcohol and absorbing it with a paper towel without scrubbing or applying heavy pressure. The residue should eventually be absorbed into the paper towel, pure IPA is supposed to dry clear. Be careful not to knock components off the motherboard.

[90-91] - The top shield was cleaned in the same manner. The Heatsink was cleaned at this time. Old thermal compound can be removed with cotton pads and 99% Isopropyl Alcohol from the Heatsink. The 19-Blade fan was cleaned at this time.

[92-93] - Do not remove the bottom shield if you forgot to unplug the PRAM battery. Carefully lifted the motherboard from the bottom shield from front to back because the back side motherboard and ports must fit into the back bracket of the bottom shield. Note the location and sizes of the thermal pads. All of them should be 1.5mm thick except that the one that goes on the big chip by the Ethernet port and the one to replace the HDMI controller's hard thermal pad should be 2.0mm thick instead. I applied all thermal pads to the motherboard chips instead of the shields except for the BD drive where it was applied to the shield instead.

[94-95] - Cleaned the bottom shield and bottom of the motherboard as described above. Old thermal compound can be removed with cotton pads and 99% Isopropyl Alcohol from the Cell and RSX.

[96-98] - Cut a hole into the HDD cage to allow a Sata cable to pass. The hole will later be expanded and the sharp edges covered with hot glue to prevent damage to the Sata cable.

[99] - Furry supervisor came to check up on the progress.

[100-112] - Close ups of the bottom side of the motherboard and major chips after cleaning. The HDMI controller pad is still on but it will be removed and replaced by 2.0mm thermal pad of the same size.

Painting:

Spoiler

[113-115] - After spray painting my parts outside and then having a hard time with the drying paint smell inside and coats drying smoothly, I gave up and had to remove all paint by sanding and using 100% Acetone. It did scratch the surfaces some. Note the diagonal pad under the PSU was shortened to make it fit completely under the PSU.

[116-132] - I ended up settling with painting the metal with nail polish. I used Miracle Gel Nail Polish by applying color coats until the coverage was complete and then covering 100% of the painted surface with the glossy top coat. There is some abstract chemistry that happens with the top coat but the point is, this gave me coverage, finish and durability. Has an unique look under RGB lights. This is one of the strongest nail polishes you can get without UV curing. Nothing painted should get significantly hot enough that I expect the paint to crack. I did paint the minimum necessary on the top shield to facilitate heat transfer and some heat dissipation. Most of the heat dissipation happens with the back shield and inside the Heatsink which are both exposed bare metal.

[133-142] This is the finished product up close. I could have done a little better but ran out of polish, the inside of the case is dark and the tempered glass is tinted. I'm happy with the way it came out and the way it looks assembled.

The PS3 was disassembled in March 2020 was stored in pieces inside several boxes until August 2021 when I brought it back to life.

 

There are 3 more Build Log Parts that go more into depth of about what was done to the PS3 during the mod.

[DTX]

Part III - PSU and Power

 

This section deals with the modifications on the PS3 PSU to make the PS3 work with an ATX PSU. In addition, some cables had to be created or modified to make everything work. The PS3 PRAM Clock battery was modified to be able to accept CR2450 batteries. This is documentation of a build that was already completed, not a tutorial or a guide. Do not attempt to replicate anything unless you are knowledgeable and can do it safely. I'm not responsible for your safety or your property.

 

Credit for some of the knowledge necessary to make this mod goes to Finalman and William Quade. They have blogs you can read if you wish to educate yourself further on the matter. The final design is ultimately mine and I did it in a manner to fulfill the requirements for my mod.

 

My CECHA01 PS3 came with the APS-226 M Power Supply which was already better than the launch PSU but still generated heat as it is not 100% efficient. In order to prevent the PSU heating the air and motherboard behind the RSX, I decided to power the PS3 externally with an ATX PSU. Removing the PS3 PSU completely would have made the PS3 top heavy vertically, changed drastically the way the PS3 guts look and left components exposed which could make for a headache if removed or damaged. Thus I decided to leave the PS3 PSU both as structural support, a protective shell and a connector.

 

Image Album: Part III - PSU and Power - Imgur

 

PSU and Power:

Spoiler

[1-2] - The PS3 PSU is secured to the top shield with 5 short screws and sits over the 2 12V banana plugs that only get powered when you turn on the system. A small cable connects 5 pins from the PS3 PSU to the motherboard and these supply 5V power continuously. This is how you get a red standby light.

[3-4] - The female plugs on the bottom of the PS3 PSU are for 12V positive by the corner and 12V ground. On the white cable, the first pin controls the 12V circuit, then it has 2 grounds and 2 5V power pins.

[5-7] - I removed the white cable from the PS3 PSU and saved it for reassembly. Note the orientation of the cable.

[8-9] - Carefully removed the 6 Micro screws holding the PS3 PSU shell together. They are very frail and easy to strip if not using the correct drive. I stripped one that I tried to hot glue onto and end up having to drill through. At least I only needed 5 Micro screws which I saved for reassembly. That part of the PSU shell is not important as you'll see later.

[10-11] - The guts of the APS-226 M PS3 PSU. I carefully flipped it over the PSU board and probed around with a multimeter until I deemed it safe. The ones I wanted to avoid the most where the 4 giant black capacitors but they were all uncharged from sitting around for over a year. Otherwise I would have had to discharge them with a resistor cable to turn the remaining charge into heat. Just to be safe, I shorted all of the bottom pins with a metal tool to check for any remaining charge and then triple checked with my hand.

[12-13] - I had to figure out the jumper switch contacts using continuity for when I have to rewire the switch as the switch was not wired conventionally.

[14-16] - I removed almost all the surface mounted components from the PSU board except the 5V and 12V connectors. I de-soldered what I could including the large capacitors. The big metal pieces had too much thermal mass so I carefully drilled around them to cut them out. I cut what I could with small electrical wire cutters to get down to the bare board.

[17-20] - I cut off a section of the PSU board to make room for the new PS3 support stand and cleaned all the residue by washing the board upright with a brush and 99% Isopropyl Alcohol. The primary board circuit is now fully isolated from the secondary board circuit. Anything that was powered on the primary board circuit is gone or isolated. The ground is connected throughout the entire the board. 12V power and 5V power is isolated to the marked areas. I checked to make sure neither my 12V or 5V was shorted to ground.

[21-27] - I determined how much of the PSU cage needs to be removed to make room for the PS3 support stand. The isolating hard plastic that keeps the PSU guts from touching the metal shell will also need to be trimmed. There is now a ton of room inside the PS3 PSU for all the connections I need to make in it.

[28] - This is the Corsair CX550M 550 Watt Power Supply. I tested that I could turn it on and off using the jumper switch. The PS3 pulls about 200-220 Watts at full load using the APS-226 PSU. With the extra fans, RGB and 2 7200 rpm 3.5 inch hard drives I should be looking at 275-300 Watts under load. A single 12V rail 550 Watts ATX PSU should allow me to remain at or near 50% load for maximum efficiency while playing games.

[29-30] I cut the PS3 PSU metal shells to make room for the PS3 support stand.

[31] - I cut the hard plastic under the PSU board to make room for the PS3 support stand. I made sure to leave an overhang around the PSU board to make sure the the 12V part of the board doesn't short on something.

[32-35] - I tested the fit with the PS3 support stand and put back on the PS3 to make sure everything is in order. The PS3 support stand clamps onto the PS3 motherboard shields including the HDD cage.

[36-38] - PS3 came with special versions of the CR2032 sold as CR2032-LC1. They are only 200 mAh supposed to last 10 years but the replacements are sketchy not to mention you can damage the batteries while soldering to them. Rather than making my own CR2032-LC1 I decided to install a battery holder for CR2450 batteries. They are the same chemistry and voltage but got a capacity of 620 mAh which should last three times longer. I cut the connector off my CR2032-LC1 which was still good close to 15 years later and extended the leads. I used the original holder to turn the ground wire towards the front and checked to make sure the connector reached the plug on the motherboard.

[39-41] - Furry came to supervise and make sure I wasn't slacking around. Most likely just wanted treats.

[42-44] - I cut the extra wire lengths and soldered the leads to the positive and negative tabs of the battery holder. The original holder got glued to the bottom of the CR2450 holder so I can reattach both to the PS3 shield later. I finished the CR2450 holder by shrink wrapping the positive tab so it doesn't short anything.

[45-47] - Using the molex to molex extension, I cut off the female end and ripped out the 12V pin from the male end. I left the extra ground wire for additional grounding.

[48-49] - The other ends were prepared for soldering by trimming back the braided wire sleeves and heat shrinking them in place. The ground wire that was next to the removed 12V pin got soldered into the ground wire I salvaged from the PS3 plug.

[50-51] - The isolating plastic shields cover the bottom and top of the PSU shells. With these I am comfortable soldering to the bottom and top of the PSU board.

[52] - I should have given it more thought when I decided where to pass the 5V power and ground wires into the bottom of the board and how to route them as they ended up interfering with the screw hole behind the 5V plug. I should not have ran a wire under where a screw goes, I end up removing the screw holder later.

[53-57] - I passed the 5V and remaining ground wire to the bottom of the PSU board using existing holes and soldered them to the middle of the 5V area and the middle of the ground area respectively. Since the these pads are all connected through traces, I focused on keeping the wires flat and making good contact with a least two pads without shorting anything. This is where I covered the screw hole by mistake.

[58-63] - I put the PS3 PSU together at this stage to make sure it still closed and for some reason it still did.

[64] - I plugged in the PSU board at this time to check for shorts and make sure it was outputting 5V power.

[65-69] - I soldered a male XT90 Plug to the 12V plug of the PSU board in the correct orientation. After properly identifying and labeling the positive wires on the EPS extension, I cut off the male end and kept the female connector. then I prepared all 8 wires for soldering. I properly soldered the 4 positive wires to the positive lead and 4 negative wires to the negative lead on a female XT90 plug. After heat shrinking and assembling the connector I finished the EPS to XT90 cable. The 4 pairs of AWG-18 wires should be enough to withstand the current being drawn by the PS3.

[70] - Furry was really interested in making sure I didn't cut corners.

[71-72] - I cleaned up the extra glue on the CR2450 holder and saved it for reassembly.

[73] - I cut the Sata power cables on one of the two 22 to 15+7 pin adapters because I cannot power the 3.5 inch 7200 rpm HDD using the power the PS3 provides for the internal 2.5 inch HDD. Like with the 3.5 inch HDD USB readers, you need to provide external power. Both HDDs are powered by a single SATA cable coming out of the ATX PSU so I only need to connect the Sata data to the PS3.

[74-77] - I connected the EPS to XT90 cable permanently to the PSU board. I plugged in the PSU board at this time to check for shorts and make sure it was outputting 12V power. I repeated the test with the top shell to check for shorts and everything has proper clearance. I unplugged the PS3 PSU and it is now ready for painting.

[78] - I finished the 22 pin cable by shrink wrapping the 5V and 12V wires individually and then all of them together.

[79-83] - I properly labeled and prepared the jumper cable for the new switch. The PS_ON pin got connected to Green. The 12V pin got connected to Red. Ground got connected to Black and Blue. The 12V for the LED is only powered when the ATX PSU is on so this will indicate when it is on. Turning on the ATX PSU will power the Fan Controller and 7 fans, the RGB and place the PS3 into a standby state where it can be turned with the power button or a controller. It can also be left on after the PS3 is off to steadily return the PS3 to room temperature. The new LED push latching switch was tested and everything worked.

[84] - I screwed in the PSU board to the bottom shell and the extra ground wire went to the exposed ground plating on the screw hole. I decided to use the fact that the PS3 PSU is essentially a connector for the 12V banana plugs and mostly empty to add RGB inside of it. I considered cutting the RGB strip but then decided to just wrap it loosely and securely away from the XT90 connector. I used the extension that came with the kit to stretch the RGB wire out of the PS3 PSU.

[85-87] - I closed up the PS3 PSU using the 5 Micro screws and plugged in the white cable to connect it to the motherboard. The PS3 PSU is now complete and fully compatible with my Corsair ATX PSU.

 

Originally I had wanted to use the XT90 connector directly on the plugs but they fit loose. I considered taking the 12V connector off the PSU board but that is not possible with my small iron and holding securely in place was also a challenge. After viewing everyone's solutions and considering a bunch of options, I decided to use the 12V connector on the PSU board since it is perfectly designed for the banana plugs and the PSU shell securely holds the PSU board in place so it has nowhere to go. It was also nice not having to modify the white cable like some people do.

 

There are 2 more Build Log Parts that go more into depth of about what was done to the PS3 during the mod.