PS4 Slim Cleaning: Fix Loud Fan & Thermal Paste Change

I am going to show you how I did a full maintenance on my PS4 Slim (Model CUH-22166B) including full Cleaning of the Fan and the Radiator as well as replacing the Thermal Paste. I also did a Spread Test using a piece of Glass to see how well the Dot Application works with Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Paste.

If the fan and the radiator of your PS4 have too much dust buildup, it will lower it’s cooling efficiency. You might end up with a noisy PlayStation because the system will turn up the fans RPM to compensate for the poor airflow. Your system might even shut down suddenly in order to protect its components.

By doing this, you will have to break the warranty seal, voiding the Sony Warranty of your console. So think wisely before starting the disassembly.

Also I stumbled upon some issues that you might want to know about before you start opening up your console. So watch carefully because this video might help you avoid any mistakes and do a better job when changing the thermal paste.

I made 2 separate videos that explain the thermal paste change separate from the cleaning. In this Intractable I will try to mix both processes in order for you to get the whole flow of the maintenance.

Supplies

Microfibre Towels

Window Cleaner (antistatic properties)

Isopropyl Alcohol

Cutter

Screwdrivers - PH - 0 and Torx T8 or T9 / security Torx bit (with hole in the middle)

Soft Brushes - two sizes preferably (vacuum cleaner can help keep everything clean)

Cotton Swabs (Q-tips)

Toothpicks

Thermal Paste - I am using the Noctua NT-H1 (also Arctic MX4 or MX6 have great reviews) - note that each paste have different specifications and also the methods recommended for applying the paste might differ.

Step 1: Top Cover

The first thing I am doing, is to remove the top cover by pulling up on the front corners and then sliding the cover backwards. There are no screws on the cover and it should come off with little effort.

As you can see, there is dust everywhere as expected. This look, makes it very clear to me that I need to take apart my console and clean it. 

I am using a window cleaning solution and a microfiber towel to wash the dust off,..... and a soft painting brush to brush off any dust from electronic components as well as in tight spaces like the logo engravings, the buttons and so on.

Step 2: Hard Drive & Seal Screw

Remove the hard-drive cover by pushing it sideways and you will see a screw that keeps the hard-drive in place. Once the screw is removed I can simply pull on the plastic ribbon and take the hard-drive out.

I am only using the brush on electronic components and blowing the dust off using the old blow pipe (blowing with my mouth).  

I found that it is a good practice to keep the screws where they belong in order to better keep track of them. So whenever the situation allows me, I will screw them back in their places.

By removing the warranty seal sticker from the back of my console, another screw is revealed.

This one is a Torx security screw that has a small pin in the middle that needs a special security bit. As you can see, this bit has a hole in the middle. 

You can also easily break the pin using a small flat screwdriver if you don’t have the special bit. 

Step 3: A Lot of Crews

The top side has a variety of screws so it is best to keep track of which screw goes where. This will make it easier for you to put the console back together.

If you get them mixed up, don’t worry because I included a photo that should show you the right place for each screw.

After removing all the screws, I removed the thin sheet of metal.

Step 4: Bottom Cover & Cleaning

Now I can remove the bottom cover by pulling up on the side corners and sliding it like I did with the top cover.

This reveals even more dust that needs to be cleaned.

In order not to get any liquid on the electronics and risk damaging something, I am only spraying the cleaning solution on the towel. With the wet towel I can now wipe the dust off safely.

You can also use an air spray, an inverted vacuum cleaner that can blow air, or a compressor to blow the dust off from the components.

Step 5: Power Supply

There is this screw that keeps me from removing the power supply (Marked in first photo). But once I get that out of the way, the power supply comes right off.   

I take out the power supply by pulling it upwards.

I unplug the small connector that connects the power supply to the motherboard.   

Found some more dust that needs cleaning. You can inspect the interior of your power supply for dust and blow away any dust without having to take it apart because the components are quite exposed on two sides.

Step 6: The Radiator

I take the wifi antenna off and unscrew the 8 screws that are holding the motherboard in place.

Disconnect the 4 ribbons from their sockets. You have to be careful with the large one because it has a security tab that needs to be pulled up before pulling on the ribbon. The rest of them will come right off just by pulling them.

Free the power supply wire from the plastic pins that hold it in place and the motherboard comes right off. Don’t forget about the fan connector ! Disconnect that as well.

Now I can inspect the radiator and it is not a pretty sight.  

And on I go with the cleaning. Some more brushing and blowing the dust off will be enough to gain a good airflow for my system.

Step 7: The Fan

There are two more screws that hold me from removing the fan. So I take those off and ….. some more dust for me to clean :)))).

The fan is covered in dust. This and the radiator are the most important parts that keep the console cool and need cleaning from time to time.

Step 8: Motherboard

Next step, I am opening up the metal casing to reveal the motherboard. 

We are going to remove a lot of screws (23), so I would urge you to take your phone at this point and take some pictures of your motherboard just in case you forget where each screw goes where. 

In any case I marked all of the screws I removed (see photo) from my casing. If for any reason you can’t open it up easily, come back and check that you removed all the screws.

Once I remove the screws I can remove one plate to reveal 8 thermal pads and a little bit of dust on the metallic plate as well as on the motherboard. So I am dusting everything off with a soft brush and cleaning all 8 components that will come in contact with the thermal pads using some q-tips and alcohol. I use regular alcohol but everyone recommends the use of Isopropyl alcohol for electronic components.

I am doing the same thing with the metallic plate. 

At this point I thought it was a good idea to remove the thermal pads in order to clean everything better. But I actually ended up breaking one of the thermal pads so I decided that removing them from the metallic plate was a bad idea. So if you don’t plan to replace the thermal pads with fresh new ones I would advise you to leave them alone. 

I ended up just cleaning them with a bit of alcohol.

Step 9: Pressure Plate

Next, I am taking apart the pressure plate by removing those two screws.

There are actually two plates. The second one has no screws. Instead it's guided in place by two pins.

Now I can separate the motherboard from the second metallic plate that also holds the radiator. 

I removed the small power connector from the board but this is not necessary and I would encourage you not to do as I did, because it will be one more thing that you might forget to connect when you are putting everything back together. 

Step 10: Some Weird Stuff

After the separation I found something odd: there are 3 chips that seem to be missing one thermal pad even though the metal plate is especially designed for 3 pads. Keep in mind that this is the first time my console has been taken apart this far and nobody messed around with it before.

If I would have had some thermal pads I would probably think about adding the missing piece but since I had none, I figured if my console worked all these years without that thermal pad, it will work without it from now on. So …   

Another thing you should be aware of is the little metallic piece (second photo) that I almost lost while brushing the board. I will show you later how to fix it in place so let’s move on. Just be careful not to lose it.

I am removing any dust from the board as well as rubbing the cooled components with a bit of alcohol as I did on the other side.

Step 11: The Processor

This is the processor, and the first thing I am doing is to remove the old thermal paste and clean it for the new one. Besides the Q-tips I found toothpicks to be very useful in removing the excess paste.

I am doing the same thing with the heat sink to make sure I am not leaving any thermal paste residue behind. I am also cleaning the thermal pads to make sure they are all dust free.

The thermal paste package has specific information about how to apply the thermal paste and so I decided to do this by the book. But I wanted to test it out this time as I never really trusted the dot technique that noctua recommends. 

And so I applied a small dot on the processor and pressed this piece of glass to see if the dot is enough to cover the whole area and ensure the optimal cooling efficiency of my PS4.

My conclusion: I could have applied a bit more paste given that there is a lot of space around the processor and also the statement on the package that says that the thermal paste is not electrically conductive therefore no risk of any short. But I decided to apply the same amount and trust the process.

You do whatever you think is best for you but also keep in mind that too much thermal paste could render the processor hotter. Or so the instructions say.

But, before I did the final application I put the small metallic spacer in its place and temporarily fixed it with a screw to make sure it will not move when I am placing the metallic plate over the processor. Also make sure all the heat pads are in the right place.

Now, same as before, I apply a little dot of thermal paste and I am carefully placing the metallic plate and radiator over the motherboard. It is important to place the radiator right over the processor without smudging the paste; otherwise the paste might not spread evenly over the processor.

I turn the whole thing over and install the pressure plates with the two screws.    

Don’t forget to remove the temporary screw before installing the second metallic plate. And if you disconnected the small power cable, now is the time to put it back where it belongs. I forgot about it and had a bit of a struggle with it later in the process.

Step 12: Put Everything Back Together

Now I am closing the motherboard casing by installing all the screws back in their place. Here is where that picture I was talking about comes in handy. 

From this point on, all you have to do is to retrace your steps and you should be fine.

I am Max from LifeHackerMax and I hope you found this tutorial useful.