This liquid-cooled, modded “PS3 Pro” with an overclocked GPU runs Gran Turismo 6 at 60 FPS
YouTuber Zac Builds took things to a whole new level by transforming Sony’s legendary PlayStation 3 into a fully water-cooled, overclocked console that runs cooler, faster, and far quieter than the engineers at Sony could have imagined back in 2006.
For the build, Zac used the CECH-2501B model PS3, the “Goldilocks” version, as the YouTuber called it, which is powerful enough to handle serious mods yet still hackable. Earlier Slim units may have run cooler, but Sony’s later security updates locked down the firmware, making overclocking nearly impossible.
After performing a thorough teardown of the system, Zac replaced the degraded thermal paste beneath the integrated heat spreaders. After carefully removing Sony’s glued-on spreaders, he applied PTM7950, a phase-change thermal pad used in modern high-performance devices, to replace the old thermal interface. This created a solid foundation for liquid cooling.
Using 3D scanning, the YouTuber replicated the PS3’s motherboard to design precise aluminum water blocks for both CPU and GPU. Because the two chips sit at different heights, he built separate blocks, custom mounts, and fittings. Parts were 3D printed, switching from prototype PLA to heat-resistant carbon fibre nylon. Even the mounting frame, airbox, and radiator housing were printed, all designed to fit within the console’s tight internal space.
After hours of fine-tuning, annealing the nylon parts to prevent long-term warping, and assembling a fully self-contained cooling loop powered by the PS3’s own fan header, Zac moved on to the most delicate phase, filling and testing the system. Before powering the console, he ran the pump separately to flush out any trapped air bubbles, which can block coolant flow and cause overheating. Once the loop was clear and completely sealed, he reconnected everything and powered on the system. To his relief, the PS3 booted flawlessly, now cooled by a 120 mm radiator, a compact pump-reservoir combo, and a stealthy black Noctua fan.
From there, Zac moved on to overclock the PS3. By flashing custom firmware, he was able to tweak the GPU and VRAM clocks on the fly. With the new cooling system keeping temperatures steady at around 40°C, down from 60–67°C, he pushed the GPU to 750 MHz (a 50% overclock) and the VRAM to 925 MHz (a 42% increase).
The results were impressive: Uncharted 2 jumped from the high 30s to the low 50s, Gran Turismo 6 climbed from the mid-40s to nearly 60 FPS, and BioShock Infinite rose from around 30–35 FPS to about 45–50 FPS. Even though Watch Dogs didn’t perform well, as it’s a largely CPU-bound title and the CPU wasn’t overclocked during the build, the majority of games ran far smoother than on any stock PS3.
Zac admits water cooling may have been overkill, a fresh thermal interface and fan swap alone might have delivered most of the gains, but the project wasn’t just about performance, as the YouTuber was simply having fun executing the entire build.
You can watch the whole build video linked below, and it’s highly recommended that you do, the craftsmanship Zac showcases in the video is incredibly satisfying to watch.
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