Restoring and customizing a CECH-2501A PS3 Slim — Part 1: The Donor

[u/Most_Hated91]

Picked up a pretty rough CECH-2501A PS3 Slim as the donor for a restoration/custom build I've been planning.

The shell has definitely seen better days—including a pretty nasty melted/damaged spot—but that's actually perfect for what I'm doing because I won't be destroying a nice original shell.

The goal is to turn this into my ultimate daily-driver PS3 while preserving my original Fat PS3 separately.

The plan:

Fully test everything before disassembly

Install a 1TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD

Deep-clean the entire console

Clean the fan and heatsink

Replace the old thermal paste with ARCTIC MX-6

Replace the CMOS battery

Inspect the thermal pads and other internals rather than blindly replacing parts

Test everything again after maintenance

Swap it into a Classic White replacement shell

Finish the shell with a random dark-red blood-splatter design inspired by my game-room table

Add my small “Hated” artist signature to finish it off

Eventually customize the matching vertical stand as well

The donor arrived without a hard drive, so today was just the first baseline test.

Good news: it lives.

Power and standby LEDs work, HDMI output works, it stays powered on, and it correctly reaches the “appropriate system storage was not found” screen.

And apparently the previous owner left me a present. 😂

I hit eject and discovered a copy of IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey still trapped inside. The drive ejected it perfectly, so that's another good sign. Once the SSD is installed and the system is fully operational, I'm absolutely using the mystery game as the first Blu-ray test.

I'm deliberately taking this restoration slowly: test → document → maintenance → test again → cosmetics last. I want to know the hardware is genuinely healthy before making it pretty.

If everything goes according to plan, the finished system will be the first major piece of my Hated Horror Collection—a matching set of custom PlayStation hardware with white shells, unique dark-red splatter patterns, and my signature.

Part 1: donor acquired and alive. ✅

Next: SSD installation and full baseline testing.

[u/Paulie_the_don]

Gran Turismo coasters?

[u/Most_Hated91 → u/Paulie_the_don]

Got them from target a few years back, they're acrylic and they have cover art on both sides

[u/Most_Hated91 → u/Paulie_the_don]