Could an improperly cooled computer system such as a Playstation 3 reach high enough temperatures to melt it's own solder? It seems very improbable to me, but I really don't know for sure. Any info on how heat dissipation works for these systems?
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Power semiconductors can get hot enough to melt their own solder, but usually when that happens the device is destroyed because semiconductors tend to fail above 150 degrees, and solder melts at about 190.
For a digital chip to get that hot it would certainly mean the chip was destroyed, because the amount of metal available for conducting heat from the chip to the solder pads is so much smaller. You would notice the machine going dead followed some seconds later by a burning smell.
I don't know about playstations but for most microprocessors in PCs you have a large heatsink mounted on the chip with a fan to force air over it.
For a digital chip to get that hot it would certainly mean the chip was destroyed, because the amount of metal available for conducting heat from the chip to the solder pads is so much smaller. You would notice the machine going dead followed some seconds later by a burning smell.
I don't know about playstations but for most microprocessors in PCs you have a large heatsink mounted on the chip with a fan to force air over it.
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NO, solder needs at least about 276 C to melt. Any electronic parts failed long before it reached this temperature.