The PS3 has a fairly decent reliability record. About a 10% failure rate.

We're starting to get at the point where older systems are starting to fail. The main cause, like the 360, is overheating. The laser in the Blu-ray also frequently fails. When this happens, you'll get the dreaded "Yellow Light of Death". Your PS3 will refuse to turn on and flash a yellow LED on the front.

Unlike Microsoft, Sony only offers a limited warranty on the PS3. Just one year limited warranty against hardware faults. After that, you must pay $170 plus shipping and taxes to get the system fixed. Should you?

That depends on what model you have. If you own a 60gb or 20gb model, it pays to get these repaired. These are the Cadillac models due to their PS2 backwards compatibility. They still sell on eBay for close to retail. Therefore, it makes sense to pay for the repair.

If it's an 40gb or newer model, then it makes little sense to repair it. A new system is $299. You will probably end up paying over $200 for the repair with taxes and shipping factored in. The new Slims run cooler and have bigger hard drives built in.

80gb models could go either way, depending on how badly you need the PS2 compatibility. Using a cheap PS2 would be better than the 80gb's limited compatibility.

Now, should you fix it yourself? There are plenty of tricks available online. I'd advise against this unless you really know what you're doing. If you break the system's seal, Sony will refuse to accept the system for future repairs regardless of it being in warranty or not.