One of the top trending videos on YouTube right now, a teardown of the revised PlayStation 5 model, claims that the console is “worse”. So just what’s the deal with the lighter PS5 that’s gone on sale in countries like Australia and even the UK over the past month or so? Well, in addition to the new thumb screw, hardware boffin Austin Evans’ video reveals that the heat sink has also changed.
Throughout the 13 minute teardown, the presenter makes a lot of observations: power draw is practically identical, and he claims that the new model is marginally quieter than the original – although it’s not going to be something you’ll notice. However, using a temperature reader, he spots that the new PS5’s exhaust is outputting roughly three degrees Celsius more heat than its predecessor.
It’s important to note here that he only measures the exhaust: not the internals itself. A console’s cooling solution is designed to extract as much heat as possible, so this in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. Evans hypothesises, however, that the change in temperature could be down to the fact that the device is simply running hotter overall, although we’ll need to wait for further testing to be sure of that.
His assumption is somewhat sound as side-by-sides of the heat sink do show a clear reduction in materials and an alteration in assembly parts. This could be a cost-cutting measure on Sony’s part, or it could simply be a case of it needing to source different components during the coronavirus pandemic. Given the popularity of this video, the firm will probably have to come out and comment.
Unfortunately, while the core information in the clip is interesting, the framing of it has led to out-of-context snippets being shared all over social media. If you’re in the market for a PS5, then don’t be put off by this video. Yes, the console clearly has some internal changes, but there’s nowhere near enough evidence here to suggest it’s going to face overheating issues, as is being implied.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 89
Higher output heat is good. All cooling system's purpous is to relocate heat from SoC out of the console so it's working well. It's weird though since there is smaller heat sink
The power draw is the same.
The internal components on the chip side are the same.
It runs quieter, implying the fan does less work.
The heatsink is massively reduced.
That to me sounds like it'll get hotter. Quite a logical conclusion.
The real worry is how hot does a certain chip get. Namely, there is some RAM on the reverse side of the board away from the metal shield, heatsink, fan and extensive cooling. That single chip gets exceptionally hot. If this things runs hotter, that chip is going to be scorching.
Why is the new model getting worse?
Sony is stupid for not addressing this from the begging instead of letting people pull out speculations out of their a** and get popular for it.
Glad I got one at launch then...
@SamMR It's the Sony way, unfortunately.
In summer in a country like Australia where the common daytime temp is 35-40 degrees Celsius (95-104 degrees Fahrenheit) this will be an issue for long sessions that aren’t in air conditioning for sure. I mean I doubt anything will break cos it has auto shutdowns when the temperatures are too high, but I mean it’s still concerning. And repeated long term exposure to such high temps will definitely cause issues and almost certainly reduce its life. Smart folk will limit their sessions to a few hours max and then have a break for a half hour before resuming but certain ppl won’t. I know cos I’m from there and have seen issues with Samsung phones shutting down due to heat while your using them while charging in summer. If you don’t live where it’s that type of extreme summer heat, or you play in an air conditioned house there will be zero issues. Glad I got a launch console!
Here we go again..when i got my ps5 in feb this year i'd heard all these storys about coil whine,heat issues,gpu issues etc....not had any issues..oh forgot about the console being noisy as hell..my bad..i'm sure there will be a plethora of issues now..
Sorry, folks. This is all completely my fault. I was just saying to a friend the other day that there hasn't been any negative playstation news lately.
Clearly I put a hex on the news cycle.
My bad 🙇♂️
@kingbreww Well they launched this first in Australia ironically so... 🤷♀️
@get2sammyb perfectly timed as it’s winter here atm haha. But yeh, like I said it will only be an issue during peak summer for long sessions. Most users don’t game that long or will be smart enough to realise when it’s that boiling hot to have breaks. I only see this being an issue with negative consequences to a tiny percentage of users. Still, it’s not the direction I like seeing being taken, nor would any user
more nonsense for the moaners to go on about it. always makes me chuckle when this happens we are talking about an electronics giant with decades of experience.
ps5 is the most quiet piece of hardware i own..no complains
I've got a PS5 and I can't believe how bad it is. The made up nonsense about the PS5 that is. The PS5 is boss and works like a dream. It's flipping massive though and Im not a fan of the dual sense due to the weird holding position, but the PS5 is great. Go get one and join us.
Before PS5 released the narrative was the same. “Oh, it’s going to overheat, blah blah blah”. Guess what? It came out and they didn’t overheat. Shock.
Now the narrative is exactly the same with this revision. Do people honestly think that Sony haven’t tested and figured this all out? They know what they are doing. They aren’t going to release a revised model that works less efficiently, or at least to a level that is going to cause malfunction.
Once these are more widely available the over heating narrative will quieten down and people will find some other thing to focus on and complain about, and all without facts.
I went into the article expecting it to be a big change, but only three degrees is barely any difference.
My PC will run at 21 c last winter, but now in the latter half of summer it averages around 27 c. The room I have it in is really cool in the winter but gets a little bit warm in the summer.
Now does this 6 degree change make a difference? No.
Are there changes to some of the internals,yes. But to make a judgement purely based off exhaust temperature? Seems a bit clickbait'ish to rush to conclusions but I guess everyone on the internet's an expert!🙄
Didn't Windows Central have it on "good authority" that early devkits were failing by the bucket load too?!😋
It’s interesting when ‘respected’ sites like DF are caught pushing FUD narratives from well known shills.
The same people were praising hot exhausting from Xbox SX as proof of an efficient cooling system.
This is a disaster. What are Sony doing? First they stop making PaRappa games… and now this? I’m done.
Austin Evans is so cringe. He often makes assumptions and runs with it. I'm waiting for Gamers Nexus or Digital Foundry to do a real breakdown. They use factual information to back up their claims, which is the way it should be.
@munstre it’s means it’s producing more heat
Haven't had any issues at all.
The question is how many consoles did they test? Probably just one. One may run a little hotter than the other, but the average for the models could be the same. Or maybe the ambient temperature was a little higher. But it's all within the safe range. And like many others have pointed out, they didn't even measure the internals. Too many questions to draw any meaningful conclusions.
@munstre keep following this story. As more and more tests and side by sides are done you will see that it does. You reduce the cooling centre’s size it makes more heat. It’s fairly obvious
Good grief. It's smaller so it must be worse. So many jokes.
Yes, it's a cost-reduction exercise. But you don't reduce costs by making something more likely to fail. So I'd wager Sony simply found a more efficient way of cooling the system.
If you look closely I don't think the surface area of the heatsink is much, if any, smaller in actuality. The layout has changed.
As long as the heat is coming out of the console, it's not a problem.
I would say that yes... the concerns are an overreaction. Everything in today's world runs on overreacting. It's become a feeble attempt at controlling the minds of the weak via feigned outrage and I'm truly disgusted by it. Disgusted by much of what humanity represents these days.
The first version of console launch usually also the best version, like (my) ps4 console that has touch sensitive power button
@The_New_Butler I agree with your assessment. I think Sony simply did notice they could cut a bit the cost of the heatsink and have no issue at all in the short to middle term.
The long term though. 5 years from now, after quite a lot of usage and especially new games that will put the PS5 hardware to the task, will the cost-cutting prove to be a bad idea? We'll see I guess. Or maybe they're counting on most people buying a PS5pro at that time...
@Olmaz i don't see a pro version coming this generation..with the promise of upscaling techniques and the near zero 8k tv market share there really isn't point for a pro machine..
@Olmaz It's also possible that they've come up with a more efficient design that is also lighter. Lighter doesn't necessarily mean cheaper to produce, depends on the materials used. But does mean cheaper to ship, so a cost saving there .
Has nobody come up with a way to check the chip temps, not just the air? I know it isn't a PC so all that software won't work but can't you just aim an infra-red thermometer at them or something? I'm sure that has to be a better method than air. 🤷♂️
I'm really getting sick and tired of the disinformation age we are currently living in. How does Austin get to test one game for a few minutes and then make a decision that could affect Sony's image. Do people forget Sony is a giant experienced electronic company that know what they are doing compared to a Youtuber. The times we are in are just mind boggling.
@zebric21 Don't underestimate the marketing push or True 4K60fps in 2025! True revolution I'd say!
Joke apart, we all know most PS5 exclusive games will play at sub-4K and at 30fps in the coming years, to push graphical fidelity, unless DLSS becomes a real thing on console, which is not yet a sure thing. I'd love to see a good DLSS implementation but AMD is not there yet on PC, trailing behind Nvidia.
This note is by Sammy boy so it is an over reaction for sure 😂
@wiiware yes, that’s true.
I’m really happy with my release Ps5.
@Olmaz I hope an optional 60 fps mode will become the standard or at least something like Insomniac did with ratchet with this 40 fps mode - but this will only work on 120 hz TVs.
I simply won’t go back to 30 Fps after all these 60 Fps games.
Boring zzzzZZZZ
Jesus...is it that boring a time in gaming?. Assumptions and speculation. Facts are what counts. The heat won't be a problem. How about Sony went too cautious with the original cooling design and they now realised after almost a year that they can use less cooling materials and still have little issues?
Could it be that the revised ps5 is better at extracting heat than the original? Genuine question and that's why the exhausted air is hotter?
This is definitely an overreaction. I get concerned when my PC is under a decent work load the air coming out of the back isn't hot. This isn't Sony's version of the red ring of death. My PS4 Slim was able to play TLoU 2 and Ghost of Tsushima and it got blazing hot. Even then, it never skipped a frame during either game. Sony is great with thermals. It's going to be fine.
@munstre Unfortunately this story is everywhere on the Internet now. Best we can do here is be level headed and at least try to add additional information/context.
@Artois Yes, it absolutely could be that. Hence why the overreactions are a bit silly until we have more info.
Could also be that Sony collected data from the 10 million units already sold, realised the original design was a bit overkill, and appropriately adapted it.
@rjejr Not yet! But I imagine those tests will come and this will all blow over.
Removed - unconstructive
I remember reading that Cerny was quite high on the PS5’s effective cooling system. There’s a whole hub world in Astrobot’s Playroom with that theme. So methinks they overcorrected with more cooling than they really needed so they are course correcting to cut costs. Sure, it’s nice if the original has more heat sink than necessary, but I have a feeling the new models will be fine. But who knows.
I don't notice my ps5 running at all most of the time. It literally outputs zero sound. Only sound it sometimes makes is the spinning disk drive when there is disk spinning. Also its pretty cool all the time and I haven't had any heat concerns with it even when it was +30 celcius outside for 3 weeks in a row and it was on 8-9 hrs a day. We don't have air conditioner in my country, so room temp is constantly around 27c too. Sony couldn't have made a better job when it comes to cooling down console.
About time people got taken to task for spreading misinformation. If what this individual says is proven to be false, he should have a visit from Sony's legal teams.
People way too quick to believe a rando on the internet. Do they seriously believe Sony would put something out that could potentially cost them a fortune in repairs and replacements.
Sony will have tested the device. As others have said, they have probably found the original heat sink was overkill and have found other ways to more effectively cool the internals. Sony have been in the tech industry for decades. They know what they are doing.
@SJBUK as long as the box is not reduced in size, when you are shipping by container on sea, you will be limited by volume before weight. You can load up to 25 Tons in a 40feet container. And the freight is the same. It's different story if you ship them by air.
@Rob_230 so true. But that’s how it works today… attention and clicks (clicks = money for websites and YouTuber) over proven and high class information.
Is this a ploy to stop scalpers from buying so many and holding them back? If not as many people want them, they'll stop buying all the stock in seconds
@Bamila haven’t had an issue with my Ps5 as well.
I don’t make any temperature tests the whole time but the system is quiet even after long Gaming sessions with native Ps5 titles.
My console has a slight coil whine but that’s only noticeable when my Soundsystem is completely off or my tv is very very low in volume.
@Haruki_NLI Correct. Gamers Nexus tested the launch PS5 and concluded (thanks to many temp sensors added at various hot spots throughout the console) that the console is running it's rear side RAM chips at 95°c when a game is active. There are some fairly good odds that at some point, launch PS5s will start faulting with failed RAM chips. I wonder if it'll be like old Intel boards from about 10 years ago where they refuse to power on and emit three beeps with a pause over and over, like some pre-Retina MacBooks did (I had a 2011 Pro that exhibited this flaw, right before it cooked it's GPU too - 2011 not a great year for MacBook Pros hence Apple being hit with a class action).
Hopefully that won't happen but when you run RAM at temperatures well above spec, it could.
Austin Evans has always been a little M$ puppet. He's just a glorified version of Colteastwood
@Rob_230 "Sony have been in the tech industry for decades. They know what they are doing."
I mostly I agree with your statement except this part, Microsoft and Sony were around for decades when the 360 and PS3 launched yet we still got Ylod, Rrod soo 🤷
@Reeneman oh. Coil whine. Totally forgot about it. When I unboxed my ps5 it was there for ps5 titles only and it was rather very audible. I was scared at first that it was defective model, but upon further online forums search and subreddits on Reddit, other articles I realised it is totally normal for ps5. It's actually way less hearable now, maybe I just got used to it. It's only there when you run ps5 native titles tho, most likely because they are more power hungry.
@Bamila exactly, totally right!
In backwards compatibility mode the console runs in lower clock speeds and therefore less power consumption - no coil whine or at least not noticeable.
With native Ps5 titles is runs with a higher power consumption.
Austin John talks absolute BS, did around the time the PS5 released aswell, comes off as an Xbox shill, just clickbait after clickbait.
I don't see this impacting the demand for PS5s at all.
@SilkySmile89 Fair point, though they ship them by the pallet so I guess it's charged on pallet weight rather than on individual boxes. Might make a difference.
All a storm in a teacup, though.
How can someone say it's worse when they haven't even used it for a few months and seeing if anything would happen to it!?!? PATHETIC Internet people on YouTube and Twitter etc etc + how many BILLIONS of scare stories was there about the PS5 before it came out and there was nothing wrong with it in the end!?!? + doesn't the Xbox(whatever it's called) still run hotter than this new PS5 anyway!?!? Funny how no one mentions that. YAWN. Zzzz
@Carl-G some crazy stuff is going on with all these stupid YouTubers.
Probably MS simply threat them better with more consoles to test, more free cores for games? I don’t know but there is something.
I suppose there is an upside in having to wait to get a PS5 seeing as they are still difficult to get, by the time I can easily get one I hope it is the best version with all the kinks ironed out.
Both of these idiots clearly know nothing about what they're talking about. They're basing their entire statement off the fact that they removed some of the heatsink and the exhaust is on average 3 degrees hotter. This means absolutely nothing. The larger heatsink could have been restricting airflow and the hotter air is now getting out of the console faster. Also from comparing the two most of what was removed was just plating below the heatsink. The only way to know for sure is to test internal thermals and I'd bet these two would even screw that up. Either way 3 degrees is nothing to be worried about.
When I read about this earlier I was so disappointed. Not in Sony, but in the people who call themselves “professionals” and seemingly not knowing how the system works. And of course the Internet eats it up. Things like this are why the world is so absolutely effed up!
@kingbreww Man i lost my sheet one time cuz i went to play ps4 (before i traded up good deal towards ps5) and it was hot + humid that day and my ps4 wasn't turning on OOF. Like never had it before. Guess the weather must have been just that sweet spot of hot + humid in my city in South Australia that the PS4 wasn't playing ball just for that little bit of time.
@mucc Can't expect much from Austin Evans, that channel generate views with exaggerated controversy.
Less games being released so more nonsense being said on the ‘net. You have to talk about something in order to earn that Bitcoin!
@AhmadSumadi
I was disappointed years ago when I found out the scale of stupidity on the internet. This (FUD) isn’t surprising about the PS5. We’ve seen so many FUD leading to launch and then after.
From the ‘professionals’ , biggest disappointment was Digital Foundry.
So many narratives people just follow and forget to use their brain. Remember when the word around was PS5 is running hot?. My PS5 is incredibly cool most of the time even after hours that I wonder how it’s even possible haha
Edit
The thing that makes me smile is the amount of effort and waste of their life time the trolls are putting into it haha
@get2sammyb nice to know my PS5 has overkill design)
@Darth_Stofi Hotter exhaust not always good. As an example take a system, slow down fan speed a bit and you'll get a hotter enclosure with higher temp exhaust.
To all concerned that the new version is somehow worse or less reliable: don't. It is the first version that was overkill. It would be stupid for Sony not to cut manufacturing costs by making changes to the new revisions.
@Rob_230 Microsoft did exactly that in the 360 era though, they cut corners to reduce costs and it resulted in lots of hardware failures.
Not that I have found a PS5, but I'd wait for a proper analysis of the alteration before making any conclusions.
The comments on the sites I still go to are being mostly sensible about this.
Is the trend shifting?
I swear in the next few months MS will make a blunder, then we'll have 5 years of "XBOX is anti consumer."
I'm not trying to belittle anyone here, but consumer behaviour genuinely fascinates me. If I was still in college I'd do a thesis on this.
@Telekill It is a concern for people looking to get a PS5 now or in the near future, and it’s not an overreaction.
The problem (and maybe the bigger reason for your woe for humanity as well) is that it is confusing.
1) We have some facts: the new PS5 has smaller heat sinks and the exhaust runs hotter.
2) We have two contradictory conclusions: either new PS5 is running hotter internally, thus the exhaust is hotter, or the new PS5 is more efficient at cooling, thus the exhaust is hotter. Both sounds sensible to a laymen.
3). We have more people interested in the narrative than the truth. Most comments — and this is everywhere — are not trying to get to the truth, but dismissing the position that disagrees with what they would prefer to be true. The evidence is “Sony is too good to fail” vs. “Sony is evil corporation ripping off gamers”.
That’s the cocktail for your drama. Genuine news, genuine reasons for concern, churned up in a cottage industry of clicks and comments that’s optimizing for outrage, doubt, and division.
When you want to really worry is when the exhaust is not blowing out 'warmer' air but the unit itself is warmer overall...
If you are getting 'hot' air out of the exhaust ports and the internal temperature is NOT exceeding its optimum temp, its running as expected.
Its entirely possible that a 'smaller, but denser' APU is generating 'more' heat' per square mm but being smaller, needs a smaller footprint heat transfer unit. As long as its 'extracting' enough 'heat' to keep it within its optimum range, its working as expected...
since when do people base their opinion on hypothetical assumptions?
Oh dear. Over half a pound of heat sink removed..... I'm sure they've improved some design, and we know the original was ridiculously overbuilt, and didn't have to be as beefy as it was. But this sounds like they're cutting to the cuticle here....
I'm really hoping this doesn't blow up and looks worse than it is. Sony's done a lot of screwy decisions, but if they managed to end up walking an "RRoD" scandal in a year or two, they may not recover.
@mrtennis1990 Their experience didn't make them immune to YLOD problems, DS4 launch controllers that broke trigger hinges and the rubber composition fell apart, graveyards of dead BD drives on PS3s, etc. Nor MS's experience didn't save them from the RRoD due to a mix of cost-cutting and simple production oversight. Apple's experience didn't save them from building a Wifi/Cell antenna so that you could "hold your phone wrong" and drop calls.
Yes, these companies have a lot of experience with this stuff. But sometimes it's the accounting department, not the engineering department that designs the product. And those products tend to fail a lot. It doesn't have to be electronics. I've seen heavy 100lb pieces of equipment wobble and fall all over because the legs had basically no bracing at the bottom. How does that get past engineering as ok? It has no chance of working. But somebody controlling the purse decided it was "good enough". Until it had to be recalled.
I'm sure Sony has a lot of data and testing for the change, but that doesn't mean we can assume engineers weren't overridden by accounting until the years start going by and things start happening or don't.
@JJ2 LOL I hear you. It’s funny that I swear my PS4 Pro that sits next to my PS5 actually makes more noise in rest mode that the PS5 makes when it’s running a game.
The PS4 Pro also had more heat after the last revision but it was also less noisy clickbait article.
@Spiders But why should it be a concern? I'm really puzzled about peoples reaction to this. Things will change over time, always have done, always will do. It's a nonsense to assume there's going to be a problem based on the evidence presented, so why do it?
I've used dozens of different PC heatsinks over the 30 odd years I've built PC's. Bigger and heavier is NOT not always better.
As far as I know no-one has checked for a difference in internal temperature. It's quite possible, with that massive copper base having been removed, it may be lower. Lets wait for facts.
@SJBUK You're probably right as far as the reality of the situation, but there's enough talk about "New PS5 WORSE than Original", it's going to catch some people surely. For example, I don't know the rates for "Switch Pro" holdouts, but how many people waited because of unfounded rumors of a Switch Pro around the corner for the last couple of years, and likely even still.
I'm not exactly in the market right now or even soon, but even though I know what you're saying is more than likely true, I'm still hoping there are some tests done on internal chip temps that makes the rounds once these models are in the wild. The concern then becomes about "let's wait for the facts" actually coming to fruition — good news and reassurances do not make headlines the way alarm and FUD does.
@Rural-Bandit I guess as someone used to taken things apart to upgrade them it's not an issue for me. I appreciate the fact I could just get an off-the-shelf part, plug it in and get full benefit of the speed. Can get 1TB with appropriate HS for £165. If and when I upgrade, it'll go in a PC.
I also love the fact I can whip off the covers and get to all the vents to clean them out now and again.
@Spiders Sad but true. Too much negativity on social media, unfortunately it makes people money.
There you have it, every moron on YouTube can say whatever he/she wants and the entire world believes. But on the other hand, Sony should be more open about these things.
For a more intelligent view than most on the changes have a look at arstechnica.com. Both article and comments on this change were a breath of fresh air!
From extremtech. Com
‘Sony appears to have improved the efficiency of its heatsink by positioning more of it to be cooled directly by the intake fan. A much larger proportion of the heatsink is now cooled directly by the intake fan.
It’s plausible that the reason the exhaust temperature is higher is that air is now being circulated more effectively, leading to fewer hot spots. If an area of the CPU heatsink wasn’t being cooled very effectively, the temperature in that area might not be reflected in the original design’s exhaust temperature. Improving air circulation this way might lead to higher exhaust temperatures but cooler internal temperatures.’
I know it’s like a duh analysis but apparently some people need to be told everything.
'overreaction' on the Internet??? Er NEVER!!! + I can't recall a PlayStation console which was changed over time being worse really(unless you didn't like the look of the newer versions) Nothing to see here(only the haters trying to stop the PS5 crushing everything in it's way) so move along...
Even more happy I got my launch PS5 then (and for free technically).
@get2sammyb better analysis by DF and GNexus review done, who actually know what they are doing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgWuGA8cExo&t=1918s
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