New PlayStation 5 vs. Old PS5 Cooler Design: Thermals & Fans, ft. @DigitalFoundry
23,097There’s a change to Sony's PlayStation 5 heatsink in new models, so we worked with @DigitalFoundry to get one for PS5 thermal testing, brief fan differences, & more.
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GO WATCH DIGITAL FOUNDRY'S VIDEO! Check out Digital Foundry’s performance tests here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8-97fwkO78 -- Digital Foundry contributed critical tests to validate the console's gaming performance. If there were major differences in this aspect of the console revision, it would impact us on the thermal testing side of things. DF's experience in the gaming performance aspect gave us reassurance in our testing, so please check out their video!
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We need to reiterate this many times, but TESTING CANNOT BE COMPARED between outlets with something like a console. Without internal die measurements or standards that are openly accessible, we have to rely on physical hardware to conduct testing. That means more freedom in test method, which means more variance in how things are tested. Two temperature numbers shouldn’t really be directly compared outside of one set of data, although you could maybe draw conclusions in aggregate with enough input.
Initial testing looks at PS5 memory thermals, SOC thermals, VRM MOSFET thermals, and fan RPM across three included fans (two different models, three units). The fans include NIDEC and NFB fans, but we may try to acquire a third fan (Delta) for another piece. Fan testing includes PWM-RPM response analysis as well.
There’s a lot more we want to do and we do have enough for more videos, but this is dense enough for now. It was fun to work with Digital Foundry on this one, and we also spoke with Austin Evans to learn more about his console to try and understand the unit-to-unit differences (like fans). Credit to Austin for unearthing these heatsink changes, and thanks to DF for helping with game testing!
Watch our video on thermal cameras: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v55u3Xrjf-c
Watch our Xbox Series X thermals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqv4meZcVEk
Watch our Schlieren imaging showing the airflow of the PlayStation 5 & Xbox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FZ3cQFFZmQ
Watch our original PlayStation 5 thermal testing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmggkW6usmQ
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PlayStation 5 on Amazon: https://geni.us/NrQ0r
Xbox Series X on Amazon: https://geni.us/AiDul1D
Nintendo Switch on Amazon: https://geni.us/XAJGNUK
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Featuring Bespoke Digital Foundry Testing
02:10 - IMPORTANT: OTHER TESTS BY OTHER PEOPLE
05:26 - PS5 Heatsink Changed - The Story
06:23 - VRM Heatsink Differences
07:20 - Baseplate & Memory Differences
08:38 - Chassis Differences
08:52 - Fan Difference Isn't New, But...
09:51 - New vs. Old PS5 PCB & SMDs
10:29 - SOC Heatsink Differences
11:38 - Basic Thermal Testing Plan & Methods
13:02 - More Complicated Test Plan (Follow-Ups)
13:26 - Unmodified New vs. Old Cooler Comparisons
14:47 - Liquid Metal, Variance, & Challenges
15:52 - Frankenconsole Testing Experiment
20:20 - Fan Thermal Comparison (NIDEC vs. NMB PS5)
23:15 - DIGITAL FOUNDRY IN THE HERE AND NOW
27:24 - Fan RPM vs. Temperature & Power Consumption
29:53 - PWM Signal vs. Fan RPM
31:10 - Conclusions & Test Limitation Reminders
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Host, Testing, Writing: Steve Burke
Video Production & Footage: Keegan Gallick
Additional Footage: Andrew Coleman