The mystery has been solved. The lighter, easier to screw PS5 model that has begun to ship around the world packs a drastically different cooling system that may even see the console run hotter. Last month, Sony listed the new PS5 consoles in Japan dubbed CFI – 1100. The new hardware revision reportedly weighed 300 grams less than the launch console which asked the question “where did the weight go”? In addition, the new console packs a thumbscrew for the stand that enables users to tighten the plastic stand onto their PS5 without the need for a screwdriver.
Now that teardowns of the new PS5 console have been done, it is clear where the extra weight went and users might not be happy to know about it. YouTuber Austin Evans got his hands on one of the new PS5 consoles and took it apart to compare the hardware to the base launch version. It seems that Sony has changed the heatsink in the console resulting in quite a drop in weight.
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Evans video shows off the new heatsink and by the look of things, Sony has really taken quite a chunk of metal off the component. The heatsink in the PS5 is a vital part of the system. It is a massive chunk of metal that includes pipes and fins. This metal contraption controls how the heat in the console is dispersed. The component is made of the vapour chamber, hard copper and aluminium.
I would say the new PS5 model has a heatsink that is about 35% smaller than the launch console. This is where the weight difference between the CFI – 1100 and CFI – 1000 went. You can see by the image that the heatsink is missing the giant copper plate underneath it, a handful of metal fin rows and pipes.
Right – Old PS5 heatsink | Left – New PS5 heatsink
According to the YouTuber, his tests on the new lighter PS5 showed that it ran slightly hotter than the launch console. Evans says it averaged around 3-5 degrees hotter during tests. However, he also says that perhaps this difference could be related to a manufacturing change.
The writing is on the wall though. The new lighter PS5 console definitely has a smaller heatsink and anyone who knows anything about gaming and cooling systems inside PCs and consoles will tell you that smaller is not better. Evans says that there is no argument that the new PS5 model is a worse console. The heatsink has shrunk, tests are hotter and the launch console is now more desirable than ever.
Couple people mentioning higher exhaust temps COULD mean the cooler is doing a better job dissipating heat. The thing is, Sony removed a SIZABLE amount of the heatsink on this new model. With fewer fins and smaller heatpipes it simply isn’t as efficient at moving the heat out of the console.
Think about it as if it were a PC. If I remove a large CPU heatsink in favor of a smaller one the exhaust coming off my system would be hotter as the overall system temps are higher since the weaker cooler can’t cope. That’s exactly what’s going on here IMO.
Watch the new PS5 console video down below.
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Source: YouTube
