New PS5 Model Weighs Less Due to Smaller Heatsink, Runs Hotter Than Launch Model - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 November 2021 / 9,615 Views
A new version of the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition that is 300 grams lighter was made available recently. The revised hardware model - CFI-1100B - weighs 3.6 Kg, while the launch model - CFI-1000B - weighs 3.9 Kg.
A new version of the PS5 with a disc drive has been spotted for sale in Australia, Japan, and parts of the US this month. The launch PS5 consoles used a CFI-1XXX model number, while the new model spotted in Australia uses CFI-11XX.
A video from YouTuber Austin Evans has solved why the new PS5 model is 300 grams lighter than the launch PS5 model. Sony has changed out the heatsink with a much smaller version.
With testing Evans discovered the new PS5 model with its smaller heatsink ran hotter than the original unit by about 3C to 5C. The fan has also slightly been redesigned. The stand with the new PS5 has been upgraded over the launch stand.
"Essentially the updated PS5s that are rolling out right now are cheaper to produce with MUCH less cooling capability," said Evans. "There are smaller internal changes with the Wi-Fi card and antennas but…as of right now the launch PS5 seems like the better console."
Evans added, "This isn’t a redesigned cooling system, it’s a cut back one. Imagine removing a beefy heatsink with a smaller one on a PC. The exhaust would be hotter but that doesn’t mean it’s performing better."
Sony Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki did recently reveal the $499 PlayStation 5 console that comes with a disc drive is no longer sold at a loss. The $399 PlayStation 5 Digital Edition is still sold at a loss, however, it is on track to have its loss offset by other hardware sales, such peripherals and the PlayStation 4.
Sony also announced today it had shipped 10.1 million PlayStation 5 consoles as of June 30, 2021. Sony shipped 0.5 million PlayStation 4 consoles for the quarter, to bring lifetime PS4 shipment figures to 116.5 million units.
PS5 sell-through to consumers topped 10 million units as of July 18, 2021, while the PS4 did not reach this milestone until three weeks later.
The PS5 continues to sell well despite shortages with an estimated 186,928 units sold for the week ending August 14 and 10.8 million units sold lifetime.
White Paper Games Pete Bottomley, who is the game designer on Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View, in a recent interview said when you combine the PlayStation 5 SSD with Unreal Engine 5 will allow developers to make some "big changes to level design."
So I got my hands on one of the updated CFI-1100B model PS5s. Full video (https://t.co/jCmJ1QuT2a) just went live but…
— Austin Evans (@austinnotduncan) August 28, 2021
? Rear exhaust temps are 3-5C higher
⚖️ Weighs 0.3 KG or 0.6 LBS less
? Heatsink is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller
? Has a slightly redesigned fan
? Upgraded stand pic.twitter.com/RYnLijakk6
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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It doesn't necessarily run hotter. As you can see from the picture; the heat pipes are significantly longer, and in contact with a longer set of fins. So, the rear exhaust temperature being 3-5 higher could mean the new model is more efficient in channeling the heat outside the system. The temperature of the processor should be measured, not the exhaust.
As astral said. Measuring exhaust heat here proves nothing. The temperature of the components inside is what matters. Until better tests that actually matter are done this is just a lot of hot air.
Is it not the point of the cooling solution to extract heat? So the newer model is doing a better job at it it seems.
So 3-4 degrees hotter, less noisy model? slightly cheaper to make? I dont get why this is a issue. 52-55 celcius isnt that hot for a console.
They arent going to sell it any cheaper to the customers so being cheaper to make has no bearings on the customers buying one. Just his less console but same price.
No one should be expecting a price drop a year in anyways. Price drops don't happen until the console sales stagnate. But this (and any other ways to make it cheaper) will give them room to drop the price without ruining profits.
Thats being a consumer and not a customer with those expectations. Thats exactly why they wont reduce the price.
I don't think there's any evidence that it is any better or worse. The changes could have been made because it is cheaper this way, better this way, or due to materials availability concerns, or some combination of those.
Smaller heatsink, as expected for the weight loss with the same case design.
The 1000 model heatsink was overkill. Massive and covered in copper. SNY was being extra cautious. The new fan looks like it's a much better design though and will throw more air, which would likely be necessary to a degree to keep the temps down with a smaller heatsink, even if well engineered with the new heat pipe layout.
The fact that the new 1100 model is slightly quieter while only being around 5C max hotter, says to me SNY clearly took everything into account.
I also wonder if the liquid metal is exactly the same or not. SNY could have modified it's chemistry somewhat and increased thermal transfer a bit possibly.
Lastly, is it possibly using a 6nm APU instead of 7nm? It would be slightly more efficient, which would allow SNY to easily cut back on the heatsink without much change to temps, as we see here.
I mean, they never show the APU in their 'review', so.
I'd guess the new heatsink size is only about 15% smaller overall. It looks deceivingly smaller, though most of that is because the aluminum fins have been rearranged. It also lacks the copper baseplate but that doesn't seem to have made all that much of a difference in thermal transfer.
In the longest 3rd row, the old heatsink has two portions with a gap in between them, while the new heatsink has one long portion with the gap at the bottom where the pipes curve up then run all the way down the length of the row. The new heatsink doesn't have that many less fins here.
In the middle 2nd row, the new heatsink is clearly longer as it extends higher. This probably makes up for most of the loss of fins in the 3rd row.
In the angled 1st row, the new heatsink is cut down to about 1/3 of the old heatsink. This is where most of the loss is, along with a smaller baseplate because of that.
Notice that with the old heatsink design, some of the air has to pass through the 1st angled row, then through the 2nd middle row, and lastly the 3rd longest row. This is inefficient. The new heatsink is better designed so the air only ever has to pass through 2 rows of fins max. Less air resistance means the new fan can also run slowly and quietly without much more heat build up.
It isn't necessarily a new fan. There have apparently been two fan fenders all along for the launch version of the PS5. This could be the other fan from the launch units.
Gonna wait and see what GN tests when he gets his hands on one (if he does).
I wish they just redesigned the whole thing. It's almost impossible to buy a PS5 so I might as well just wait for the lite model.
whooo boi im happy with the day one edition
quiet as fck / doesnt sound like a jet and its pretty cool!
iz not as hot as day one ps4 phats haha!
This Austin guy is paid by MS!!! He should know better than to do a test this way. Shame on you Austin but I guess enough money can make you act stupid!
Hardly think Sony would remodel the console to make it more prone to thermal issues, so they are more likely saving on costs while keeping the reliability similar. Even more when the fan isn't even making more noise (but actually less) to keep the system inside the working envelope.
I see some confusion which (while we wait for Gamer's Nexus) I think I can have a decent crack at resolving since I love building SFF PCs.
It's a question of stocks and flows, a 'stock' of heat in the heatsink next to the CPU which is determined by the inflow of heat as waste energy from the CPU and an outflow of heat into the cool air moving through the chassis. If you could measure all the heat coming as exhaust, the hotter exhaust machine would necessarily be the one using more power. Given that these two models use basically the same thermal design, it's safe to assume that approximately the same proportion of total heat energy (Q=mc dT) exits through the rear exhaust.
So actually we CAN say something about the two PS5 designs. If you reduce the size/mass of the heatsink ('m'), which is made of the same material so c is constant, it is wrong to suggest (as some have done) that higher temperatures could mean a more efficient outflow of heat. Over time, higher sustained temperatures must mean more power is being used given our assumptions.
As far as I can reason, the smaller heatsink heats up faster and so the CPU temperature increases to higher equilibrium temperature. CPUs are less efficient at higher temperatures and hence require a larger power budget to hit the same frequencies (higher temps = higher resistance = more V to give same Amps). So a higher equilibrium temperature also means a higher equilibrium level of heat energy 'Q' to dissipate. So that's what I believe to be going on. This means, yes, on the very realistic assumption that approximately the same proportion of total heat energy exits from the back, we can be sure the newer model is running a bit hotter on the CPU.
I don't think it's a big deal at all. There's no reason to assume that the internal temps will be high enough to reduce the lifespan of the silicon. It's also quieter, but I wouldn't worry too much about that either, given they're so quiet already. Long comment, but in conclusion, heat is conserved.
Now I wish I got a launch model...
Losing a huge chunk of the heatsink doesn't sound appealing especially when in a cabinet. My sister just got her PS5, curious to know which one she got, hoping its not the new one.
Noctua coolers can be smaller and perform better than other brands so it doesn't give you the full picture. Also the heatpipe area is bigger which affects temperatures more than just the heatsink itself. Additionally if rear exaust is warmer it might be that the new cooler or fan is more effective in moving away heat from the CPU/GPU. So without actual sensor readouts it is much ado about nothing.
You would still prefer the system with the bigger heatsink. The system might also last longer. Not sure what the long term affects are with decreasing it by 300grams. Basically the more the better.
Austins Evans is a filthy Microsoft shill.
Shouldn't have his grubby mits on a playstation.
