Consoles have design lifetimes, and thermals are part of the computation that helps you figure out if your components are going to last as long as the warranty. Obviously, if you run a chip hot, its service life will be reduced.<p>So companies develop models that tell them how long things like the SOC (main chip with CPU, etc.) will last for a given temperature and use frequency, and whether or not they've got a 1-year design on their hands, or one that will last 20 years.<p>The model improves as you gain experience with manufacturing, customer issues, and get more testing than you could do before launch. Making the systems too beefy can be expensive, and saving pennies really matters when you're making millions of units.<p>So I imagine that the folks at Sony determined they could get away with a smaller heatsink and still have an acceptable fleet failure rate, probably a year or two out from the posted warranty.
> with rear exhaust temperatures around 3 to 5 degrees higher<p>Is that C or F? I'm going to assume Fahrenheit. Also, is that bad? In other words, did they measure the rest of the unit to see if it was hotter or cooler? Maybe they've directed more heat to the exhaust. Which is the whole point, after all.
“I don’t think there’s any argument that this is a worse console, at least for thermals and for cooling,” says Evans.<p>Worst quote they coulda pulled. Literally sends the opposite message than the one its meant to convey.<p>Unless im even worse at english than i thought.
Reminds me of this recent story on Reddit where a Xbox Series X overheats and blows up: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/pdvcct/my_xbox_series_x_exploded_almost_killing_my_cat/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/pdvcct/my_xbox_seri...</a><p>I will be skipping this generation. Not that it matters anyway, these consoles are impossible to find and buy, at least this will continue to be the case well into 2022.
Saving weight probably saves some money in transport, materials and assembly. If this saving is made to offset raising component prices all the better. Once a homebrew becomes available models with a bigger cooler might be worth more though.
Shrinking PlayStation is tradition for Sony, but I believe they mostly did when their chips are also shrunk. Possibly they found that current cooling solution is a bit overkill. Personally I prefer overkill.
I remember a similar thing with the original PS/3 vs follow-up revisions. The fan on that original was killer--so large, slow and quiet, dangerously sharp edges too (does that help with noise?).
I presume they are cost cutting where they can as material prices have been very high recently. The heat sink seems like a likely candidate where they can save money.
My PS5 already overheats if I play a PS5 game on it with my cabinet door closed. It was never an issue with my PS4 Slim, PS3, or XBox 360.<p>All in all I think it's the worst designed console I've ever had.<p>The curvy top makes controllers slide off while they're charging so I had to put a drawer liner on top.<p>The white plastic overhang seems delicate, I have no idea how I'd ever pack the thing up without breaking it.<p>And when mounted horizontally, the stand falls off every time I move the console. What's wrong with built in feet?