The new PS5 tested: what it really changes

News hardware The new PS5 tested: what it really changes

Sony now offers a “new” version of its PlayStation 5, lighter than the version initially marketed because of a more compact heat sink. And contrary to what one might think, it is as effective as the old one.

“The new PS5 is worse” : this is how the youtubeur Austin Evans titled at the end of August when he mentioned the modifications made by Sony in its new console. After learning that the Japanese manufacturer had made changes in the bowels of the PS5, the American decided to open one to see them for himself. He then came across a different fan than the original PS5, but also a significantly smaller heat sink. What to justify the difference in weight of 300 grams between the two machines.

For Austin Evans, the conclusion was ready: with a smaller heat sink, the PS5 would heat up more. The new version was thus qualified as “worse” than the previous one. Except that the Igor’s Lab site has also seriously looked into the question, and does not come to the same conclusion at all..

The new PS5 finally better than the old one?

Aristeidis Mpitziopoulos from German media Igor’s Lab took apart a “new” PS5 to determine if Austin Evans’ conclusion was correct. He, too, noticed a change in fan and heat dissipation system. But this one is not content to be smaller than the previous one: its six heat pipes and its large heat sink have been optimized and placed differently to ensure better cooling of the motherboard. The latter has also undergone some changes, minor certainly, but sufficient to have an impact on the way in which the heat is managed by the dissipation system integrated into the console.

The new PS5 tested: what it really changes

On the left the old heatsink, on the right the new one (Source: Igor’s Lab)

In practice, the good results of the new system are confirmed by the temperature measurements taken by Igor’s Lab: they show that in play, the CPU of the new version of the PS5 goes up to 40.08 ° C, while that of the old one goes up to 51.15 ° C. We note however that the measures tend rather in favor of the old version for other components like flash memory, in particular, which goes up to 48.2 ° C with the new system, against 40.88 ° C for the old one.

However, we can deduce from this observation that Sony has sought to prioritize optimal CPU cooling, while ensuring that the other components remain within temperature ranges considered to be completely safe for their correct operation. “It’s far from being worse, it’s even much better, because the priorities have been redefined”, summarizes Aristeidis Mpitziopoulos.

The media ends by comparing the old and the new fan: both display very similar characteristics, both in terms of component load and noise emission. The change therefore has no impact on the operation of the machine, but it does prove that the reduction in the size of the heatsink on the new version of the PS5 does not lead to an increase in fan demand. In addition, this new version would consume 1 to 4% more, which remains negligible.

In short, if you want to get an idea in video of the thermal differences of the two versions of the PS5, it is better to be interested in the work of Aristeidis Mpitziopoulos rather than that of Austin Evans, who drew a few conclusions. too quick on the subject.