New PS5 model is actually worse than the original according to first teardown

It’s certainly lighter but at what cost? (pic: Sony)

Sony has apparently made the new PS5’s heat sink smaller, which could mean that it runs hotter than the launch model.

In case you missed it, Sony, with surprisingly little fanfare or notice, launched a new PlayStation 5 model in stores, with the main difference being that it is significantly lighter than the launch model.

Tech YouTuber Austin Evans managed to acquire one himself from Japan, in order to take it apart and see what internal changes Sony have made and why it’s ended up so much lighter.

While he noticed some small changes, like the design of the internal fan, he realised that the newer model emits more heat than the original when it’s running, albeit only by three to five degrees Celsius.

Upon inspecting the insides of the console, he discovered that the heat sink in the newer model is smaller. The purpose of the heat sink being to regulate the temperature and prevent the console from overheating.

Further testing is required, and it may not necessarily mean that the new model always runs hotter than the original, but in a pinned comment underneath the video Evans responds to suggestions that the higher temperature could be because the new model is doing a better job at dissipating heat.

‘The thing is, Sony removed a SIZABLE amount of the heatsink on this new model. With fewer fins and smaller heat pipes 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 favour 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.’

In the video, he even states that the model, in terms of thermals and cooling, is a worse console and that he would rather have a launch PlayStation 5. You can watch the full video for a more detailed breakdown on everything different with the new model.

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The changes sound like cost cutting measures but at the beginning of August Sony announced that it was no longer selling the PS5 at a loss, specifically the more expensive model that comes with a disc drive to play physical copies.

It also claimed that it is on track to hit its target of 22.6 million consoles sold by the end of March 2022, having managed to pass the 10 million sales mark in July.

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