PlayStation 5 Will Use Game Data to Improve Fan Performance Over Time: Report

PlayStation 5's internal hardware was recently shown off in an official teardown video revealing a large fan to keep the console cool. Now, Sony's mechanical design chief working on the PlayStation 5, Yasuhiro Ootori, has reportedly shared that the software that powers the fan will improve over time. During an interview with a Japanese publication, Ootori revealed that the software supports online update. The executive also shared that the orientation of the console will not affect thermal performance.

In a reported interview with Japanese publication 4Gamer.net, Yasuhiro Ootori, who took the PS5 apart in the official teardown video, said that the console's large 120mm wide and 45mm thick double-sided intake fan is controlled by software which can be updated over-the-air. This will improve the performance overtime. Additionally, the accelerated processing unit (APU) behaviour data of each game will be collected and the fan will be optimised accordingly. This is quite an interesting approach towards keeping the console cool.

To test the airflow within the console, the company had to make a transparent model and blow dry ice smoke through it, as the team measured temperatures for each part. The dimensions of the console have been revealed to be 390x104x260mm making it quite bigger than the PlayStation 4, in terms of height and width. The volume of the PS5 is 7.2 litres for the standard edition and 6.4 litres for the Digital Edition.

The fan is made from glass fibre polybutylene terephthalate which makes it strong and does not deform easily when temperatures increase. The fan is also said to be quieter than the one on the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4.

Another factor that will help with the cooling of the PS5 is the use of liquid metal. This material, though quite conductive and risky to use near other electronic parts of the motherboard, offers greater heat dissipation. Ootori said that it took the team more than two years to come up with a solution that would allow them to use liquid metal without worrying about other components.

PlayStation 5 will be released in select regions on November 15 and as of now, the Indian release date for the console is unclear.

Will Xbox Series S, PS5 Digital Edition fail in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.