PS5 Pro slightly taller than PS5 Slim, suggests more robust internal cooling solution

Sony's new $700 PlayStation 5 Pro could pack a newly designed radiator-and-fan combo to help cool its powerhouse GPU.

7

Based on specs alone, the PS5 Pro is likely to use a new-and-improved cooling solution. The Pro sports a beefier GPU with +67% more compute units and onboard AI upscaling tech to facilitate raytracted 4K 60FPS gaming and +45% faster rendering. A side-by-side comparison also reinforces that the Pro has a more robust cooler--CNET's latest video shows that the Pro is noticeably taller than its Slim forebear.

As we reported years ago, the PS5's massive heatsink was the main reason why the console was so big. It's also the reason why the Slim was so small; the Slim uses a much more efficient heatsink design that's been altered over the main 2020 model.

7

A close-up shot of the PS5 Pro's side stripes, which could potentially be new exhaust vents.

It stands to reason then, that the Pro too is also bigger because of its heatsink/cooler design. The new fins on the sidemake the base console unit bigger and taller, and are likely some sort of air channel, potentially side vents for heat exhaust, making them into gills of a kind. Remember that the PS5 case was also specifically designed to channel airflow to the system's fan intake vents.

7

Exhaust vents of the PS5 Pro.

Nothing has been confirmed or announced by Sony in this regard, but it seems obvious that a better and/or bigger heatsink/fan/chassis intake design would be needed due to the Pro's significant upgrade in graphical capability.

The cooling fan and heatsink combo found in the base 2020 PS5.

For reference, the PS5 uses a rather sizable 120mm double-sided intake fan bring cooler air into the console, and the heat is dissipated in a copper heatsink design and then push out the exhaust in the back.

Sony has also opted to use liquid metal thermal compound to cool the SoC--a first for console hardware.

It's likely that the Pro also uses such liquid metal (both the launch PS5 and the Slim lineup use it too), but it remains to be seen how the chip is designed--will the Pro use a customized 6nm Oberon Plus design on the N6 Node?

7