UPDATE: Jason Schreier, who has close ties with developers in the games industry, says the overheating rumors aren't true.
Why hasn't Sony showed the PlayStation 5 yet? Rumor has it the system runs so hot that Sony still hasn't locked down a final design for the console. This doesn't seem 100% accurate though, especially considering how important PlayStation is for the company.
New reports suggest Sony is currently wrangling PS5 overheating issues. Supposed unnamed dev sources tell reporters like Windows Central's Dan Rubino and Jez Corden that the console is simply belting out too much heat for the cooling array to handle.
Everything from the 7nm AMD SoC to the ultra-fast 5.5GB/sec PCIe 4.0 SSD are apparently generating pretty substantial thermals, and Sony's solution may not be on par with the Xbox Series X's huge 130mm fan and vapor chamber cooler. The PS5's variable GPU scaling adds another potential layer of worry to the heat management issues, especially since the console will scale its GPU power on a game-by-game basis.
The heat problems may force Sony to redesign system's current cooling and chassis design. Reports say current PS5 design is failing due to overheating and compare it to the Xbox 360's dreaded RRoD thermal issues. Now we understand why the PS5 devkit has massive ventilation.
This is probably a dramatic overreaction, though. It may be true the PS5 gets hot, and some units might be failing, but we have absolutely no solid info on the system's design yet. Until we get it, this will be hearsay at best. Also remember that PlayStation represents over 20% of Sony's quarterly earnings. They have a lot riding on the PS5 and it's unlikely they'd ship a product that runs so hot.
Previous PS5 concepts show a strange X-shaped case with side ventilation, but this may be inadequate. It's possible Sony's next-gen console could look more like the Xbox Series X's Mini-ITX tower design that pulls heat from the bottom up.
Read Also: Understanding the PS5's SSD: A deep dive into next-gen storage tech
With great power comes the need for great thermal dissipation and cooling solutions. Any enthusiast PC gamer knows all about proper push-pull configurations, CPU cooling, heat sinks--the works. Without proper cooling, your components aren't going to last long belting out 4K resolution gaming, especially 1080p 120FPS with ray tracing and other effects turned on.
In the past, Sony has gotten away with passable cooling solutions for its consoles--the PS4 Pro still sounds like a jet engine--but the PlayStation 5 will require something much more specialized to dissipate heat from the 10.3TFLOP GPU, 8-core Zen 2 CPU, 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, and especially the M.2 NVMe SSD.
Read Also: PlayStation 5 specs: 10TFLOPs Navi RDNA 2 2.23GHz GPU, 3.5GH Zen 2 CPU
Apparently Sony has made a special cooling design for the PS5 that'll drive up costs. The overheating reports clash with other past reports of the PlayStation 5's cooling system.
Sources told Bloomberg in February that Sony is spending extra on a more powerful and efficient cooling solution for the PS5. The rise in per-unit manufacturing costs is making it harder for Sony to pinpoint a final consumer pricetag for the console.
If the reports are even half-true, Sony could buy itself some time by delaying the PS5 due to the coronavirus outbreak. The company was careful not to make strong commitments to shipping the PlayStation 5 in 2020 and warned investors COVID-19 could interrupt and delay key first-party PlayStation exclusives.
There's a chance the reports aren't true and it's just another bit of gas for the fiery console war that's raging. It still begs to question why Sony hasn't revealed the PlayStation 5 yet...especially this late in the game. Manufacturing of the console is undoubtedly underway as we speak and I doubt Sony would ship so many systems knowing a good portion of them would fail due to overheating. But then again, they did ship the PS3 with the Yellow Light of Death.
The PS5 will release in Holiday 2020, and it may cost $499.
Check below for more info on everything we know about the PlayStation 5 so far:
PlayStation 5 specs and details:
- Custom SoC with second-gen Navi GPU, Zen 2 CPU
- 8-Core, 16-thread Zen 2 CPU at 3.5GHz
- Navi 2X GPU with 36 CUs on RDNA 2 at 2.23GHz
- Ultra-fast 825GB SSD with up to 9GB/sec speeds
- Support for 4K 120 Hz TVs
- Ray-tracing enabled
- 8K output support (for gaming)
- Plays PS4 games, BC is on a title-to-title basis
- Separate games that ship on BD-XL Blu-ray discs
- New controller with extensive haptic and tactile feedback
PlayStation 5 Coverage:
- Sony's PS5 talk wasn't enough--for next-gen, seeing is believing
- Only PlayStation 5 next-gen exclusives will tap SSD's full potential
- PlayStation 5 may play thousands of PS4 games at launch
- PS5's boost mode is so powerful that some PS4 games can't handle it
- PS5 won't play PS1, PS2 or PS3 discs, 100 PS4 games supported at launch
- Understanding the PS5's SSD: A deep dive into next-gen storage tech
- PlayStation 5 won't use memory cards, supports third-party SSDs
- PlayStation 5 specs: 10TFLOPs Navi RDNA 2 2.23GHz GPU, 3.5GH Zen 2 CPU
- PlayStation 5 SSD speeds hit 9GB/sec with custom 12-channel controller
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X ray tracing is easily scalable for devs
- Report: PlayStation 5 Pro and base PlayStation 5 coming in 2020
- 60FPS on next-gen PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X 'is much easier'
- PlayStation 5 specs confirmed by Sony: 10TFLOPs Navi RDNA 2 2.23GHz GPU, 3.5GH Zen 2 CPU
- PlayStation 5 could use Samsung's 980 QVO SSDs
- PlayStation 5 is beating Xbox Series X in dev kit form right now
- Hardly any devs are making next-gen PS5, Xbox Series X games
- Sony working on new horror IP for PlayStation 5
- PlayStation 5 devkit UI possibly leaked
- Leaked PlayStation 5 concepts show weird X-shaped case
- Sony's first-party PS4 exclusives are coming to PC
- PlayStation 5's new DualShock 5 may be usable on PS4
- Sony skips E3 2020, has two major events planned for February
- Next-gen console exclusives will be few and far between through 2021
- PlayStation 5's biggest features have yet to be announced, Sony says
- PS4 has sold over 1 billion games and 106 million consoles
- PlayStation 5 backward compatibility should support every PS4 game
- Sony reveals the PlayStation 5...logo
- New trapezoidal PS5 render is an expensive accident waiting to happen
- A $399 PlayStation 5 will conquer next-gen
- PlayStation 5 to outsell Xbox Series X in 2020, analyst predicts
- PS5 may only enhance PS4 games, legacy PS1, PS2 and PS3 games unlikely
- PlayStation 5 prototype dev kit console gets V-shaped clean
- Sony: The future is coming at CES 2020
- PlayStation 5 GPU: 9.2 TFLOPs with 36 custom Navi compute units
- PlayStation 5 GPU emulates PS4, PS4 Pro with special modes
- PS5, Xbox Series X SSD may use software-defined flash to boost speeds
- PS5's SSD is 'exceptionally powerful,' may beat Xbox Series X speeds
- DualShock 5 renders show new trigger design, USB-C, ergonomic shell
- PlayStation 5 to support 8K gaming, Sony confirms
- New PlayStation 5 renders show off radical different design, again
- Leaked PlayStation 5 ad prices console at $1,000, is totally fake
- Sony seeks a new Head of Strategy for Worldwide Studios
- Leaked PlayStation 5 devkit photos show new DualShock controller
- PS5, Xbox Scarlett SSD may use Optane-like ReRAM to supercharge speeds
- NVIDIA G-Sync monitors to improve PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett
- PlayStation 5: Everything We Know So Far
- PlayStation 5 confirmed to have 8C/16T Zen 2 CPU from AMD
- PS5, Project Scarlett may use Samsung's 6th gen V-NAND NVMe SSDs
- PS5 backward compatibility confirmed, will play PS4 games
- Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 has 4K 120Hz output support
- PS5, Project Scarlett to hit over 10TFLOPs of power, sources say
- PS4 will be supported into 2022, to live alongside PS5
- Sony: ultra-high-speed SSD is 'the key' to next-gen PS5
- PS5 dev kit rumor: 'ultra-fast RAM', Navi GPU with 13 TFLOPs
- PlayStation 5 rumored to ship with 2TB of super-fast SSD for $499
- Insider: PlayStation 5 dev kit faster than Xbox Scarlett right now
- PS5 cartridges aren't real, patents are for Sony kids toys
- PS5's SSD may benefit PS4 games the most
- PS5 powered by Navi in 2020, AMD making Navi with Sony input
- Cloud-powered PlayStation controller may let you play free game demos
- Gran Turismo 7 is a PlayStation 5 launch title: launches Nov 20, 2020
- PS5 confirmed to support 8K video, ray tracing, all on Navi
- PlayStation 5 rumored to cost $499, launches November 20, 2020
- PlayStation game demos are coming back with Sony's ambitious new plan
- PS5 controller: Built-in mic, USB-C, no lightbar, ergonomic design
- PlayStation 5 concept video shows totally new design
- Sony solves PS5's biggest issue
- Sony: PS5 development going according to plan
- New Viking Assassin's Creed may be next-gen console launch game
- AMD working on 'secret sauce' for next-gen Xbox/PlayStation
- The first real photo of a PlayStation 5 dev kit appears
- Next-gen PS5/Xbox Scarlett open-world game: 'best real-time graphics'
- Sony restructures workforce to prepare for PS5
- PlayStation VR 2: built-in cameras, wireless, ready for PS5
- PS5 games will ship on 100GB Blu-ray BDXL discs
- PS5 and Xbox Scarlett will both handle ray tracing differently
- PlayStation 5 could feature AI-powered 'PlayStation Assist'
- Sony won't abandon singleplayer story-driven games on PS5
- PS5 rumor: GPU is nearly as powerful as RTX 2080, GPU clocked at 2GHz
- PlayStation 5 rumored to be unveiled on February 12, 2020
- Sony to raise PS5 cost thanks to U.S. tariffs