PlayStation 5 uses liquid metal compound to cool SoC, Sony confirms

It's official: The PS5 uses a new high-end liquid metal compound solution to significantly reduce operational temperatures under load.

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Today's PlayStation 5 teardown reveals tons of info about the console's cooling solution. Mark Cerny wasn't kidding when he said the PS5's heat mitigation would make us "very happy". The system uses a massive dual-sided, 120mm diameter and 45mm thick intake fan that pulls air from both sides of the console in conjunction with a unique liquid metal thermal compound to keep the PS5 cool while under stressful loads.

The PS5 uses three main components to manage heat:

• 120mm, 45mm-thick double-sided fan
• Copper heat pipe heat sink
• Liquid metal cooling compound

Sony has spent two years in designing the PS5's liquid metal compound solution, which promises massive temperature stabilization. Liquid thermal compound like Thermal Grizzly's Conductonaut can increase thermal conductivity by up to 86% as compared to traditional thermal grease like Arctic's MX-4.

"The PS5's SoC is a small die running at a very high clock rate. This led to a very high thermal density in the silicon die, which required us to significantly increase the performance of the thermal conductor, also known as the TIM, that sits between the SoC and heat sink,"said Masayasu Ito EVP, Hardware Engineering and Operation, Sony Interactive Entertainment.

"The PS5 utilizes liquid metal as the TIM to ensure long-term, stable, high cooling performance. We have spent over two years preparing the adoption of this liquid metal cooling mechanism.

"Various conceivable tests have been conducted during its adoption process."

Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 releases November 12 for $399 (digital-only) and $499 (standard console with disc drive). Check below for full specs:

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