5 ms·

My guess is that they're over engineering the cooling because PS4's have terrible fan noise when under heavy load. It's not uncommon for my PS4 Pro to ramp up t

by selykg 6y ago

My guess is that they're over engineering the cooling because PS4's have terrible fan noise when under heavy load. It's not uncommon for my PS4 Pro to ramp up the fans to the point I get distracted by it over the audio from a game. So if this over engineering ends up causing a quiet game system then this is a win in my book.

whymauri 6y ago
And poor cooling was the reason so many PS3s died. I personally had two separate units die due to heating issues.
- selykg 6y ago
  That sucks. I still have my original "Phat" PS3 (though not a launch one, it doesn't do PS2 backwards compatibility) and it works well.
ManBlanket 6y ago
One of the first things mentioned was the reduced noise due to improved cooling. I think you're echoing the most common criticism of its predecessor.
- selykg 6y ago
  Yea, I have a couple PS4s. A launch day model and a PS4 Pro. Both sound like harrier jets taking off when they're under load. I don't think it's uncommon and something I've heard others mention a well. I'm just looking forward to a quiet running game system. I don't much care how big it is, which is a common complaint, as long as it runs quiet. My only other really big complaint about the PS4 is how terrible the battery life is on the DS4 controllers. I really hope that's also resolved with PS5 and it's new controller.
ornornor 6y ago
I couldn’t tolerate my ps4 pro noise so I had to repaste it every couple of months (or weeks if I played a lot). I even tried graphite pads (didn’t work at all for me). The only thing that worked is liquid metal. I suspect it’s because it’s not susceptible to the pump out effect from repeated heating and cooling (and expansion contraction of the cooler). Since the cooler has a copper plate, liquid metal works on it (it melts aluminum so wouldn’t work on the normal PS4) If you haven’t already, you should try applying liquid metal to the APU die. It’s night and day for me, keeps the console whisper quiet.
- selykg 6y ago
  I have a PS5 pre-ordered and since it's backwards compatible with PS4 games I am hoping I can just put the PS4 Pro in a box and call it good. I may end up moving it to the basement on another tv at some point, but I think a bulk of my gaming will be on the PS5 going forward and we're about a month away from launch. But good tip for anyone that may be waiting! I took my original PS4 launch day console apart and cleaned it all up and noticed an improvement, but I just used arctic silver.
  - ornornor 6y ago
    Mine is clean as a whistle, but the paste seems to conduct heat less rather quickly. I’m not certain why. Liquid metal stays in place and seems to hold better, and conducts heat well over time. I’m going to be gaming a lot more on mine, I’m not planning to get a new console for another 18–24 months when prices have come down and there are plenty of used games for sale.
- gambiting 6y ago
  This is my PS4 Pro, it's insane how loud it gets: https://youtu.be/chfZmEbUxco https://youtu.be/chfZmEbUxco
  - ornornor 6y ago
    Try the liquid metal along with cleaning it. Made a big difference for me.
    - gambiting 6y ago
      Any recommendation for a specific liquid metal paste?
      - ornornor 6y ago
        I bought some thermal grizzly on eBay but I suspect they’re all very similar. In any case it seems thermal grizzly is the high profile brand. The tubes are small (1g) bit you really don’t need much. I put probably a pinhead and a half on the die and maybe a pinhead on the cooler. Watch videos on how to apply it, it’s hard to spread in the beginning because it won’t “stick” to the surface but eventually you’re able to “paint” the whole contact area. Be very careful because it’s electrically conductive. Or use conformal coating/nail polish around the die of you don’t trust yourself.
dougmwne 6y ago
It would make sense to over-engineer the cooling because people are likely to shove the console into their entertainment system, under some dvd cases, with blocked airflow, clogged with pet dander, in the summer without air conditioning for 14 hour play sessions.
- crest 6y ago
  I suspect the shape is at least partly designed to prevent people from stacking things on top of the PS5.
  - FridgeSeal 6y ago
    Wow I never considered that. That’s quite clever and subtle solution if it is the case.
  - fomine3 6y ago
    Oh reasonable. Maybe PS3 was designed for same purpose.
- TillE 6y ago
  The PS4 is really loud even under optimal conditions. Nice and clean and free-flowing air? Still loud. Not a great experience.
danudey 6y ago
They've also talked about how they've designed the system to run at a constant level of heat production/cooling capacity, so the fans never "ramp up"; the system is constantly cooling a roughly constant amount of heat and so they were able to design the console's cooling system around that. It's a lot easier to optimize a system when you have roughly fixed inputs, and from what the Japanese YouTubers at the hands-on event said, it basically doesn't make enough noise to be distracting unless you're using it as a pillow.
- danbolt 6y ago
  I really like the variable-clock and constant-power setup they have for the console. Being able to adjust power consumption between the CPU and GPU could theoretically allow developers to prioritize one or the other in a game, especially since a lot of games tend to be bottlenecked in one direction or another.

by selykg 6y ago

whymauri 6y ago

And poor cooling was the reason so many PS3s died. I personally had two separate units die due to heating issues.

selykg 6y ago
That sucks. I still have my original "Phat" PS3 (though not a launch one, it doesn't do PS2 backwards compatibility) and it works well.

ManBlanket 6y ago

One of the first things mentioned was the reduced noise due to improved cooling. I think you're echoing the most common criticism of its predecessor.

selykg 6y ago
Yea, I have a couple PS4s. A launch day model and a PS4 Pro. Both sound like harrier jets taking off when they're under load. I don't think it's uncommon and something I've heard others mention a well. I'm just looking forward to a quiet running game system. I don't much care how big it is, which is a common complaint, as long as it runs quiet. My only other really big complaint about the PS4 is how terrible the battery life is on the DS4 controllers. I really hope that's also resolved with PS5 and it's new controller.

ornornor 6y ago

I couldn’t tolerate my ps4 pro noise so I had to repaste it every couple of months (or weeks if I played a lot). I even tried graphite pads (didn’t work at all for me). The only thing that worked is liquid metal. I suspect it’s because it’s not susceptible to the pump out effect from repeated heating and cooling (and expansion contraction of the cooler). Since the cooler has a copper plate, liquid metal works on it (it melts aluminum so wouldn’t work on the normal PS4) If you haven’t already, you should try applying liquid metal to the APU die. It’s night and day for me, keeps the console whisper quiet.

selykg 6y ago
I have a PS5 pre-ordered and since it's backwards compatible with PS4 games I am hoping I can just put the PS4 Pro in a box and call it good. I may end up moving it to the basement on another tv at some point, but I think a bulk of my gaming will be on the PS5 going forward and we're about a month away from launch. But good tip for anyone that may be waiting! I took my original PS4 launch day console apart and cleaned it all up and noticed an improvement, but I just used arctic silver.
- ornornor 6y ago
  Mine is clean as a whistle, but the paste seems to conduct heat less rather quickly. I’m not certain why. Liquid metal stays in place and seems to hold better, and conducts heat well over time. I’m going to be gaming a lot more on mine, I’m not planning to get a new console for another 18–24 months when prices have come down and there are plenty of used games for sale.
gambiting 6y ago
This is my PS4 Pro, it's insane how loud it gets: https://youtu.be/chfZmEbUxco https://youtu.be/chfZmEbUxco
- ornornor 6y ago
  Try the liquid metal along with cleaning it. Made a big difference for me.
  - gambiting 6y ago
    Any recommendation for a specific liquid metal paste?
    - ornornor 6y ago
      I bought some thermal grizzly on eBay but I suspect they’re all very similar. In any case it seems thermal grizzly is the high profile brand. The tubes are small (1g) bit you really don’t need much. I put probably a pinhead and a half on the die and maybe a pinhead on the cooler. Watch videos on how to apply it, it’s hard to spread in the beginning because it won’t “stick” to the surface but eventually you’re able to “paint” the whole contact area. Be very careful because it’s electrically conductive. Or use conformal coating/nail polish around the die of you don’t trust yourself.

dougmwne 6y ago

It would make sense to over-engineer the cooling because people are likely to shove the console into their entertainment system, under some dvd cases, with blocked airflow, clogged with pet dander, in the summer without air conditioning for 14 hour play sessions.

crest 6y ago
I suspect the shape is at least partly designed to prevent people from stacking things on top of the PS5.
- FridgeSeal 6y ago
  Wow I never considered that. That’s quite clever and subtle solution if it is the case.
- fomine3 6y ago
  Oh reasonable. Maybe PS3 was designed for same purpose.
TillE 6y ago
The PS4 is really loud even under optimal conditions. Nice and clean and free-flowing air? Still loud. Not a great experience.

danudey 6y ago

They've also talked about how they've designed the system to run at a constant level of heat production/cooling capacity, so the fans never "ramp up"; the system is constantly cooling a roughly constant amount of heat and so they were able to design the console's cooling system around that. It's a lot easier to optimize a system when you have roughly fixed inputs, and from what the Japanese YouTubers at the hands-on event said, it basically doesn't make enough noise to be distracting unless you're using it as a pillow.

danbolt 6y ago
I really like the variable-clock and constant-power setup they have for the console. Being able to adjust power consumption between the CPU and GPU could theoretically allow developers to prioritize one or the other in a game, especially since a lot of games tend to be bottlenecked in one direction or another.