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It's not an unattractive piece of hardware and, by pure luck, the aesthetic will probably work well enough in my living room, but it's absolutely massive, and I

It's not an unattractive piece of hardware and, by pure luck, the aesthetic will probably work well enough in my living room, but it's absolutely massive, and I have no idea where I'm going to put it. I know it's not terribly exciting but I do wish console makers would give a little more thought to this kind of thing when designing their devices. Weird and wonderful shapes - not to mention form factors biasing toward the vertical - are all very well but, for me at least, something that's about the same size and shape as a typical hi-fi separate is a lot easier to slot in to my media centre. Also, options on colour (which I imagine will come in this case) would be appreciated.

pfranz 6y ago
The theory is the wacky designs are to discourage you from stacking it or putting it at the top of a stack. I have no idea why they push vertical orientations. I imagine the size is to disperse heat, manage dust, and keep noise down. I don't think it's popular in recent years, but people often put equipment like this in an enclosed cabinet under their TV or directly on the carpet (where most dust comes from). This also has the power supply built in, which increases the size (I hate those in-line power bricks). You hear complaints about most gaming console's size, but you also hear lots of noise and dust complaints as well as failures due to heat. On forums you often hear about people replacing the thermal paste and diligently cleaning the inside of their consoles to get the noise down.
- bartread 6y ago
  Those reasons certainly make sense, given the less than ideal environment into which many will install their console. My media unit is (very deliberately) open at the front to allow for maximum airflow, although this does make it something of a pain to dust. Still, it is possible to design components - even those that generate significant heat - to be stackable. My hi-fi amp generates quite a bit of heat but uses a massive heatsink along with vents all around the case to manage it. I do wonder, if the PS5 were simply a cuboid with a couple of larger (and quieter) fans, the kind of heavy duty heatsink it already has, plus plenty of vents around the case, whether that would work. But, as you say, it comes back to dust, and those air vents would be the perfect route for that dust to enter the device, particularly if it's sat on the carpet (which its form factor pretty much guarantees it will be in many homes).
fl0wenol 6y ago
This is the sort of thing I imagine people sticking on top of a subwoofer in the vertical orientation. That'd be my plan when I decide to go for it.

pfranz 6y ago

The theory is the wacky designs are to discourage you from stacking it or putting it at the top of a stack. I have no idea why they push vertical orientations. I imagine the size is to disperse heat, manage dust, and keep noise down. I don't think it's popular in recent years, but people often put equipment like this in an enclosed cabinet under their TV or directly on the carpet (where most dust comes from). This also has the power supply built in, which increases the size (I hate those in-line power bricks). You hear complaints about most gaming console's size, but you also hear lots of noise and dust complaints as well as failures due to heat. On forums you often hear about people replacing the thermal paste and diligently cleaning the inside of their consoles to get the noise down.

bartread 6y ago
Those reasons certainly make sense, given the less than ideal environment into which many will install their console. My media unit is (very deliberately) open at the front to allow for maximum airflow, although this does make it something of a pain to dust. Still, it is possible to design components - even those that generate significant heat - to be stackable. My hi-fi amp generates quite a bit of heat but uses a massive heatsink along with vents all around the case to manage it. I do wonder, if the PS5 were simply a cuboid with a couple of larger (and quieter) fans, the kind of heavy duty heatsink it already has, plus plenty of vents around the case, whether that would work. But, as you say, it comes back to dust, and those air vents would be the perfect route for that dust to enter the device, particularly if it's sat on the carpet (which its form factor pretty much guarantees it will be in many homes).

fl0wenol 6y ago

This is the sort of thing I imagine people sticking on top of a subwoofer in the vertical orientation. That'd be my plan when I decide to go for it.