New PlayStation 5 hardware revision loses weight, cuts on energy consumption

[Alfonso Maruccia]

In a nutshell: Although it looks identical on the outside and it's sold as the same PlayStation 5 console, Sony is shipping a new revision of the device with changes and improvements in terms of weight and energy consumption. More surprising, however, is the redesign for the console innards including the motherboard and cooling system.

A new high-end controller and increased retail price are not the only recent changes Sony is making to the PlayStation 5. A few days ago, a new hardware model of the 9th-gen gaming machine hit retailers in Australia, the second revision to arrive on the market after the console's initial release on November 2020. YouTuber Austin Evans has already put this new revision to the test to see what is different and improved under the hood.

Evans, who already looked into the previous PS5 changes, purchased a revised PlayStation 5 and compared all three models released thus far. It was already known from the spec sheet that the new "CFI-1200" revision was going to be lighter in both the optical drive equipped model (300g) and the digital one (200g), but Evans's analysis has confirmed that there are several more differences than just weight...

On the outside, PS5 model 1200 is identical to previous 1000 (2020) and 1100 (2021) versions; the 2022 model weighs almost half a kilogram less that the 2020 model, while thermal performance in gaming is much better than the 1100 model (53° versus 63°, measured on the back of the console) and closer to the original model.

The most striking difference will be found inside as the new PS5 revision is using a redesigned motherboard, cooling system, and heatsink. The massive cooler in the 1000 revision had been shrunken down in 2021, and the latest 2022 revision goes further with an even smaller -- and clearly lighter -- design.

The new heatsink completely covers the CMOS battery as well, requiring complete disassembly of the console to eventually replace the battery. The fans look the same, but the blades aren't attached to the central hub anymore.

The PS5 model 1200 uses 10% less power, too. In Evans' tests with Astro's Playroom (the platformer that comes preinstalled with every PS5 console), the PlayStation 5 models drew approximately 218W (1000), 229W (1100) and 201W (1200). A more than welcome improvement considering the sudden rise in energy prices in many regions.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/95899-new-playstation-5-hardware-revision-loses-weight-cuts.html

 

[Theinsanegamer]

"A more than welcome improvement considering the sudden rise in energy prices in many regions."

And one that will never matter since by the time you make up the higher price of the console the PS6 will be out.

 

[bviktor]

"A more than welcome improvement considering the sudden rise in energy prices in many regions."

And one that will never matter since by the time you make up the higher price of the console the PS6 will be out.

Power consumption always matter. Existing PS5s won't be collectively thrown out just because there's a new gen.

 

[Alfonso Maruccia]

"A more than welcome improvement considering the sudden rise in energy prices in many regions."

And one that will never matter since by the time you make up the higher price of the console the PS6 will be out.

Reading this from Italy, where prices are skyrocketing for almost everything - AND utilities of course - right now, I find this perspective simply terrifying...

 

[kiwigraeme]

Given TVs that can do VRR and report those frame rates - would be interesting to see if same.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

They could port the SOC to 6nm and gain efficiency and better yields

 

[Hodor]

Reading this from Italy, where prices are skyrocketing for almost everything - AND utilities of course - right now, I find this perspective simply terrifying...

Everyone should buy a home bike that produces electricity. That way you will always have electricity, automatic heating due to pedaling, plus you can lose weight too. Triple win!

 

[Watzupken]

They could port the SOC to 6nm and gain efficiency and better yields

It is possible that they have already done this here. 6nm is basically a refined 7nm, and given the approx 10% drop in power consumption, it seems to fit the profile. In any case, it’s very surprising that a 10% drop in power gave them the opportunity to cut the cooling surface area by 50%.

 

[Watzupken]

Everyone should buy a home bike that produces electricity. That way you will always have electricity, automatic heating due to pedaling, plus you can lose weight too. Triple win!

I’ve tried pedaling a bike to power a light bulb in the past, and despite the bulb being those traditional tungsten bulb, it took a lot of effort just to power it up to a state where it is bright enough. It is probably easier to power LED bulbs using kinetic power. However the point I am trying to make is that you need to pedal really hard and long to generate meaningful amount of electricity. Instead of doing this, if you are really conscious about saving power, just do some of the house work manually, I.e. instead of vacuuming the floor, use a broom/ dust pan. That way, you get to workout and save a lot of power since even those wireless stick vacuum uses a lot of power.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Reading this from Italy, where prices are skyrocketing for almost everything - AND utilities of course - right now, I find this perspective simply terrifying...

It's a 28w difference between the 1100 and 1200. When it comes to electricity people simply put the magic blinders on and forget how to math.

Boy you think 28w is bad, look how much power a box fan, or electric stove, or a basic EV draw. You'll have a heart attack.

It's like advertising a new car that gets 0.01 more mpg. It's a savings so miniscule you'll never notice it.

 

[Puiu]

It is possible that they have already done this here. 6nm is basically a refined 7nm, and given the approx 10% drop in power consumption, it seems to fit the profile. In any case, it’s very surprising that a 10% drop in power gave them the opportunity to cut the cooling surface area by 50%.

refinements to 7nm are more than enough to do that. I would be surprised if they moved to a more expensive node. and the extra headroom for cooling must come from other components too (like the memory, mosfets, etc)