Sony Shows Off Improved Liquid Metal Application on PS5 Pro

Sony has shown a teardown of the PlayStation 5 Pro in a blog post, highlighting improvements to the console’s cooling system. These include changes to the way liquid metal is applied to the PS5 Pro’s processor, making cooling “more stable.”

Image source: Sony

The changes to the PS5 Pro’s liquid metal coating come after unconfirmed claims that the thermal compound in the original PS5 could leak and damage the console. According to The Verge, some online media outlets had previously even recommended against standing the PS5 upright after one repair shop owner and YouTuber was “partially misquoted” by Wololo.net. The site itself later issued a statement noting that the original story about the PS5 leaking liquid metal contained a “critical misunderstanding” of the situation. Apparently, the issue was not widespread.

Despite this, Sony says it has made changes to the PS5 Pro, citing Shinya Tsuchida, the lead mechanical designer for the PS5 Pro:

«We spent a lot of time researching insulation when we designed the original PS5. The basic structure remains the same in the PS5 Pro, but we made some improvements by adding fine grooves where liquid metal is applied to make the cooling effect more stable. When we did our research for the original PS5, we assumed that semiconductors would continue to improve and become much denser, so we thought liquid metal technology would be crucial. As it turns out, we were right – it became an integral part of the design of the PS5 Pro.”

The rest of Sony’s blog post and the images of the disassembled console may look familiar from the PS5 Pro teardown video from iFixit published late last year, which noted that the PS5 Pro has more thermal management systems inside than electronics.

Among the changes in the PS5 Pro, we can note a larger fan with additional small fins between the main ones. Sony also explained why there are almost no signal tracks on the PS5 Pro motherboard: additional electrical layers are located inside the PCB, which allowed for better access to the console’s memory.