The PlayStation 5’s liquid metal cooling system, once hailed as an innovative solution, is now being blamed for potentially causing widespread failures in consoles over the next few years.
Users are increasingly reporting issues with their PS5s, particularly those from the early launch period, where the cooling liquid seems to drip and cause problems that could lead to hardware failures.
According to Alderon Games founder Matthew Cassells, the liquid metal is leaking from the cooling system when the PS5 is placed vertically. This causes dry spots on the APU, which ultimately forces the console to shut down under certain conditions. Although initially thought to be isolated incidents, more users are coming forward with similar problems. Cassells, speaking on the ‘Moore Law Is Dead’ podcast, explained that these failures could potentially affect many consoles, particularly those out of warranty.
The issue became apparent when players of the dinosaur MMO ‘Path of Titans’ began reporting sudden shutdowns during gameplay. Alderon Games initially suggested typical troubleshooting measures, like cleaning the console, but the issue persisted. After encouraging players to report their issues, it became clear that the shutdowns were tied to the liquid metal problem. The game’s more intensive updates seem to trigger the issue, leading to system shutdowns. This is compounded by the difficulty of diagnosing the problem since the PS5 doesn’t provide temperature data for its CPU and GPU, making troubleshooting almost impossible.
The situation has prompted Alderon Games to push for a free repair program for affected PS5 consoles, though they noted that such a plan may be difficult to implement due to the large number of affected units. The liquid metal issue has also been acknowledged by Sony, which attempted to resolve the problem in newer PS5 models like the slim and Pro versions by redesigning the APU and heatsink to prevent the liquid from dripping. However, it’s too early to tell if these changes will eliminate the issue entirely.
While not every PS5 is affected, the problem remains a concern, particularly for older models that are now out of warranty. With the potential for widespread failures, the gaming community is left hoping that Sony will take action to address this issue before many PS5s are rendered inoperable.
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