Sony’s PlayStation 5 will let you download updates for its cooling fan

By Giovanni Colantonio October 19, 2020

The PlayStation 5’s cooling systems will improve through online updates, says Sony. The feature will allow Sony to tweak the console’s fan digitally based on data collected from games.

The news comes from a 4Gamer.net interview with Sony vice president of mechanical design Yasuhiro Ootori, which was translated by ResetEra user orzkare. While talking about the console’s cooling system, Ootori notes that its design leaves open the possibility of “further improvement.”

“Various games will be released in the future, and data on the APU’s behavior in each game will be collected. We have a plan to optimize the fan control based on this data,” Ootori says.

He also revealed that the console has three different temperature sensors inside of its APU, which controls the fan speed based on the console’s internal temperature. Ootori adds that the fan sensors “will also be updated via online updates.”

The news comes shortly after Sony released a full breakdown of the console, showing off its massive 120 mm fan, which pulls air from both sides of the PlayStation 5. Ootori later told Nikkei Xtech that the fan’s size is one of the primary reasons the console itself is so large.

The feature is especially exciting for PlayStation 4 owners who might be used to the current fan, which can get loud when playing a massive game like The Last of Us Part 2. In theory, the PlayStation 5 feature will allow Sony to see which games are causing consoles to struggle and make improvements to how the fan runs on the fly.

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Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

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