Some PlayStation 5 Consoles Have a Different, Louder Cooling Fan

[Tsing]

Image: Sony



The PlayStation 5 has been applauded for its quiet performance, but the exact level of noise that users can expect from their individual consoles is difficult to determine due to hardware discrepancies. As France’s Les Numeriques reports, Sony actually employs multiple models of cooling fans in its next-gen consoles, some of which are louder than others.



Les Numeriques’ tests suggest that the level of noise is technically negligible (39 dB vs. 43 dB), but the audio samples do reveal unique sound signatures that attest to substantial differences between the cooling fans. Fan “A,” for instance, sounds buzzy, while fan “B” is comparable to an AC unit...

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[SeymourGore]

Guess I lucked out and got a 'Fan A' type.

 

[Armenius]

I frankly don't care. I just want to be able to turn the fan speed up on either. The console runs pretty hot and I'd like the option of sacrificing quietness for better consistent performance.

 

[Brian_B]

I frankly don't care. I just want to be able to turn the fan speed up on either. The console runs pretty hot and I'd like the option of sacrificing quietness for better consistent performance.

That may be coming, or something similar. One of the PS5 API features was for the ability to tune the fan speed for specific software, rather than just relying on hardware sensor metrics.

 

[DrezKill]

That may be coming, or something similar. One of the PS5 API features was for the ability to tune the fan speed for specific software, rather than just relying on hardware sensor metrics.

I really hope so. You couldn't control the fans on the 7th-gen systems unless you modded the systems, and 8th-gen systems didn't have user-controllable fans either. Never understood why the console makers never let us manually choose fan speeds.

 

[MadMummy76]

I frankly don't care. I just want to be able to turn the fan speed up on either. The console runs pretty hot and I'd like the option of sacrificing quietness for better consistent performance.

I'd sacrifice the console for no noise. I hate noise profoundly. Hearing a loud fan over the sound effects is bad.

 

[Brian_B]

I'd sacrifice the console for no noise. I hate noise profoundly. Hearing a loud fan over the sound effects is bad.

Kind of in the same boat - I'd rather not melt my console down so that it crashes, but I'd also prefer to not hear it. So long as it's running in spec and not excessively throttling, I don't really care what it's running at internally.

After running PS4 Pro for a while, that thing spins up like a jet turbine if I don't remember to open up the door on my entertainment cabinet, and it's one of the biggest complaints I have about the system.

 

[Armenius]

Kind of in the same boat - I'd rather not melt my console down so that it crashes, but I'd also prefer to not hear it. So long as it's running in spec and not excessively throttling, I don't really care what it's running at internally.

After running PS4 Pro for a while, that thing spins up like a jet turbine if I don't remember to open up the door on my entertainment cabinet, and it's one of the biggest complaints I have about the system.

The PS4 Pro can get a little noisy when running certain games, but it hasn't bothered me. The cooling profile of that is worse than the PS5, though.

 

[Burticus]

What, Microcenter was out of fans so Sony went to Fry's to get more? Eh... close enough. /sarcasm