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Potential PS5 cooling solution patent utilizes liquid metal as a thermal conductor

The PS5 will require a powerful cooling system. (Image source: Sony)
The PS5 will require a powerful cooling system. (Image source: Sony)
A newly published patent for a cooling system component has sparked speculation that it might relate to the upcoming PS5 console. The patent offers up the idea of utilizing “metal having fluidity” as a “heat conductive material”. The PlayStation 5’s powerful CPU and GPU require the next-gen console to have the best possible cooling solution.

Another patent from Sony Interactive Entertainment has just been published and has now been shared on Reddit. The filing has the prosaic title “Electronic apparatus, semiconductor device, insulating sheet, and method for manufacturing semiconductor device”, but many seem to believe this is a PS5 cooling patent. The drawings included in the published file do look very similar to those that appeared a few months ago.

The interesting point of this potential PS5 cooling patent is that the documents suggest a “heat conductive material” that has “fluidity”, or in other words liquid metal. The invention in the patent concerns itself with having possibly liquid metal (perhaps something like a gallium-based alloy) as the mode of heat transfer and how to make sure that fluid material does not escape into other areas thus damaging the system. Because, of course, something like liquid metal might be great for reducing heat due to its thermal conductivity, but it is also risky because of its electrical conductivity properties.

However, something as powerful as the PS5 with its custom AMD CPU and GPU running at full speed will need a novel and rugged cooling system, and it is possible that Sony has been considering the merits of a liquid metal thermal solution. If Asus can use a liquid metal thermal compound on some of its high-powered ROG gaming laptops then surely Sony can apply a similar cooling solution to the PS5? There have been many rumors over the last months concerning how the PS5 will deal with heat dissipation, so it seems likely Sony has considered a large number of solutions, including this latest one.

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SIE patent drawings. (Image source: WIPO)
SIE patent drawings. (Image source: WIPO)
SIE patent drawings. (Image source: WIPO)
SIE patent drawings. (Image source: WIPO)
SIE patent drawings. (Image source: WIPO)
SIE patent drawings. (Image source: WIPO)

Source(s)

WIPO (in Japanese) & Reddit & Asus (1/2)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 08 > Potential PS5 cooling solution patent utilizes liquid metal as a thermal conductor
Daniel R Deakin, 2020-08-14 (Update: 2020-09-30)