Console Technician Uncovers Innovative PS5 Pro Heatsink Design Featuring Grooved Structure to Prevent Solder Paste Leaks

Sony has made a subtle yet intriguing update to the PlayStation 5 Pro’s heatsink design. The team at TronicsFix, a well-known console repair channel on YouTube, recently spotted that the PS5 Pro’s heatsink isn’t your typical smooth gadget. Instead, it sports an interesting rectangular spiral pattern on its surface.

According to TronicsFix, this deliberate design was likely implemented to tackle issues like dry spots and oxidation caused by liquid metal thermal interface material (TIM) as it spreads across the heatsink. This pattern might also enhance the contact surface area just a bit.

If you’ve ever tried working with liquid metal, you’d know it tends to pool rather than spread evenly. It flows much more than conventional thermal pastes, often into places you don’t want it to go. To combat this, systems using liquid metal heatsinks often employ a seal around these parts to prevent the conductive material from escaping and causing potential harm to other components.

TronicsFix further suggests that the movement of liquid metal tends to be worse in PlayStations used in a vertical position. Given that Steve from TronicsFix has repaired his fair share of PS5s and other consoles, his insights are likely quite close to reality.

Sony’s decision to include these spiral grooves on the heatsink that connects with the AMD APU is intriguing because it defies some standard cooling practices. Generally, extreme overclockers and tech enthusiasts spend considerable time smoothing and polishing the processor surface and heatsink for optimal contact. However, the introduction of liquid metal has changed the game. Sony must have thoroughly tested this new heatsink design against a typical polished one and concluded it as a valuable thermal upgrade.

The introduction of these heatsink grooves aligns with the PS5 Pro’s beefed-up processing power, especially its more robust GPU. It seems these grooves play a role in preventing thermal throttling.

The PS5 Pro was revealed back in early September but only hit the shelves for consumers earlier this October. While enthusiasts and experts are still uncovering its design secrets, we gained a lot of insight from Mark Cerny, the lead architect, during the product’s launch stream.