Unique PS5 SSD Cooler Utilizes Airflow From Main Fan To Allegedly Cut Temps In Half
Modern PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 SSDs get pretty warm because the powerful SSD controllers make a lot of heat, like any >1GHz processor. If you expand your PlayStation 5's internal storage with a fast PCIe 4.0 SSD like Sony recommends, the system offers very limited cooling. Folks who are concerned about the longevity of their SSDs might take a look at this awkward-but-clever PS5 SSD cooler from Graugear.
It's exactly what it looks like: a replacement vented cover for the PS5's SSD bay, along with a heatsink attached to a single heatpipe that leads to a small copper finstack, not unlike what you might see inside a gaming laptop. The heatpipe is curved to match the shape of the game console, and the finstack sits right in front of the intake, near the PlayStation's primary fan.
It's a pretty clever design that Graugear says can reduce temperatures of the M.2 SSD by half. We don't really have any reason to doubt that claim; going from basically-zero cooling to a full heatsink-and-heatpipe assembly must surely be a big improvement. The creators say it is "perfectly fit" for high-performance NVMe drives, and that it is compatible with both single and double-sided M.2 drives.
Our only concern would be that the M.2 SSD's finstack, being placed by the intake such that it is, could reduce the ability of the PS5 to cool itself otherwise. While the original models of PlayStation 5 had a truly gratuitous, over-engineered cooling system, newer hardware revisions have continually reduced the size of the heatsink in an attempt to cut costs in the face of a weakening economy.
On the other hand, that heat is being generated either way, and having it more easily dissipated by the fan might result in lower internal case temperatures across the board. We'd have to test it to see. Graugear hasn't revealed pricing or availability, but if there's interest, we might look into this device ourselves.
