1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,880 Sony has stolen the headlines lately for how the PlayStation 5 uses a cooling method 2 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:08,280 that's pretty different from what we've seen in consoles. 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:12,120 And while people have modified their consoles to be liquid cooled, similar to what you'd 4 00:00:12,120 --> 00:00:16,600 see on a PC, we're not talking about putting the CPU under a water block. 5 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:22,280 Instead, Sony has replaced the traditional thermal interface material with liquid metal. 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,920 Sounds like something out of a James Cameron movie, but what exactly is it? 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,960 And is it actually better than your typical goopy thermal paste? 8 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:34,760 Liquid metal is actually a eutectic alloy of three different metals, gallium, indium, 9 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:40,720 and tin. The word eutectic means that it has a melting point lower than any of the three metals do 10 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:47,320 on their own. Pretty cool. The kind of liquid metal used for chip cooling doesn't solidify until you lower the temperature 11 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:52,800 down to negative 19 degrees Celsius, or negative 2 Fahrenheit for you Yankees out there. 12 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:57,960 So unless you're taking your PS5 outside during wintertime on the Canadian prairies, it stays 13 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:03,680 liquid under normal conditions. But liquid metal isn't something that Sony just invented, it's actually been around 14 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:08,000 for a while, and it's had a small niche in the PC enthusiast space, with some enthusiasts 15 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,320 and overclockers favoring it over thermal paste. 16 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:15,120 And it can be very effective, regardless of whether you're using it on top of the integrated 17 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:20,080 heat spreader, or going a step further and delidding your chip, replacing the stock thermal 18 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:26,880 interface material with liquid metal. Liquid metal works better because it's a more effective conductor of heat, in contrast 19 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:30,920 to thermal paste, which usually has some metal combined with silicone. 20 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:38,200 Liquid metal is, well, all metal. But why exactly did Sony decide to go with liquid metal when plain old thermal paste 21 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:43,000 is cheaper, more common, and seems to be good enough in most cases? 22 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:48,040 The PlayStation 5 has power approaching that of an upper mid-range PC, which is not something 23 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:54,040 we've been able to say about previous consoles. This means that there's a heck of a lot of computing muscle packed into a relatively 24 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:58,280 small area, with the CPU and GPU residing on the same chip. 25 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,160 And as you might have guessed, it generates a lot of heat. 26 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,720 Even so, Sony could have used thermal paste, which is cheaper per unit than liquid metal. 27 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:10,800 But not only did Sony go with liquid metal to cool off that high performance SOC more 28 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,800 efficiently, but it also helps to keep the PS5 quieter. 29 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:19,080 Had Sony used regular thermal paste, it would have needed to spend more money on higher 30 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:24,400 performing heat sinks and fans, which would have both made the system louder and driven 31 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:31,520 up the cost. So even though liquid metal is pricier, it still saves money for Sony in aggregate, since 32 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,200 they don't have to spend as much money on the rest of the cooling system. 33 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,240 But what about for you, the home PC enthusiast? 34 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:43,560 Is liquid metal a good idea for you? If you just need a single tube of the stuff, it's not much more expensive than regular 35 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:51,640 old thermal paste, so why not go out and get some? Well, the big knock on is that because it's liquid, it flows much more easily than thermal 36 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:58,920 paste, meaning it's easy to spill. And its high connectivity means it can easily cause a ShortCircuit if you get it anywhere 37 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:05,800 on your system other than on top of your CPU. This is the same reason that some people opt for ceramic thermal paste over regular metal 38 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:13,160 based thermal paste. Your system might run a few degrees warmer, but there's no risk of a short, a risk that 39 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:20,520 just gets larger with liquid metal. So if you do decide to go this route, start with a small amount and be very careful when 40 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:25,440 applying. Also, many liquid metals should not come in contact with aluminum coolers, as this can 41 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:32,040 cause degradation. But if you take the appropriate precautions, it can make your home rig pretty cool. 42 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:37,520 See what I did there? So thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video, hit like, hit subscribe, and hit 43 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:41,960 us up in the comments section with your ideas for topics that we should cover in the future.