WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.880 Sony has stolen the headlines lately for how the PlayStation 5 uses a cooling method 00:00:04.880 --> 00:00:08.280 that's pretty different from what we've seen in consoles. 00:00:08.280 --> 00:00:12.120 And while people have modified their consoles to be liquid cooled, similar to what you'd 00:00:12.120 --> 00:00:16.600 see on a PC, we're not talking about putting the CPU under a water block. 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:22.280 Instead, Sony has replaced the traditional thermal interface material with liquid metal. 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:25.920 Sounds like something out of a James Cameron movie, but what exactly is it? 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:29.960 And is it actually better than your typical goopy thermal paste? 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:34.760 Liquid metal is actually a eutectic alloy of three different metals, gallium, indium, 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 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 00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:52.800 down to negative 19 degrees Celsius, or negative 2 Fahrenheit for you Yankees out there. 00:00:52.800 --> 00:00:57.960 So unless you're taking your PS5 outside during wintertime on the Canadian prairies, it stays 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 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 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.320 and overclockers favoring it over thermal paste. 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 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:20.080 heat spreader, or going a step further and delidding your chip, replacing the stock thermal 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 00:01:26.880 --> 00:01:30.920 to thermal paste, which usually has some metal combined with silicone. 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 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:43.000 is cheaper, more common, and seems to be good enough in most cases? 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 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 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:58.280 small area, with the CPU and GPU residing on the same chip. 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:02.160 And as you might have guessed, it generates a lot of heat. 00:02:02.160 --> 00:02:06.720 Even so, Sony could have used thermal paste, which is cheaper per unit than liquid metal. 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 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:14.800 efficiently, but it also helps to keep the PS5 quieter. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:19.080 Had Sony used regular thermal paste, it would have needed to spend more money on higher 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:24.400 performing heat sinks and fans, which would have both made the system louder and driven 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 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:35.200 they don't have to spend as much money on the rest of the cooling system. 00:02:35.200 --> 00:02:38.240 But what about for you, the home PC enthusiast? 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 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 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 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 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 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 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:25.440 applying. Also, many liquid metals should not come in contact with aluminum coolers, as this can 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. 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 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.