Sony has stolen the headlines lately for how the PlayStation 5 uses a cooling method
that's pretty different from what we've seen in consoles.
And while people have modified their consoles to be liquid cooled, similar to what you'd
see on a PC, we're not talking about putting the CPU under a water block.
Instead, Sony has replaced the traditional thermal interface material with liquid metal.
Sounds like something out of a James Cameron movie, but what exactly is it?
And is it actually better than your typical goopy thermal paste?
Liquid metal is actually a eutectic alloy of three different metals, gallium, indium,
and tin. The word eutectic means that it has a melting point lower than any of the three metals do
on their own. Pretty cool. The kind of liquid metal used for chip cooling doesn't solidify until you lower the temperature
down to negative 19 degrees Celsius, or negative 2 Fahrenheit for you Yankees out there.
So unless you're taking your PS5 outside during wintertime on the Canadian prairies, it stays
liquid under normal conditions. But liquid metal isn't something that Sony just invented, it's actually been around
for a while, and it's had a small niche in the PC enthusiast space, with some enthusiasts
and overclockers favoring it over thermal paste.
And it can be very effective, regardless of whether you're using it on top of the integrated
heat spreader, or going a step further and delidding your chip, replacing the stock thermal
interface material with liquid metal. Liquid metal works better because it's a more effective conductor of heat, in contrast
to thermal paste, which usually has some metal combined with silicone.
Liquid metal is, well, all metal. But why exactly did Sony decide to go with liquid metal when plain old thermal paste
is cheaper, more common, and seems to be good enough in most cases?
The PlayStation 5 has power approaching that of an upper mid-range PC, which is not something
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
small area, with the CPU and GPU residing on the same chip.
And as you might have guessed, it generates a lot of heat.
Even so, Sony could have used thermal paste, which is cheaper per unit than liquid metal.
But not only did Sony go with liquid metal to cool off that high performance SOC more
efficiently, but it also helps to keep the PS5 quieter.
Had Sony used regular thermal paste, it would have needed to spend more money on higher
performing heat sinks and fans, which would have both made the system louder and driven
up the cost. So even though liquid metal is pricier, it still saves money for Sony in aggregate, since
they don't have to spend as much money on the rest of the cooling system.
But what about for you, the home PC enthusiast?
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
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
paste, meaning it's easy to spill. And its high connectivity means it can easily cause a ShortCircuit if you get it anywhere
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
based thermal paste. Your system might run a few degrees warmer, but there's no risk of a short, a risk that
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
applying. Also, many liquid metals should not come in contact with aluminum coolers, as this can
cause degradation. But if you take the appropriate precautions, it can make your home rig pretty cool.
See what I did there? So thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video, hit like, hit subscribe, and hit
us up in the comments section with your ideas for topics that we should cover in the future.