A PS5 engineer has revealed that the main reason the console is so big is to accommodate what is a pretty weighty fan.
Gamers don't have long to wait until they will be able to get their hands on a PS5 for the very first time. Providing they were one of the lucky few to have landed a pre-order, that is. However, a lucky group of YouTubers and writers in Japan have already had the chance to play around with the console, relaying a few new and interesting details to the world after their experience.
Those details included how quiet the console is compared to the PS4, which sounds like it's powered by a jet engine at times, and also a nut, the purpose of which remains a mystery. One of the biggest talking points of all, which didn't come as a complete surprise, is the size of the PS5. As can be seen in the diagrams below, it is not only significantly bigger than any PlayStation before it, it also dwarves its next-gen rival, the Xbox Series X.
Gamers have been wondering why exactly the PS5 needs to be so big. Those with limited space might struggle to find a home for it. An engineer who worked on the console has explained why it needs to be particularly large. It's down to the fan. The fan inside of the console is an impressive 45 mm thick, making it thicker than the PS4 slim is wide.
Otori Yasuhiro explained to Nikkei's Xtech that a fan of that size was needed to cool both sides of the PS5's main board equally. The option of replacing it with two smaller fans was discussed so that the console could be reduced in size, but that would have made the manufacturing process a lot more difficult. In turn, that would have driven up production costs, and ultimately the retail price of the console.
Cooling and console noise has been a big focus for both PlayStation and Xbox this generation. There have been mixed reports regarding the success of that on the Series X side of things. Some of the first people to get their hands on the console claim it kicks off a tremendous amount of heat. Others have refuted those reports, labeling them as exaggerations. So far, the PS5 has had no such issues, exaggerated or otherwise.
Source: Nikkei's Xtech