If you have a PS5 and have been gaming for more than a few months, chances are that your console has been faceplanting a lot lately. This is because the newest PlayStation, like previous versions before it, has a problem with its thermal paste that can cause it to crash. This faceplant problem is called “liquid metal” and it occurs when the heat sink in the processor gets a leak. The leaking liquid metal is electrically conductive and can short circuit other components inside the console. TheCod3r says that he’s seen this problem in about one out of every ten PS5s that he has repaired or worked on. He also says that he’s heard about it in the community as well.
TheCod3r explains that the liquid metal in the PS5 is a unique alloy that’s called Galinstan and it’s made of gallium, indium, and tin. This alloy is liquid at room temperature and it has better thermal conductivity than the traditional thermal pastes that are used in other computers. The liquid metal is used between the APU and the heat sink to help keep the chip cool while it’s processing all of that game data.
But what if you could just remove the liquid metal and use regular thermal paste instead? Is it going to be able to cool the APU down as effectively? The YouTube channel TronicsFix decided to test this out. They compared the performance of the PS5 with and without the thermal paste. They found that the PS5 with the thermal paste pushed out cooler airflow, but it was louder and its fans revved erratically. Ps5 Thermal Paste
