The new PS5 model is drastically different underneath the hood and draws less power
Sony's latest PS5 model revision has a new motherboard, heatsink, and more
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: new PS5 model
👀 The new PS5 model revision, CFI-1202B (Digital), has been dismantled by YouTuber Austin Evans
🤏 The tear-down video shows a drastically redesigned PS5, including a new motherboard, SSD enclosure, and a smaller heatsink
🪶 The PS5 console is also lighter than previous models
📈 Despite these changes likely resulting in cheaper manufacturing and shipping costs, Sony is increasing the PS5 price in almost every region apart from the US
The new PS5 models, the CFI-1202A (disc) and CFI-1202B (Digital Edition), have drastically different internal designs than previous versions of Sony’s console.
YouTube Austin Evans has given us a glimpse under the hood of the latest iteration of the PS5, and there are some surprising changes.
The new PS5 models have a smaller motherboard, use a different cooling system, and even the SSD enclosure has been tweaked. This isn’t a complete shock, as we already knew the new PS5 systems were significantly lighter, but it’s still interesting to see just how much has changed.
In particular, the new PS5 draws less power (around 10%) when in use and has a smaller motherboard. The heatsink has also been redesigned again, and the SSD enclosure is now predominantly metal instead of an entire PCB board. Our list of the best PS5 SSD will still work the same way, though, so there’s no need to worry about that.
The new PS5 models are essentially the same as the older PlayStation 5 models in terms of heat and noise output. You don’t need to wait for the “better” model when the following PS5 restock arrives.
One downside to the new PS5 internal design is that the CMOS battery now resides underneath the heatsink. It was easy to access before, but Evans claims you’ll now need to disassemble the PS5 if you want to replace the CMOS battery.
Austin also points out on Twitter that the PS5 1200 models are lighter, pull less power, and everything has been shrunk, including the internal packaging. That means that manufacturing and shipping costs will be cheaper, yet that didn’t stop Sony from announcing a PS5 price increase in August.