Does the PS5 have hidden dangers?
Multiple hardware experts claim that a design flaw in the PS5 could lead to it being damaged if you use it while it’s standing vertically.
Apart from being hard to get hold of the PlayStation 5 has been remarkably free of controversy so far, with no major hardware problems or faults reported.
A lot of people think it’s a pretty ugly looking hunk of plastic but beyond that it seems to be a very well designed one – although certain online experts think they may have discovered a well hidden design flaw.
Like many modern consoles, including the Xbox Series X, the PlayStation 5 can be used in either a horizontal or vertical position, but supposedly this can cause problems with Sony’s console and even break it entirely.
The claims first arose via French PlayStation fan 68Logic, who owns a hardware repair shop and claims to have seen multiple instances of the problem.
He suggests that the liquid metal used to cool the APU (the Accelerated Processing Unit from AMD) can spill out and affect its cooling, as well as potentially dripping down onto other components.
If the liquid metal hits another component it could easily short circuit it and brick the entire console, whereas if it only affects the cooling of the APU it could lead to the PlayStation 5 becoming noisier as the main fans try to compensate.
Fellow French expert Ben Montana has been reporting the issue for months now and claims that he has seen multiple examples at his own repair shop, with the likelihood of damage increasing the longer the console is kept vertical.
This may not be healthy (pic: Sony)
According to website Wololo, it’s theorised that the issue could be more prevalent in the physical edition, with the vibrations of the Blu-ray drive exacerbating the issue, but supposedly the problem has been reported with all models.
YouTuber TheCod3r has also been reporting the same issue for months and claims to have evidence of the problem occurring in an unopened PlayStation 5, simply because it was stored vertically in its box for a long time.
Clearly, the fault is not a common one, or there wouldn’t be any question over its existence, but one clear point that has emerged from the online discussion is that if you are using your PlayStation 5 vertically you should make sure it’s sitting on its stand.
Many people don’t realise that the stand is vital to ensure the console gets proper ventilation and that it can easily overheat if it’s not used. Which apart from anything seems like a design flaw in itself.
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Multiple hardware experts claim that a design flaw in the PS5 could lead to it being damaged if you use it while it’s standing vertically.
