While gamers anxiously await the release of Sony's upgraded
PlayStation 5 Pro, the current PlayStation 5 still has some party tricks up its sleeve. Thanks to Meta PCs, a PlayStation 5 was modded and completely water cooled. While PC gamers are used to seeing intricately designed open-loop custom water cooled PCs, it is surely a rarity in the console space.
While it is not uncommon to find water cooling components for every piece of hardware inside a PC, a PS5 console (or any game console, really) is a different story entirely. Using specialized water cooling blocks from EKWB together with traditional radiators and fittings, the build magically comes together.
According to Chris from Meta PCs, it took around a week or so to complete. This water cooled spectacle also jumps up the price to nearly $3,000 all in, a healthy increase from the standard price of the Playstation 5.
Water cooling a gaming PC is already on a higher technical level than many traditional builds, so this custom PS5 presents an even more challenging build. The PS5 is highly engineered and designed to thermally work within its enclosure, so any deviation from this fact is sure to need some intense custom-tweaks.
Starting with the power supply, a traditional small form factor (SFF) unit is used to power the system much like a PC. Using regular 8-pin connectors, the EKWB unit is what powers the modded PS5. Inserted into an open-air case, this is where the heart of the PS5 hardware resides in the finished build. After the PS5's internal components and PCB are out of their enclosure, it becomes much like a motherboard or GPU surface to be water-blocked.
Of course, the stock cooling configuration is already enough for the PS5, as Meta PCs openly admits. What is apparent is the absolute beauty that is revealed when the PS5 hardware is water cooled, plus it's a delightfully geeky project (so long as we're watching someone else foot the bill!). Going from a large plastic enclosure to a brilliant open-look design in blue is quite stunning, even if not practical.
While this mod won't net you extra performance, it is an interesting aesthetic change to make to this system. It also serves to show off the building and modding chops of the Meta PCs team.
The
PS5 Pro is rumored to pack a significantly upgraded GPU, which itself might benefit from the most cooling it can get. In the mean time, this masterpiece by Meta PCs shows us how the ordinary can be turned into the extraordinary with a little bit of extra work.