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New PS3 heatsink, smaller, lighter, thinner

G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Might be interesting for those charting the possibilities of a smaller/slimmer version of PS3 down the road. Or just costs. I didn't think heatsinks got so much attention, but there ya go :p

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080424/150927/

Furukawa Electric Co Ltd exhibited a new heat sink for the PlayStation 3 (PS3), a game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCE), at Techno-Frontier 2008. The exhibition took place from April 16 to 18, 2008, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
Click to expand...

And it already begun commercial production of the third-generation heat sink for the PS3. The third-generation product is characterized by its small size, light weight and low cost.
Click to expand...

Especially, the shift from the second generation to the third was drastic. In the first and second-generation products, a large heat sink cooled both the Cell and RSX. But they are cooled by separate heat sinks in the third-generation product.

Furthermore, copper heat pipes, which were used in the first- and second-generation heat sinks, are no longer used in the third-generation product.
Click to expand...

The first-, second- and third-generation products support power consumptions of about 200, 160 and 130-140W, respectively, for both the Cell and RSX.
Click to expand...

The kinds of components are more than 20 for the first generation and about 10 for the second. But the third-generation product has only three kinds of components
Click to expand...

As a result, the weights of the first-, second- and third-generation products are about 700, 500 and 350g, respectively.
Click to expand...

Wow, 700g for the heatsink alone in the first generation :lol

Pic:

heatsink.jpg
 
Yoshichan

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Yoboman said:
I misread "New PS3 smaller, lighter, thinner" :(
Click to expand...
DAMN! Did the same :(!
 
R

Raist

Banned
Impressive. They're really doing a great job with their hardware.

A bit surprising that they got completely rid of the heatpipes tho.
 
D

Danne-Danger

Member
Sorta OT but anyway.
When I inevitably get another smaller, lighter, thinner PS3 (as in PSthree), how easy will it be to transfer the HDD content/gamesaves/PSN stuff/shared games?
 
C

CrushDance

Banned
It's amazing the amount of changes the PS3 has gone through in such a short time, both price and hardware wise. I hope that going forward they stick with one SKU and a slimmer model. Great engineering though!
 
R

Raist

Banned
Danne-Danger said:
Sorta OT but anyway.
When I inevitably get another smaller, lighter, thinner PS3 (as in PSthree), how easy will it be to transfer the HDD content/gamesaves/PSN stuff/shared games?
Click to expand...

Not harder than swapping a HDD on a PS3, I guess.
 
F

Furoba

Member
So... a new model number at the end of 2008 and a redesigned PS3 somewhere in mid-end 2009?
45nm for CELL and RSX, new heatsink, even lower power consumption,...
 
M

mr_bishiuk

Banned
I want a Ps3 thats flat and a bit more AV like.

Always assumed it was Sony that designed the heat sinks, do these corporation out source everything these days?
 
C

CrushDance

Banned
mr_bishiuk said:
I want a Ps3 thats flat and a bit more AV like.

Always assumed it was Sony that designed the heat sinks, do these corporation out source everything these days?
Click to expand...
Sony engineers designed them. The parts come from all over.
 
V

Vaandaviii

Member
I suppose this heatsink is just one piece in PS3 new iteration. It doesn't make much sense changing only the heatsink, and reducing it to the half, if there is no reduction in consumption.

I still prefer my 700g heatsink than a "cheaper and lighter one" (It is amazing how PRs can make shit look as gold). The bigger and heavier a heatsink is, the better.
 
E

Elios83

Member
Cool! Everything hints at a new massively revised model ready for this fall which will give them room to cut the price and break even/make profit on the hardware.
 
L

lherre

Accurate
Vaandaviii said:
I suppose this heatsink is just one piece in PS3 new iteration. It doesn't make much sense changing only the heatsink, and reducing it to the half, if there is no reduction in consumption.
Click to expand...

I think the consumption is less in the third generation ...

The first-, second- and third-generation products support power consumptions of about 200, 160 and 130-140W, respectively, for both the Cell and RSX.
Click to expand...
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Elios83 said:
Cool! Everything hints at a new massively revised model ready for this fall which will give them room to cut the price and break even/make profit on the hardware.
Click to expand...

It'll probably be an internal revision, though, only. But the weight reduction could be significant. Maybe even quieter also, air noise reduction is one claim for the new design.

The article says that it's in production now, so that would indeed line up with something coming in Q3/Q4 probably.
 
M

mabuza

Banned
gofreak said:
It'll probably be an internal revision, though, only. But the weight reduction could be significant. Maybe even quieter also, air noise reduction is one claim for the new design.

The article says that it's in production now, so that would indeed line up with something coming in Q3/Q4 probably.
Click to expand...

hmmm
 
E

Elios83

Member
gofreak said:
It'll probably be an internal revision, though, only. But the weight reduction could be significant.

The article says that it's in production now, so that would indeed line up with something coming in Q3/Q4 probably.
Click to expand...

Who could tell :D Honestly I don't see a lot in sense in keeping the old giant case IF as it seems they have the possibility to cut the volume and weight in half relatively to the launch model. Because it's not just the heat sink but also the motherboard because of the smaller chips, the power supply and let's not forget about the slim Blu Ray drives already in production. If they have the possibility to put everything in a smaller box they'll use it as soon as possible unless they have logistics reasons going against it, because it means lowered cost on the case, on boxing and more importantly on transport.

BTW just for memory 40GB production started in June last year and it was announced and launched in October so there could be a similar path.
 
W

Wollan

Member
mabuza said:
ps3 slim and lite launching this fall bundled with ffxiii. you heard it here first.
Click to expand...
No and no.
You will likely 'see' the 40GB PS3 with new insides this fall but with the same chassis and same functionality.
FFXIII won't release before 2009.
 
T

Tntnnbltn

Member
Would so buy a PSthree... Highly doubt it would happen this year though. Maybe mid-2009.

gofreak said:
It'll probably be an internal revision, though, only. But the weight reduction could be significant. Maybe even quieter also, air noise reduction is one claim for the new design.
Click to expand...
So now you can have negative noise? PSthree to suck in external noises confirmed!
 
P

painful fart

Member
Elios83 said:
Who could tell :D Honestly I don't see a lot in sense in keeping the old giant case IF as it seems they have the possibility to cut the volume and weight in half relatively to the launch model. Because it's not just the heat sink but also the motherboard because of the smaller chips, the power supply and let's not forget about the slim Blu Ray drives already in production. If they have the possibility to put everything in a smaller box they'll use it as soon as possible unless they have logistics reasons going against it, because it means lowered cost on the case, on boxing and more importantly on transport.

BTW just for memory 40GB production started in June last year and it was announced and launched in October so there could be a similar path.
Click to expand...
The plastic of the case is so cheap that it´s not really important at this point and they probably want to keep an expensive bulky look as long it is more than $250.

The PSThree will likely not appear before that price point and before they can fit it in a PSTwo size case and that will not happen for some time.
 
E

Elios83

Member
painful fart said:
The plastic of the case is so cheap that it´s not really important at this point and they probably want to keep an expensive bulky look as long it is more than $250.

The PSThree will likely not appear before that price point and before they can fit it in a PSTwo size case and that will not happen for some time.
Click to expand...

Pstwo size won't happen for a looong time if at all because of the hard drive. It's useless to compare different products with different history,features and costs.
I think we're aiming at about the original PS2 size and weight. Moreover it's not just about the case cost which can be lower (and don't understimate its cost because with the 40GB they bothered to use a cheaper case so it's not like they don't feel the issue), it's also about volume, boxing and transport. Do you realize how even a 5-10$ save per unit can do for million units?
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Elios83 said:
Who could tell :D Honestly I don't see a lot in sense in keeping the old giant case IF as it seems they have the possibility to cut the volume and weight in half relatively to the launch model.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if they'll do this until they can do it substantially, though. I mean, maybe they could make a "medium-PS3" this year if they wanted, but they might be worried about blunting the effectiveness of an even smaller model later.

In the meantime, of course, they can still benefit from the reduced costs of the internals.
 
Yoboman

Yoboman

Member
Wollan said:
No and no.
You will likely 'see' the 40GB PS3 with new insides this fall but with the same chassis and same functionality.
FFXIII won't release before 2009.
Click to expand...
If they announced a PS3 Slim for Japan around TGS this year, I wouldn't be at all surprised
 
E

Elios83

Member
gofreak said:
I'm not sure if they'll do this until they can do it substantially, though. I mean, maybe they could make a "medium-PS3" this year if they wanted, but they might be worried about blunting the effectiveness of an even smaller model later.

In the meantime, of course, they can still benefit from the reduced costs of the internals.
Click to expand...


I don't think that they care about that. Cutting costs, price for consumers and making profits are their most important issues at the moment. Moreover I don't think they can get it smaller than they could this year unless they decide to wait until the end of 2009 when 32nm chips are ready.
And let's not forget that their japanese situation is definitely putting them in a hurry to play that card, looking at what happened with the PSP which passed from selling less than 20k units weekly to dominate the hardware charts.
One reason which I could see effectively going against doing a smaller design this year is production logistics, if they fear that the ramp up for the new model could mean shortages during the key holyday season they could opt to not do it and wait for spring 2009 but they did it with no problems with PSP so who knows.
We'll wait and see ;P
 
P

painful fart

Member
Elios83 said:
Pstwo size won't happen for a looong time if at all because of the hard drive. It's useless to compare different products with different history,features and costs.
I think we're aiming at about the original PS2 size and weight. Moreover it's not just about the case cost which can be lower (and don't understimate its cost because with the 40GB they bothered to use a cheaper case so it's not like they don't feel the issue), it's also about volume, boxing and transport. Do you realize how even a 5-10$ save per unit can do for million units?
Click to expand...
It may sound stupid, but I expect a lot of people want the physical appearance to match the price. High price, large powerful appearence, low price matches a a more lean apperance.

In principle I agree with you, but the cost of introducing a radically different looking unit, marketing costs, additional costs for more confusing SKUs etc. should not be neglected and need to be put in relation to a few bucks of cost savings.
 
A

akachan ningen

Member
painful fart said:
It may sound stupid, but I expect a lot of people want the physical appearance to match the price. High price, large powerful appearence, low price matches a a more lean apperance.
Click to expand...

It's true for me. The bigger the better.
 
Paracelsus

Paracelsus

Member
PS3 within the 300 usd price range by the end of 2008 confirmed?

That'd push the sales more than a slim version. That and the backwards compatibility.
 
M

minus_273

Banned
Sony is just increasing the contribution margin. The only way they can make up their loss in the last couple of years with volume is by decreasing the variable costs. That is all that is going on here.

There is going to be no price cut until AT LEAST they have hit the break even point.
 
iceatcs

iceatcs

Junior Member
Seem that they have reduce half of weight in fall. The shipping cost should be reduce a lot as well.

Sound like it will get the price cut this fall possible early.
 
M

MWS Natural

Member
FirstInHell said:
How is the PS3 able to run cooler and more efficiently while the 360 still has the same fundamental design from 2005?
Click to expand...

360 has gone through a few versions of internal hardware changes, with many more coming if "rumors" are to be believed. *sigh* I think I should start spending more time in the OT.
 
F

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
Elios83 said:
Pstwo size won't happen for a looong time if at all because of the hard drive.
Click to expand...
I am expecting we'll see a flashdrive model sometime in the future.

I think we're aiming at about the original PS2 size and weight.
Click to expand...
Half of PS2 size is due to 3.5" HDD bay. You could squeeze 5 2.5" drives in there, so I think they can aim smaller if it's in their interest.

My question is - how small can you make it before it becomes detrimental to its image of a high-end Video player though? Of course it's unlikely this would really affect sales either way, but it's still interesting question.
 
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