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.
The company defines the first heat sink mounted in the PS3, which was released in November 2006, as the first-generation product. 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.
The heat sink developed by Furukawa Electric is used to cool the microprocessor "Cell" and graphics LSI "RSX." When Nikkei Electronics Teardown Squad disassembled the PS3 in November 2006, this heat sink, together with a large cooling fan whose diameter is more than 13cm, drew its attention (See related article).
The PS3, at first, is equipped with the Cell produced in 90nm process technology. But it was replaced with the Cell produced in 65nm process technology to reduce the cost and power consumption. Along with this change, Furukawa Electric reduced the size, weight and cost of the heat sink by, for example, decreasing the number of its components each time its generation changed.
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. Five and two copper pipes were used in the first- and second-generation products, respectively. Furukawa Electric realized enough heat-radiation performance without using a heat pipe, the company said.
The first-, second- and third-generation products support power consumptions of about 200, 160 and 130-140W, respectively, for both the Cell and RSX.
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, a fin and pin made by aluminum and a thick aluminum plate used as a substrate. As a result, the weights of the first-, second- and third-generation products are about 700, 500 and 350g, respectively.
It's interesting that the third gen heatsink only needs to support 130-140W rather than the previous 160W. I think it's too early for the 45nm Cell, so this suggests the PS3 may be getting a 65nm RSX soon.
It's quite impressive that they've reduced the weight of the heatsink by 350g, or 50% since launch. This is a major benefit from reducing the die size in the Cell and RSX, and brings a slimmer PS3 one step closer.
Pretty nice info. I just got the 40GB around February. I'm guessing it's "second generation" - not that the PS3 ever had many heat issues, so it's not that much of a big deal.
So far most of the issues I've seen are for the blu ray drive itself.
This is really good to read. I think that the fourth generation heat-sinks will be built to accommodate a 45nm Cell and 45nm RSX. So this all seems right in line with Sony's plans to have 65nm Cell and RSX this year and 45nm Cell and RSX in 2009. Does anyone think we'll see 32nm versions in 2010 or 2011?
This is really good to read. I think that the fourth generation heat-sinks will be built to accommodate a 45nm Cell and 45nm RSX. So this all seems right in line with Sony's plans to have 65nm Cell and RSX this year and 45nm Cell and RSX in 2009. Does anyone think we'll see 32nm versions in 2010 or 2011?
I think 65/65 this summer and 45/45 next year will be pretty much the end of the reductions. With a 65/65 combo this summer they can come down in price to 299, and then 199 next year. And that will likely be the floor of the PS3 price for years.
That said, I am very glad to see a 65/65 and smaller heatsink combo, as that is what I want to upgrade my 60gb to. The only thing that worries me is the lack of heatpipes, which means they are relying on fans only, which may result in more noise. We will see.
