Not everyone seems to like the PlayStation 5 design. It’s either too alien-looking, or too large for people (even though it’s the most popular gaming console in the world)… so engineer and YouTuber DIY Perks decided to scale it down. The PS5 Slim is one of his many strange DIY creations, but probably his most ambitious one yet. He pulls apart the console, strips it of its parts, and repurposes the deconstructed PS5 to make it about as thick as a DVD case. The end result measures less than 2 centimeters, making it the slimmest console ever made. Yes, it’s even slimmer than the Nintendo Switch, which measures over an inch, if you include the height of the analog joysticks.
The process isn’t as simple as you’d think. In fact, it isn’t simple at all, and Matt Perks (yes, Perks is actually his surname!) even recommends you don’t try this one at home. In the process of making this build, he even irreparably damaged one PS5 unit and had to ditch it for another console that was given to him by D-Brand. The entire process involved carving out a new thermal solution for the PS5 by creating a special water-cooled chamber for it, separating the power management system, and ditching the fan and heat sink on the original. A lot of cutting, gluing, welding, soldering, machining, and polishing later, Perks unveiled the new PS5 Slim. It’s MUCH thinner than the original (although its power brick is SIZEABLE), and here’s the best part – It’s more efficient than the original too, reading drastically lower temperatures on the components! This is a one-off build and you’ll probably never get your hands on it, although if anyone from Sony’s watching, here’s a marketing pitch for you – MAKE THE PS5 SLIMMER!
Designer: DIY Perks
This rebuild has to be one of Matt’s most impressive ones so far, because it wasn’t as simple as rearranging components. Matt literally had to redesign the entire console’s architecture from scratch. The result is beyond impressive, as you see both consoles side by side (below).
The PS5 Slim, as Matt calls it, clocks in at under 2 centimeters, or about 3/4th of an inch. It uses copper not just for its interiors but also the outside, resulting in better thermals while maintaining that low thickness – something that wouldn’t be possible with plastic.
The project started with ripping a PlayStation 5 apart to take out its motherboard (below).
The motherboard, with its power management and heat sinks clocked in at just under 6 centimeters, which just wouldn’t do for what Matt was trying to achieve. He stripped away everything except the motherboard, which he then proceeded to construct his version around.
To make his build slim meant revisiting how the PS5 cooled. Water cooling seemed like the most efficient alternative, and it started with creating a special copper brick that would pull heat away from the SoC.
Above, Matt shows off his water-cooling chamber, which will be attached to the motherboard. The hollow channels will help direct water to all the right places, allowing it to keep the PS5 Slim cool.
Managing the water and the power unfortunately meant the PS5 Slim would need a massive brick at the other end. Luckily this could be hidden away near the power source, so the overall PS5 still retained its incredibly slim avatar.
The result even saw a performance boost, singe the PS5 Slim registered much lower temperatures while operating under the same conditions. An estimated reduction in 20°C meant the PS5 Slim could push peak performance without the dangers of overheating!
