Sony's new version of the PS5, which comes with a new screw for its stand and weighs about two-thirds of a pound lighter, isn't actually worse than its launch version, according to extensive testing done by Digital Foundry and Gamer's Nexus. That's in spite of claims from YouTuber Austin Evans, who showed that the weight shed off in the new PS5 model came almost entirely from the console's cooling element.
Naturally, the result of reducing the overall size of a console's cooling element will cause it to run a bit hotter, and for what it's worth, the new version of the PS5 does, albeit just slightly. The difference, which amounts to a couple of degrees Celsius, is the same that a PC enthusiast would see switching from one CPU cooler to another. In the tech world, this kind of change in temperature for consumer electronics is called negligible.
That being said, Stephen Burke of Gamers Nexus emphasized that people should be performing regular maintenance on their PS5, regardless of what model they have. "Our recommendation to you all would be… make sure it's maintained. Don't let dust build up, it's really easy to pop those panels off, anyone can do it," Burke said. Naturally, that goes double for anyone keeping their PS5 in a media cabinet, where air circulation is extremely limited and temperatures can actually get to a point where they impact a console's lifespan.
Outside of thermals, the new PS5 model also runs games the exact same way the launch model does, as shown by testing from Digital Foundry. If you have the opportunity to get a PS5, don't worry about whether or not it's the new model. Either way, you'd be lucky to get your hands on one, seeing as how shortages of the console show no signs of stopping.