Cooling my PS5 in a cupboard

[olisteve]

Hi,

I recently bought a TV lowboard furniture where I was hoping to put my PS5 as to have a minimalist esthetic. Unfortunately, when playing for more than 30 mins, the PS5 will overheat as there was no air circulation inside the cupboard and it was getting really hot.

So I thought that I could buy a PC fan, make a hole on the side and stick the fan there to make the airflow and hopefully, the PS5 won't overheat anymore. So I bought 2 Masterfan MF120 Halo from Cooler Master (first image) with an adapter for USB which I plugged on my PS5 so that when I turn on the PS5, the fan will turn on. And it did, but the fan was not running at full speed.

 

I did not do another test to see if the PS5 will overheat or not, but I wished it could still run at full speed, so I bought what I thought was a fan controller to set the fan at max speed but all it did was control the RGB of the fan and not the speed. 

 

Is there a way for me to control (or just set it at max) the speed of the fan without plugging it to a motherboard? Like an adapter which I can plug to a USB port (like my PS5) so that when I turn on the PS5, it will turn on? I live in Europe if this affects the solution.

 

As seen on the 5th and 6th image, this is the setup I have now. With the limited information or experience you have, will this be enough? I always here about negative and positive pressure when building a PC, does this also apply here? I placed the fan in such a way that it takes the hot air from inside and sends it outside. Do I need to place another fan on the right to push in air? Although from the right is another space exactly like that one. Or maybe from the bottom? Any help will be appreciated. Thank in advance.

[BoomerDutch]

If i understand correctly that's what the  voltage it gives from usb. It needs more voltage in order to speed up fan.

 

So i think it's controlled by voltage.

I think you need mini controller or mini computer like raspberry pi for example.

 

 

The quick solution is keep lid bit open so it leaves hot air out for now.

[Needfuldoer]

A 12 volt fan is never going to run at full speed off a 5 volt USB port. The 5v rating on the fan's label is just for the RGB lights. 

 

If you give the fan just 12 volts and ground, with no tach/pwm signal, it should default to running at 100% speed.

 

Give it a try as-is anyway. So long as you have a second hole in the case to act as an intake, maybe the fan will change the air in the cabinet enough to keep the Playstation from overheating.

[jaslion]

Where is the air intake in the cabinet?

 

As for your issue. Usb is 5v max these fans need 12v to work at full speed (they are a decent bit loud these ml fans at 100% they are also kinda mediocre at best since they are all about looks not performance if you want something WAY better an arctic p12 is right there)

[olisteve]

6 hours ago, BoomerDutch said:

If i understand correctly that's what the  voltage it gives from usb. It needs more voltage in order to speed up fan.

 

So i think it's controlled by voltage.

I think you need mini controller or mini computer like raspberry pi for example.

 

 

The quick solution is keep lid bit open so it leaves hot air out for now.

Thanks for the input. What type of mini controller are we talking about? I tried some different searches on Amazon but could not find something I thought would work. With a raspberry, I believe it will start to be above what I am able to do, except it is just buying and plugging.

For the usb, is it the usb itself which is limited? Because I tried plugging it on my Samsung 15W (it does up to 15V) adapter but it was the same thing, not at max level. If I look for an adapter with usb-c, will that help?

[olisteve]

6 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

A 12 volt fan is never going to run at full speed off a 5 volt USB port. The 5v rating on the fan's label is just for the RGB lights. 

 

If you give the fan just 12 volts and ground, with no tach/pwm signal, it should default to running at 100% speed.

 

Give it a try as-is anyway. So long as you have a second hole in the case to act as an intake, maybe the fan will change the air in the cabinet enough to keep the Playstation from overheating.

What is the best way for me then to output 12 volt without having to put a computer inside that cupboard? If I find a USB-C adapter and a charger which does 12 volt, will that solve my issue? 

I also noticed that the fan has 4 pins while my adapter only has 2, could that be an issue too?

 

Then I will make another hole as an intake. Thanks for the advice.

[olisteve]

6 hours ago, jaslion said:

Where is the air intake in the cabinet?

 

As for your issue. Usb is 5v max these fans need 12v to work at full speed (they are a decent bit loud these ml fans at 100% they are also kinda mediocre at best since they are all about looks not performance if you want something WAY better an arctic p12 is right there)

I have not made a specific hole for that but there is a smaller hole on the opposite site which leads to the second compartment where I ran a powerstrip, but there is also no whole on the other side. you can see the smaller hole I am talking about here, but on the other side (right side there is no hole like the one I did for the fan on the left side.

 

I do not mind the noise as I am always having my headset, but I will give the arctic p12 a try. Thanks.

[RevGAM]

On 5/24/2024 at 11:31 AM, olisteve said:

I have not made a specific hole for that but there is a smaller hole on the opposite site which leads to the second compartment where I ran a powerstrip, but there is also no whole on the other side. you can see the smaller hole I am talking about here, but on the other side (right side there is no hole like the one I did for the fan on the left side.

 

I do not mind the noise as I am always having my headset, but I will give the arctic p12 a try. Thanks.

1. As previously stated, those fans aren't very good. If you aren't going to make an exhaust hole with a fan, too, then you need a high pressure fan like the Phanteks T30 or Super Flower Megacool, for example. You said you bought 2 of those CM fans, so you could certainly make another hole on the other side (near the top) or even the top to push air out.
2. No USB combo is going to work. The default connector's 2 power wires can be connected to a 12V DC power source in order to make it run at max RPM all of the time... not 5V or 15V!

[thrasher_565]

CRJ Full Speed 12V Voltage Step-Up USB to 3-Pin and 4-Pin PC Fan Sleeved Power Adapter Cable

 

DKARDU 5 pcs USB Fan Speed Controller DC 5V

 

 

Edited May 27 by thrasher_565

[olisteve]

Thanks everyone for the input. I would like to update my situation on case it might be of help.

 

I created another hole on the other end as an intake and placed the second fan there. I then bought this: Gebildet Full Speed 12V Voltage Step Up USB to 3 Pin and 4 Pin PC Fan Wrapped Switch Power Supply Adapter Cable (Pack of 2) : Amazon.de: Musical Instruments & DJ to make the fan run at max speeds which works pretty well.

 

I have also decided to later on buy either arctic p12 or a better fan later on, cause the ones I have, although they do their job, like some people mentioned here, they are quite loud.

 

Again thanks everyone for the support.

[RevGAM]

21 minutes ago, olisteve said:

Thanks everyone for the input. I would like to update my situation on case it might be of help.

 

I created another hole on the other end as an intake and placed the second fan there. I then bought this: Gebildet Full Speed 12V Voltage Step Up USB to 3 Pin and 4 Pin PC Fan Wrapped Switch Power Supply Adapter Cable (Pack of 2) : Amazon.de: Musical Instruments & DJ to make the fan run at max speeds which works pretty well.

 

I have also decided to later on buy either arctic p12 or a better fan later on, cause the ones I have, although they do their job, like some people mentioned here, they are quite loud.

 

Again thanks everyone for the support.

Photo please?

Performance wise, are the fans keeping your PS5 from baking?