The PlayStation 5 is a powerful gaming console, but it’s also a powerful heat generator. Persistent overheating can shorten your console’s life, make it slower, and interrupt your gaming experience. This means that your console requires as much air as it can get for the sake of proper ventilation.
You can keep your PS5 in a cabinet while you use it, but it’s in danger of overheating if you don’t vent it properly. If you’re going to put it in a cabinet, store your PS5 vertically so the cooling fans will be more effective. You can add an extra cooler if you have issues.
Your PlayStation 5 gaming experience depends on how well you take care of it. Keeping it at a stable temperature is the key to keeping it in good condition, functioning today and with a lot of value for resale later. But the aesthetic situation with the PS5 being what it is, wanting to put it in a cabinet does make a lot of sense.
Is it Safe to Play a PS5 If It’s In the Cabinet?
PlayStations heat up naturally when they’re being played, and it’s not just a gentle simmer. There’s actually an entire cottage industry of cheap third-party PS5 cooling fans one example (on Amazon) to address the extreme amount of heat a PS5 can put off when using all that graphical power.
Of course, they’re more prone to overheating if they’re in a cabinet where all that hot air will build up over time. Playing a PlayStation 5 while it’s in the cabinet isn’t recommended, but it’s also not entirely unsafe to do so. You just need to do know how to maintain it and prevent overheating.
PlayStation consoles require adequate ventilation to keep functioning. Heat build-up due to constant play in a cabinet can cause overheating, resulting in slowing down of the device and even loss of your game saves or interruption of multiplayer matches. This is one of the reasons we recommend against putting it on carpet, or directly on the floor (if you can avoid it). We think putting it on its’ side, while not bad, is still going to lead to more dust over time (but you can do it.)
If the problem persists, it can even lead to permanent damage of the console’s internal components. This is why we recommend wall-mounting PS5’s in our ultimate PS5 owners guide and if you need some notes on how to think through that, we also have a detailed guide on wall-mounting your PS5.
If you are playing PlayStation 5 while it is in a cabinet, make sure that the air vents are not clogged. Build up of dust, lint, fur, and debris can clog the air vents, blocking free flow of air. Consider if you have other ways to keep your console out of site, like putting it behind your TV. You probably don’t have space to place it vertically in a cabinet, but if you do, skip the horizontal setup.
Will Your PS5 Have Proper Airflow in a Cabinet?
By the virtue of the fact that cabinets are closed spaces, your PlayStation 5 will not have proper airflow in a cabinet. PlayStation consoles are meant to be kept in open spaces with lots of good air flow and ventilation.
If they are kept in a cabinet, they won’t have proper ventilation, which can result in overheating.
PlayStation 5s work hard to ensure you get the best gaming experience, generating massive amounts of heat in the process. This is especially true for games that are heavy on graphics as they demand a lot more energy and generate greater amounts of heat.
Hence, constant airflow is required to regulate the console’s temperature. You can ensure proper ventilation by opening the cabinet door and letting the air flow every once in a while.
Having to regularly open the cabinet to let your PlayStation 5 breathe can be quite annoying, but the only alternative is to store your PS5 somewhere else. It’ll save you trouble not only in the short run but also in the long run, ensuring your PlayStation 5’s life isn’t shortened by overheating.
How to Prevent a PS5 From Overheating in a Cabinet
Playing PlayStation 5 while it’s stored in a cabinet can cause overheating. However, if you take precautions, you can protect your console from much of the damage. Here are some steps you can take to prevent overheating and damage:
- Keep your PlayStation 5 console in a standing, vertical position. An upright position will optimize the performance of the air vents. This will prevent your PlayStation from heating up too quickly. If you store the console horizontally, the exhaust won’t be able to function correctly, which results in frequent overheating.
- Make sure your cabinet is not too cramped. While keeping a PlayStation 5 in a cabinet isn’t ideal in the first place, it would be a lot worse if the console was squished between multiple objects. Keep it on a separate shelf with enough space on all sides so that your console has enough room to breathe.
- Keep your PlayStation 5 in low-power mode whenever possible. Low-power mode is a feature created by Microsoft to prevent excessive use of energy. As opposed to the default power mode, your console will completely shut down when you turn it off in low-power mode. This is good for your console’s overall health, as it will get a break from all the high-energy gaming operations.
- Regularly clean the air vents to prevent the build-up of dust and debris. It’s important to keep air vents free from blockage to allow free airflow. If you let the dust particles build-up, the ventilation ports will clog. The best way to prevent this is to get a feather duster and use it daily to clean your console and prevent any dust and debris from building up.
While keeping PlayStation 5 in a cabinet is not recommended, with some thoughtful maintenance, you can keep your console safe and sound.
Do You Need a Cooling Fan if You’re Storing a PS5 in the Cabinet?
A cooling fan is not required for your PS5 to keep running in general, but if you are keeping it in a closed cabinet, then getting a cooling fan is a good idea. The PlayStation 5 is a lot more powerful than its predecessors, which means it generates more heat and needs to cool off more regularly.
While the air vents, if maintained properly, are enough to stabilize the console’s temperature, you might want to use a cooling fan as an additional precaution against overheating especially if your console is placed in a cabinet.
The type of fan you need depends on a number of factors such as your budget, preferred design, strength of cooling, and the level of noise you are comfortable with.
For standard use with PlayStation 5, we recommend the FASTSNAIL Cooling Fan (on Amazon) as it combines the best of all features and provides good value for money. The FASTSNAIL Cooling Fan has an intuitive yet an aesthetically pleasing design.
It is compact and sleek, which means you can easily store it with your console in a cabinet. It is also very easy to use. All you need to do is to install it at the back of your console, connect it to one of the USB ports, and turn it on to get it working.
The FASTSNAIL Cooling Fan is available for both PlayStation 5 digital and disc versions, making it versatile and easy to access. Again, you might not desperately need a cooling fan for your console, but a PS5 in the cabinet can definitely make some use of it.