God of War is the Latest Game to Make the PS4 Pro Sound Like a Jet Engine: Here Are Some Possible Solutions

Conversation around the prospective PlayStation 5 and Xbox Whatever remains lukewarm at best. With the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X on our shelves, we seemingly don't feel a need to beg for more power. One thing might change that sooner than later, though: Both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro make a worrying amount of noise when they play resource-intensive games.

Resetera is hosting a growing thread wherein PS4 owners discuss the problem. User "hlhbk" started the thread when they noticed God of War is making their PS4 Pro's fan go crazy, even when the game is resting on the main menu.

"Did they [Sony] fix the fan noise in later released pros?" hlhbk asks. "If so I may see what I can get from gamestop for my pro and get a GOW pro system."

Other posters assure hlhbk their own PS4's and PS4 Pros are noisy pieces of hardware. Several games, not just God of War, make the systems' fans go orangutan. Some titles mentioned include Monster Hunter: Word, Horizon Zero Dawn, Nioh, Nier: Automata, and Ni No Kuni II. The issue seems to be most prevalent amongst games with unlocked frame rates.

Posters on Resetera and redditors on the PS4 subreddit trade tips and suggestions about what might be done about the PS4 and PS4 Pro's grumbly noises. The most obvious solution is to clean out your PS4's ventilation slots; if they're blocked, the system's fan needs to work much harder to cool off the PS4's innards.

But most of us know we should keep the PS4 clean and store it in an area where it has plenty of room to breathe. The PS4's issues seem to go deeper, straight down into its heat-sink (a doohickey that absorbs extra heat in consoles and computers). Six months ago, subredditor "Toottalay" shared a pic of their PS4's heat-sink, which they'd never opened or cleaned until that point. Unsurprisingly, the heat sink in the picture is extremely dusty—maybe dusty enough to keep it from dispersing heat as well as it should.

Toottalay undoubtedly cleaned the sink and has a happier PS4 for their actions, but even a clean heat-sink might not be enough to hush up a mouthy PS4 or PS4 Pro. Redditor "grapez619" responded to Toottalay's pic with "Yeah I cleaned all the dust out of mine and it still sounds like a jet engine. Has to be the damn thermal paste at this point."

Like heat-sinks, thermal paste works with other cooling components to disperse extra heat in consoles, computers, and gadgets. Some redditors on the PS4 reddit claim Sony didn't use a high-quality thermal paste with the PS4 and PS4 Pro. Others shrug and write off the PS4 as a loud piece of tech.

While there are some issues with the PlayStation 4 overheating, the problem is nothing like the Red Ring epidemic that eventually slew most of Microsoft's initial batch of Xbox 360's. Microsoft has seemingly learned a few things about keeping their systems cool: Aside from an early issue that made some systems' fans go a little crazy, the Xbox One and Xbox One X are quieter than kittens next to the PS4 and PS4 Pro. Speaking of kittens and the fur that sheds off them in waves, be especially vigilant about keeping your PS4 clean if you're in a house with pets. And, as much as it pains me to suggest, consider making sure your PS4 is cockroach-free, too.

Ugh. Shudder. Maybe it's not a bad idea to think ahead to the next generation of consoles after all. That's why we've collected all the news and rumors we know in our guide to the PlayStation 5.