Question as i truly dont know:
With the SSD being soldered on, what happens when it reaches its read/write limit...will you be able to install and run the OS from a secondary SSD?
Or do SSD not suffer from the read/write limits of the past?
From an PCIe-SSD-Review of a last-gen model from Samsung:
The 500GB and 1TB models can handle up to 300TB and 600TB (TBW) and this amounts to 164GB daily read/write for the 500GB model and 328GB for the 1TB model for 5 years.
I imagine Sony shooting for a similar, if not better endurance. The SSD should last fine, really. I have no worries about that.
What I am more curious about is the TIM they use. In PC building liquid metal has a great reputation but iirc it tends to loose optimal contact over time and needs to be replaced/refreshed after about one or two years of use. But I am sure the designers thought of that and have prepared the contact planes accordingly -in PC hardware the manufacturers of coolers and cpus really to not expect you to use liquid metal,. But yeah... curious!
I am loving that massive heatsing as well as the huge fan. Compared to the PS4-cooler-design (a smaller, less fat fan blowing on a simple heatsink) this is a massive upgrade, even if PS5 should draw more power. IIRC the PS4 had a powe supply rated for 240 Watts and consumed around 150. PS5 has a PSU rated for 350W and might draw 250W - as much as a high-end-GPU in the PC space. With that massive heatsink and a clever aifflow-concept, it could really end up quite quiet.
I am also happy to see those dust-catching holes for easy home maitenence. Has any (actively) cooled console ever provided a convenient way of removing dust from the inside? I like it. But removing those side panels ... it looks a bit stressful. I am sure I will break some of those studs eventually.