My PS5 is about 2 years old now and I've noticed the fan ramping up way more than it used to, even during lighter games like Astro's Playroom. I keep the console in a well-ventilated area and dust it regularly. Should I be worried about it overheating, or is this just typical wear?
Cleaning the heatsink and fan assembly inside the console usually fixes this - dust buildup is the most common culprit even if you're dusting the exterior regularly, and after 2 years it's pretty much guaranteed to have accumulated inside. You can either do it yourself with a can of compressed air (look up a teardown guide for your region's model) or send it to Sony for professional cleaning, though that costs more. If the noise persists after cleaning, the thermal paste between the chip and heatsink might have degraded, which is also fixable but requires more involved disassembly. It's not an overheating emergency - the console will throttle itself if temps get dangerous - but the louder fan is definitely a sign something needs attention.
The thermal paste between the APU and heatsink dries out after a couple years, which tanks cooling efficiency way more than exterior dust does - that's probably your culprit here rather than just needing a quick wipe down. If you're comfortable opening the console, replacing the paste (Arctic MX-6 or similar) is pretty straightforward and should get you back to normal fan speeds.
It's not always just wear and tear though - sometimes it's a combo of things. I had something similar happen where my console got louder over time, and when I finally cracked it open, the fan blades were genuinely caked with dust that the exterior cleaning never reached, plus the paste situation was definitely contributing. Both the folks above have solid points, but I'd say start with the easier fix first: open it up and give the fan and heatsink assembly a proper clean with compressed air, then see if that alone makes a difference before you commit to repasting (which is doable but more involved). If it's still roaring after that, yeah, thermal paste degradation is pretty likely at the 2-year mark and might be worth tackling.
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