The first PlayStation 5 teardown reveals some hardware secrets

[Karlston]

The first PlayStation 5 teardown reveals some hardware secrets

Easy-to-remove outer panels hide "dust catcher" holes and more.

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We're still a bit over a month away from the official launch of the PlayStation 5, but we've already got the first public teardown of the console hardware courtesy of Sony itself.

 

The Japanese video (with English subtitles) Sony posted Wednesday morning answers quite a few nagging questions left from previous announcements and recent hands-on time from some Japanese press.

 

Chief among them is a demonstration of how the system's circular black stand works. When the PS5 is placed vertically, the stand is held in place with a single large screw. When that screw is removed, it can be stored in a compartment in the base, and a small cap fills in the screw hole in the system itself.

 

PS5 owners will use the same base when placing the PS5 horizontally, seemingly to give a flat surface for the system's gentle curves to rest on. In this configuration, though, the base simply snaps into place along a set of marks on one of those white panels, no screw required.

 

Speaking of those white panels, the teardown video shows that they can be popped off easily without tools. Just "lift the back corner and slide it off," as the video explains it. With the white panels off, users get easy access to the outside of the system's cooling fan, which draws in air from both sides of the system through two long side vents on the front and a rear vent that runs the entire length of the system.

 

The inner shell also features two "dust catcher" holes that can be easily vacuumed out, according to Sony. That should be welcome news for PS4 owners who have gotten used to tearing open the system and blasting it with canned air to remove system-clogging dust.

 

Listing image by Sony / Youtube

 

 

Removing the outer panels also gives access to the system's PCIe storage expansion slot. You'll need a screwdriver to remove the small panel that protects this slot, but otherwise it seems relatively easy to access, especially compared to the internal storage on previous PlayStation consoles. The system's 825GB of built-in high-speed storage is contained on a separate custom-controlled chip directly on the motherboard, though.

 

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Because the system CPU runs at a "very high clock speed," Sony says a new liquid metal thermal conductor was needed to "ensure long-term stable high-cooling performance." Along those same lines, the system's massive heat sink uses a heat pipe which Sony says has a "shape and airflow [which] make it possible to achieve the same performance as a vapor chamber." That's talking point is likely a direct reference to the Xbox Series X, which uses an actual vapor chamber for its cooling system.

 

A few other interesting tidbits revealed in the teardown:

• The system sports four USB ports, one of which is a Type-C connection and the rest the older, rectangular Type-A standard. Of the Type A ports, the two on the rear provide USB 3.1 "SuperSpeed" 10Gbps connections, while the one on the front is a USB 2.0 "Hi-Speed" connection of just 480Mbps.
• The system's Ultra HD Blu-ray drive is self-contained unit that looks to be easily removable and replaceable, with "two layers of insulation to reduce drive noise when the discs spin," Sony says.
• Sony says the increased size of the PS5 over the PS4 allows for "a dramatic improvement in terms of processing power and quietness."
• The PS5 power supply draws 350W of power.
• The PS5 makes use of Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 for its wireless connections.

 

 

 

The first PlayStation 5 teardown reveals some hardware secrets

 

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