PlayStation 4 Teardown
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PlayStation 4 Teardown
- Comments:156
- Favorites:397
- Views:1.3m
Teardown
Introduction
After seven long years, the Sony PlayStation finally gets a 4 on the box. Join iFixit as we tear it open and see what changed—and if it was worth the wait. We flew out to meet our partners-in-awesome,Chipworks, andsnagged one of the first North American consoles for a tag-team teardown.
Keep on the up-and-up with the latest repair and teardown news viaInstagram,Facebook, andTwitter.
What you need
Video Overview
This teardown isnot a repair guide. To repair your PlayStation 4, use ourservice manual.
No, but really, we're tearing down the PlayStation 4. Bits we expect to find include:
8-core AMD “Jaguar” x86-64 CPU
1.84 TFLOPS, AMD Radeon Graphics Core Next Engine GPU
8 GB GDDR5 RAM
500 GB removable and upgradable hard drive storage
802.11 b/g/n Wireless and Bluetooth 2.1
USB 3.0 + Ethernet 10/100/1000
1.21 Gigawatt Flux Capacitor (okay, this one is more along the lines of a request than an actual expectation)
What kind of hardware has a 7-year gestation? We can hardly open the box fast enough. The first peek reveals:
Another box. Moving on.
PS4 console (if this is missing from your box, please contact your Sony Computer Entertainment representative)
DualShock 4 controller
Power cable
HDMI cable
Micro-USB cable
Mono headset with mic, switch, and shirt clip
Here at iFixit, we're stalwart opponents of theblack box mentality. What goes on inside consumer electronics should not be an incomprehensible (nor non-repairable) mystery.
That being said, we must concede that the PS4 is one darn good looking black box.
Seven years of design innovation bring the PS4 a distinctly more geometric body, an indicator light bar, and more subtle logo labeling than last time round.
We also find:
Slot-loading Blu-ray/DVD disc drive
Two powered USB 3.0 ports
Some fine print touting the PlayStation's pals—HDMI, DTS, Dolby, and Blu-ray.
Reports have been trickling in around the internet about some PlayStation 4s malfunctioning.
One such hardware problem, as noted byKotaku, prevents the PS4 from outputting a video signal to the display.
According to Kotaku, it seems a "piece of metal in the system's HDMI port was supposed to have been flush with the bottom of the port but instead had been bent upward, obstructing some of the pins in the port."
This "obstructing piece of metal…had actually knocked some of the 'teeth' out of the HDMI wire—the one bundled with that PS4."
TL;DR—If your PS4 is having issues outputting video, make sure the HDMI port isn't bent or damaged.
We're happy to see Sony givepower to the people with the PS4's hard drive: it's user-replaceable.
We'll have a detailed guide shortly for those intrepid gamers who fancy a bigger drive or a zippy SSD—but for now, rest easy knowing all that stands between you and hard drivenirvana is a plastic cover and some screws.
Out comes the 5400 RPM, 500 GB, SATA II mechanical hard drive, provided by HGST (a Western Digital subsidiary).
With just a single screw securing the caddy, replacing this drive is easy-peasy.
Not only is this hard drive user-replaceable, but it's a standard 2.5" (a.k.a. laptop-sized) SATA drive, meaning you can replace or upgrade your storage with any off-the-shelf drive you like, so long as it meets thesestandards: no thicker than 9.5 mm, and no smaller than 160 GB.Users rejoice!
But this is a bittersweet expansion win; the PS4 will not support external USB storage, drastically limiting the console's usefulness as a media center.
Digging deeper demands we dispose of some dastardly stickers. Paying no mind to their menacing anti-repair messages, we quickly discard them with the help of ourtrusty tweezers…
…only to be confronted with some mildly devious Security Torx screws.
Lucky for us, specialty screws ain't no thang, as we bust out our Pro Tech Screwdriver Set.
While we're happy this isn't a stick-up (of the adhesive type), this mischief won't go unnoticed when it comes time to assign a repairability score.
We interrupt this teardown to bring you a special news bulletin:
The dreaded anti-repair Empire has issued some propaganda against your rights to disassemble, modify, hack, improve, individualize, and do-whatever-the-bleep-you-want-because-it's-your-device.
It's a trap! This propaganda claims to be green, but we have doubts about just howrecyclable this device is.
We want you—to rise up and revolt! Repair is the future. It is your right. Raise yourmanifesto high, and join theRepair Allliance!
And now back to your regularly scheduled program…
Happily ignoring our user manual's edict, we move right along…
…and remove the four T9 Security Torx screws, allowing us to pop the hood on the fourth generation model of the Sony PlayStation. Our eyes widen as we wait for a first look at what makes this beauty purr.
And yet, we're seeing nothing but tightly packed feelings of nostalgia. Just look how things havechanged.
In Sony's self-madePlayStation 4 teardown, Director of Engineering Yasuhiro Ootori gave us a look at the custom-designed, 85 mm diameter, centrifugal fan:
"The volume of air and the generated pressure, as well as the direction of airflow, are all part of the exclusive PS4 design."
In this exclusive video, our Chief Information Architect,Miroslav Djuric, presents his own take on this marvel of engineering.
Brackets and donuts dispatched, we turn our attention to freeing the power supply.
No brick to trip over on your power cable— this power supply isstill nestled right inside the case.
The power supply is rated at an AC Input of 100-240 volts. This means you can take your game around the world with your trusty PS4 always at your side; just remember to bring your power socket adapters.
You haven't escaped this teardown, yet, power supply. Time to divulge your juicy secrets.
Ridding the power supply of its housing reveals just what we expected: big capacitors, none of which gave the flux we were looking for.
It looks like this power supply is only moving forward in time.(sigh)
Now that the power supply has been removed, you can finallyclean your fan.
Having an internal power supply means that the PS4 will need to keep its cool—making fan cleaning important maintenance.
The Blu-ray/DVD drive is our next target, held in place by a couple screws.
Unfortunately, the PS4 isNOT backward-compatible with PS3, PS2 or PS1 games. This drivemay spin your old discs, but it won't play them.
Oddly enough, it won't play music CDs, either, although this appears to be a mere software limitation thatSony plans to fix in a later update.
But who needs an optical drive at all anymore, now that we've harnessed thepower of the cloud?
That being the case, Sony plans to launch a game-streaming service in 2014 powered byGaikai tech, which will let you play PS3 games on a PS4. All the processing will be done ‘in the cloud’ by Sony’s servers, with just the video transmitted to your actual console.
That's all well and good, but let's get down to what we really care about: Can we playCrash Bandicoot?
In a race for the motherboard, we tear through a few screws securing the PS4's body.
We're peeling off panels like we're remodeling a vintage 1960s den.
We're so close; we can almost taste the chips (secretly, we're hoping they'reFully Loaded Baked Potato flavor).
Soon, motherboard,soon.
At long last, we get to crack open thatglorious briefcase of brainpower and withdraw our treasure.
Unlike the motherboards we see in ever-slimming handheld devices, the PS4's motherboard flaunts uncluttered, rolling, green plains of fiberglass.
Fields of fresh ICs ripe for the picking!
SCEI (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.) CXD90026G SoC (includes AMD "Jaguar" Cores and AMD Radeon GPU)
SamsungK4G41325FC-HC03 4 Gb (512 MB) GDDR5 RAM (total of 8 x 512 MB = 4 GB)
SCEI CXD90025G Secondary/Low Power Processor for Network Tasks
SamsungK4B2G1646E-BCK0 2Gb DDR3 SDRAM
MacronixMX25L25635FMI 256Mb Serial Flash Memory
Marvell88EC060-NN82 Ethernet Controller
SCEI 1327KM44S
They say the ICs are always greener on the other side...
Genesys LogicGL3520 USB 3.0 Hub Controller
SamsungK4G41325FC-HC03 4 Gb (512 MB) GDDR5 RAM (total of 8 x 512 MB = 4 GB)
International Rectifier 35858 N326P IC2X
Macronix25L1006E CMOS Serial Flash Memory
39A207 1328 E1 3FU
What's that behind door number one, you ask?
PanasonicMN86471A HDMI Communication LSI
And door number two?
Marvell WirelessAvastar 88W8797 7 Integrated 2x2 WLAN/Bluetooth/FM Single-Chip SoC
Skyworks 2614B 315BB
These images are courtesy of Chipworks. Thanks guys!
The case is starting to look sparse as we evacuate the EMI shielding.
Determined to stay connected, the heat sink clung to the EMI shielding for dear life. It would not come apart.
Believe us. We tried. It fought back.
Band-aids don't make for the prettiest of teardown photos, but we wear our repair scars with pride!
Our honorable teardown martyr commented, "This EMI shield is great, as in cheese grater."
At long last, the PS4's biggest fan!
Okay, yes, that was a bad pun. But it is a pretty great fan. Look at those curves.
Beauty is one thing, but this fan's also got function: it's designed to runsmarter and quieter than the old PS3's wheezy windmill, spooling up and down gradually to keep the decibel count low.
Every self-respecting new device needs its own scandalgate. So as we near the end of our PS4 disassembly, we'll take a moment to share our own confirmation ofwobblegate.
The confirmation: Yes, it wobbles if you push on it.
The solution: Don't push on it.
- No adhesive makes disassembly and reassembly easy.
- The non-proprietary hard drive is easy to access and replace, and replacing it will not void your warranty.
- Security screws and tamper-evident seals discourage users from disassembling and repairing their PS4.
- You'll need to disassemble quite a bit of the device to access the fan for cleaning, and even more for replacement.
- The sharp mid-plane could cause some damage to your fingers if you're not careful during disassembly.
Final Thoughts
Repairability Score
(10 is easiest to repair)
73 Guide Comments
extra 256mB DDR3 chip eh? strange design. sat normally everything is upside down in the case.. and the way it sucks air through the power supply, then through the heatsink and up into the case.. guess the hot air blows out of the front? or is there something on the other side of the bottom cover to guide it towards the back? also saw that replaceable cr2032 battery... that will be dead in 4 years and I don't think anyone's gonna be replacing it.. wonder why they didn't stick in a rechargeable one like the dreamcast. or make it a user changeable one like the wii/wii u
Traditionally, blower fans blow air out of a system (hence the name). So no, it isn't drawing air in through the PSU, that wouldn't make much sense.
Also, I've seen plenty of 10+ year old systems with BIOS batteries that are still fine, so I've no idea where you've got that 4 year life from.
Figuring out the airflow of the PS4 is like doing origami. The air comes in from the top of the back and goes out the bottom of the back. There is a aluminum-mobo-aluminum sandwich about a half inch thick in between.
The air come in through the top slots, over and through the bottom of the sandwich as the mobo is upside down. The air cools the sheet, cools the memory chips by little dimples on the sheet and then is sucked through the sandwich by many small holes in the sheet metal and then through the mobo- yes, there are airholes strategically placed on the the mobo! Look by the battery for most of them that are directly over the fan intake.
Now the air comes to the fan intake via those small holes and a couple of vents over the hard drive. The cutouts over the fan intake are particularly strange, square holes, small round holes, L shaped holes. From there it is out the fan across the top sheet, then the CPU/GPU heatsink, again with memory dimples, and out through the hot parts of the power supply.
You may be right John - from the blower design I'd assumed there were vents on the bottom, but there don't appear to be, at least from the unboxing videos I've seen. Having the intake and exhaust right next to each other is traditionally a no-no for cooling, off the top of my head I can't think of any other piece of consumer electronics that does it like this.
the dreamcast DID have a cr2032, in both the console AND the VMU's
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