Last weekend saw the release of the PlayStation 4 here in the UK and to celebrate the overwhelming success of Sony’s latest console I thought it would be fitting to take a closer look at what exactly is inside the UK’s fastest selling console.
The following images come courtesy of renowned repair guide website iFixit who took it upon themselves to tear down the PlayStation 4 to see how easy it is to repair and see how exactly Sony have put together the console.
So what exactly is inside the PlayStation 4? Well the first thing iFixit noticed was how simple it was to remove the 500GB 2.5-inch 5400 RPM SATA II hard drive making replacing and even upgrading your PlayStation 4 hard drive a really easy task. All you need is a Philips head screwdriver and a new laptop sized hard drive.
Getting deeper into the PlayStation 4 offers some difficulty however as Sony has opted for Torx Security Screws which need a bit of specialist kit to get open. Of course it goes without saying that diving this far inside your PlayStation 4 does void the manufacturer warranty meaning that if you mess up, you won’t be able to get it repaired.
After finally getting into the console iFixit found that Sony had packed the PSU inside the console instead of opting for an external power brick like the Xbox 360 and Xbox One which in turn has required Sony to also pack in some serious cooling power. Located adjacent to the PSU is a huge heat sink and centrifugal fan which should hopefully stop any yellow lights of death, or in the PlayStation 4’s case; blinking blue light of death.
Finally with the Blu Ray optical drive removed as well as a few more security screws and panels iFitit reveal the central nervous system of the PlayStation 4, the Motherboard.
After each teardown iFixit assign devices with a score out of 10 for repairability. You’ll be pleased to know that the PlayStation 4 received an 8 out of 10 and is praised on it’s lack of glued down components and how easy it is to replace the hard drive.