How it’s done
If you break it down, will it still play?
Playstation 5
We finally put down our PS5 long enough to do a proper teardown. We really want this thing to work again when we’re done. We’re not going to hold back, though. Here we go.
MAJOR TECH SPECS
• AMD custom 8-core / 16-thread 3.5GHz Zen 2 CPU
• AMD custom RDNA 2 GPU (2,230 MHz with 36 compute units)
• 6GB RAM, 128GB storage (256 and 512GB configs available)
• 16GB GDDR6 RAM
• 825GB of SSD storage (plus an M.2 SSD expansion slot)
• HDMI 2.1 connectivity, support for 8K video at 60Hz, or 4K at 120Hz
KEY FINDINGS
• The last fully fledged, wholenumber PlayStation launch was back in 2013, so we’re pretty excited. You may have heard that the PS5 is big. This thing towers over its predecessor – not to mention its competition. Around the back, the PS5 shows off its ports: two USB-A 3.0, LAN, HDMI 2.1, and two-pin power. Add those to the duo of USB ports on the front (one Type A, one Type C), and you’ve got a reasonably well-connected console.
• The opening procedure is actually quite human-friendly.
Both white panels pop off with a gentle lift-and-slide motion – allowing immediate access to the M.2 SSD expansion slot, the fan, and… vacuumable dust ports. When it comes to easy maintenance of your console’s cooling hardware, we’re big fans. But to go any farther, we need a T8 Torx Security driver (why does your PS5’s fan need security screws?). The M.2 storage expansion bay is very accessible. Remove one Phillips screw and a metal shield, and you’re ready for upgrades. That’s thoughtful, since the built-in storage is worryingly limited.
• As we remove the first half of the black plastic shell, we’re greeted by the optical drive. The slender optical drive doesn’t put up much of a fight coming out – which would be good for potential replacements, until you actually try a replacement. Underneath there’s a heat pipe for cooling a row of VRMs, connected to a baby fin stack. Looks like we’re seeing the back of the main board – all the serious cooling hardware is mounted down below. We may be approaching a point of no return, but let’s un-mount the hardware and flip the board out.
• Here’s a look at the silicon that powers the PS5: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc./AMD
Did somebody tell Sony that we love screws? Because this steel plate is secured with a ton of screws. Um, thanks!
CXD90060GG 8-Core CPU w/ GPU, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. CXD90062GG SSD Controller, SK Hynix H5AN4G8NBJR-UHC DDR4 SDRAM Memory – 512 MB, 6x (three per side) Kioxia/Toshiba Memory TH58LJT0T24BA4M BiCS flash memory (likely) and Micron MT61K512M32KPA-14:B 2 GB GDDR6 SGRAM.
• Underneath metal shield number two is a massive heatsink and the power supply. Since heat rises, it makes sense that this heatsink is designed to move heat upward through all those heat pipes. All the while, the heat radiating through the silver fin stacks is blown away by the fan.
• PlayStation 5 Repairability Score: 7 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).
Outer covers can be replaced without tools. Many components are modular, and disassembly is straightforward. Vacuumable dust ports makes de-dusting easier. The main storage is integrated to the motherboard, but expansion should be easy (once enabled by Sony) with off-the-shelf M.2 SSDs. The optical drive is a cinch to replace, but cannot be easily swapped.