The PS4 has landed, and it’s great — but what lurks beneath its slick, slanted frame? Fortunately, that’s not something you need to keep wondering, because iFixit has gone and torn the console down so we can all see the guts within.
In fact, iFixit is carrying out the teardown out live, overnight — that’s how excited they are about finding out what’s inside the box. So, we’ll update this until things are complete but, in the meantime, here are some highlights:
- The hard drive user-replaceable (it lurks beneath a simple plastic cover) and is just a standard 2.5-inch SATA drive. Upgrade away, so long as the new drive is no thicker than 9.5mm and no smaller than 160GB.
- On the downside, the PS4 will not support external USB storage.
- The thing is largely held together with Security Torx screws, so you better get some tools if you need to take the sucker apart.
- The power supply is rated at an AC Input of 100-240 volts: take it anywhere, it’s universal!
- iFixit found that a potential problems with the HDMI port, similar to that spotted by our bros at Kotaku, where a small metal obstruction in front of the port can stop video output if you’re not careful when you first plug in your cable.
- Weirdly, the PS4’s motherboard is installed upside-down (and is very big and very green).
- Its EMI shielding is tough to remove, but seems to work well as a cheese grater.
- It has a very big fan — though we already knew that. It’s designed to run smarter and quieter than the old PS3.
- Overall, it’s incredibly tidy on the inside.
[iFixit]