Wednesday, October 7th 2020

Sony Shows Off PlayStation 5 Internals in the Latest Teardown Video

Sony has decided to post a teardown video of its latest, upcoming PlayStation 5 console. The video shows how to disassemble the console and what is inside it. The new console features a different design from the previous generation, and thus a different internal layout. What is perhaps the most exciting thing shown in the video is the new cooling solution Sony implements. The new design uses some pretty interesting solutions that combine good airflow generated by 120 mm wide, 45 mm thick blower fan cooling the vapor chamber heatsink. Under the heatsink, the silicon company has made is running at high clocks and is said to generate a lot of heat, so to manage it, the console uses liquid metal thermal interface material (TIM) instead of regular thermal paste for heat transfer. Combined with good airflow and good heatsink, heat management shouldn't be a problem on this console.
You can check out the teardown video below:
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74 Comments on Sony Shows Off PlayStation 5 Internals in the Latest Teardown Video

#26
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
TheLostSwedeTheir custom SSD is using Toshiba/Kioxia NAND flash, with what appears to be a DRAM buffer from Samsung.
The GDDR6 seems to be from Samsung.
It looks like it only has an eight phase VRM design, which seems a bit anemic for the CPU+GPU.
The M.2 slot is nice, but I don't understand the logic behind support for 30, 42 and even 60mm cards. I guess 110mm support might be useful if you want to install a server grade SSD.
Massive heatsink and a long heatpipe that runs the length and breadth of the top EMI shielding.
Tiny air intakes and the "dust traps" are really weird.
The PCB seems to use a couple of metal blades to connect to the PSU.
The placement of the CR2032 battery is going to make it impossible to replace, piss poor engineering, much like our Japanese rice cooker that no longer displays the time when unplugged.
I count seven heatpipes, there might be more in that heatsink. It's simply gianourmous.
I guess we'll be seeing third party side plates for it in no time at all.
Very old fashioned Ethernet PCB design, no-one really uses external magnetics these days, it's built into the port.
Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module seems to be USB or SDIO based.
There also seem to be some kind of a "chipset" on the board.
Fan grills seem cheaply made and like they block a lot of air unnecessarily.
The stand is overly complex.
Depends on what the VRMs are rated for.
Posted on Reply
#27
windwhirl
mtcn77I just watch it for his clocksmith charisma.
I just wasn't aware that Sony did these teardowns. But yeah, the guy definitely gives that "clocksmith vibe"
TheLostSwedeIt's not about feeling the need, it's about it being impossible to replace when the time comes. Obviously some people will replace their old console at some point and forget about it, but a lot of people seem to collect these things. My older cousin has all of his Sony consoles tucked away and a silly thing like this, means you will have issues in the future. Yes, there are rechargeable batteries in the CR2032 form factor, but they're expensive in comparison and I have never seen them used in any commercial consumer devices. Note that the rechargeable ones have about a third or a quarter of the capacity though, so they're not always a great replacement.
Ah, I see your point for long-term keeping now.
silentbogoThat's their "custom" NVME controller. Not sure whether it's so big because it's "custom", or because they rebadged one of the older enterprise NVME controllers.
No, we know which one is that. The one TheLostSwede and I were talking about is the other one (I think, neither of us mentioned which one was we were talking about :laugh: )

I think that's a secondary processor because the PS4 had one for handling some background stuff, and that chip has another one nearby that looks a bit like a Serial Flash memory, normally used for firmware. The PS4 also had the firmware chip close to the ARM processor.
Darmok N JaladWhy would a fan failure result in a burned up console? I suspect it will just throttle to poor performance until you figure out the fan failed.
I imagine the console will come with their own variant of BSoD or at least some sort of helpful message saying that you need to send the device to a Sony authorized repair shop or something.
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#28
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
Durvelle27You missed the part where it has to be certified by playstation to work.

Plus if you actually looks at retailers a good PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe at 1TB cost around $200 USD. The Xbox 1TB Expansion is $219 which is close in price. Plus Microsoft already stated that there will be more available options after launch beside seagate.
Xbox still uses a proprietary design. It doesnt really matter if there will be more options available. They will still be the same damn thing.

And the playstation certified requirement for PS5 may not matter either. I suspect people will try other SSDs that haven't been given Sony's grace and they will work.
Posted on Reply
#29
Durvelle27
MxPhenom 216Xbox still uses a proprietary design. It doesnt really matter if there will be more options available. They will still be the same damn thing.

And the playstation certified requirement for PS5 may not matter either. I suspect people will try other SSDs that haven't been given Sony's grace and they will work.
100% Sure it won't work. It was stated by playstation that the architecture will detect the drive and if it doesn't meet the requirements it will not

Also still doesn't change the fact that Nvme 4.0 drives aren't cheap

Proprietary or not Xbox solution is plug and play, hot swappable, and user friendly
Posted on Reply
#30
Rean
Durvelle27100% Sure it won't work. It was stated by playstation that the architecture will detect the drive and if it doesn't meet the requirements it will not

Also still doesn't change the fact that Nvme 4.0 drives aren't cheap

Proprietary or not Xbox solution is plug and play, hot swappable, and user friendly
Requirements as "does this device run at the speeds our games will need or not?", they're not gonna detect some drive signature as that would be too restrictive.

Right now the prices are similar, but M.2s will go down in price over time as the market options proliferate (because of higher scale of demand given that m.2 is a shared form factors amongst billions of computers worldwide), I don't foresee this happening with a closed standard that Microsoft alone controls and licenses with a very limited use case.
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#31
windwhirl
Reanthey're not gonna detect some drive signature as that would be too restrictive.
Didn't stop Apple from doing it anyway with Xserve more than a decade ago.
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#32
Rean
windwhirlDidn't stop Apple from doing it anyway with Xserve more than a decade ago.
Most companies aren't Apple, that company is honestly in a space of its own when it comes to user-exploitation.
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#33
Ashtr1x
Looks superb from a servicing standpoint and that NVMe slot is a big plus for the buyers, Xbox gone proprietary trash while this is not. The heatsink is really massive and feels heavy and expensive to make because of combination of that VC plus the LM TIM. The device asthetics of the plates makes it very easy to manufacture custom plates with tons of custom artwork possible even the 3D printing DIY, that's also a plus along with having some design style vs that stupid black box of Xbox literally an mITX. The RDNA2 GPU will be clocked higher so the machine will run definitely hot vs the Xbox SX.

Everything is cool. It's the post PS3 Sony which I lost trust in, all PS4 games are nothing like the original PS2/PS3 era, which had superb titles (Killzone, Ninja Gaiden, God of War, Wipeout and tons of more..) and no political b.s in them (thanks to the SIE/SCE HQ in CA getting the western impact of PC culture). I miss that era, it's all TLoU2 type of crap nowdays and that overrated HZD from Sony. And there's no backwards compat with PS3 games, either in Physical disc nor the Digital, that PSN GaaS is not the one which it should have. PS4 games are barely any worth since majority of them are on PC, barring a few - Gravity Rush, Bloodborne, God of War III Remastered, Shadow of Colossus as Nioh is there on PC, FF7R, Nioh2 will come to PC.

Also that XMB UI of PS3 is really top class, superb looking feel and UX. Getting a Jailbreak supported PS3 for that XMB alone is worth tbh..
Posted on Reply
#34
ShurikN
Darmok N JaladWhy would a fan failure result in a burned up console? I suspect it will just throttle to poor performance until you figure out the fan failed.
LOL not fan failure, ssd failure. Previously if the drive died, you replace it and reinstall the system. Now if the ssd dies and it's outside of warranty, bye bye ps5
Posted on Reply
#35
windwhirl
ReanMost companies aren't Apple, that company is honestly in a space of its own when it comes to user-exploitation.
Well, admittedly, Apple went harder about it. It's not just the drive that had to be qualified, but rather the whole thing had to come together (the drive itself and drive bay module), with Apple-customized firmware even.

Sony could simply push an update to the console telling it to only accept drives with specific model designations (for example MZ-V7S2T0). And since all the drives would be certified by Sony, they would have the list on-hand already.
ShurikNLOL not fan failure, ssd failure. Previously if the drive died, you replace it and reinstall the system. Now if the ssd dies and it's outside of warranty, bye bye ps5
Would it have to, though? I imagine they could do an Apple and have essential recovery tools stored in the firmware chip that could download the OS onto the external drive. Granted, it wouldn't be great, but at the very least you could get by to back stuff up or whatever.
Posted on Reply
#36
ShurikN
windwhirlWould it have to, though? I imagine they could do an Apple and have essential recovery tools stored in the firmware chip that could download the OS onto the external drive. Granted, it wouldn't be great, but at the very least you could get by to back stuff up or whatever.
It's not about backing stuff up, Sony could possibly not allow you to install an os to that secondary m.2 drive, as you'll no longer be leveraging the speed of the onboard custom. Which will mostly be noticeable in games.
It will be interesting to see if they allow it or not.
Posted on Reply
#37
biffzinker
windwhirlPerhaps it's just me, but why would Sony post a teardown video of their next console? It doesn't seem like something they would do.
Sony started doing teardowns before launch with either the PS3/4. Sorta of a beat publications to a teardown.
Posted on Reply
#38
AsRock
TPU addict
Vayra86Gonna be interesting how loud this one gets.

The earlier vanilla Playstations weren't pretty in that regard.... PS3... holy shit
Not sure about the PS3 fat but the slim one that still have is pretty silent.

Yes that fans MASSIVE, should allow it to run slower.
Posted on Reply
#39
HisDivineOrder
ReanRequirements as "does this device run at the speeds our games will need or not?", they're not gonna detect some drive signature as that would be too restrictive.

Right now the prices are similar, but M.2s will go down in price over time as the market options proliferate (because of higher scale of demand given that m.2 is a shared form factors amongst billions of computers worldwide), I don't foresee this happening with a closed standard that Microsoft alone controls and licenses with a very limited use case.
Microsoft has said the same thing before with the hard drive add-on's for the Xbox 360. Strangely enough, they were always overpricing the hardware based, basically, on a hunk of plastic and a cheap connector. The costs remained twice the going market rate for virtually the entire lifetime of the 360. Meanwhile, the PS3's hard drives started out at the same cost, but quickly dropped and dropped and dropped because they weren't making specialized, niche add-on's that only go to one extremely niche use case.

I also call into question whether there will be any other partners except Seagate. It's what you'd say now, but there isn't going to be this huge market for almost-as-expensive-as-the-Xbox-Series-S add-on's for the Series X, so maybe Microsoft THINKS partners will show up, but when Seagate's sales are low, they'll quietly cancel those. Meanwhile, all Sony has to do is put a drive test into the PS5 and bam, every drive is tested by the PS5 at the time you add it in. No need for certifications and as economies of scale get better, so will the option of adding a new drive.

Again, exactly the same problem Microsoft had with the Xbox 360. This generation is really reminding me a lot of that generation, too. Sony's also making similar mistakes, emphasizing the wrong technological areas while giving Microsoft the superior experience crown for no good reason.
Posted on Reply
#40
londiste
ReanRequirements as "does this device run at the speeds our games will need or not?", they're not gonna detect some drive signature as that would be too restrictive.
Are you new to consoles? :)
Posted on Reply
#41
b1k3rdude
So apart from the void if removed sticker, the PS5 is very easy to take apart. I wonder what ifixit score it will get, I'm guessing 9/10 and only because of said sticker.
Posted on Reply
#42
semantics
DemonicRyzen666"Awaits the B*$*@#$^ about blower fan for cooler "......
Complaining about the fan is just wrong
Radial fans are better then axial for a heatsink application. In general a radial fan will generate a more concentrated flow and greater pressure but at less volume. Generally radial fans are quieter in the hvac world because the air that gets pushed is less turbulent.
Why people hate gpus with squirrel cage fans is because you get a smaller heatsink and that's where you lose out on cooling.
Although one can argue that you're getting a smaller heatsink because of the space the radial fan is taking up.
In a compact closed off case where you want actually directed airflow without recirculation a radial fan is the right fan all else ignored.
Posted on Reply
#43
silentbogo
windwhirlNo, we know which one is that. The one TheLostSwede and I were talking about is the other one (I think, neither of us mentioned which one was we were talking about :laugh: )
I'm 99% sure that's their equivalent of Super I/O (Multi-controller). Basically it handles power management, low-speed I/O, etc.
Posted on Reply
#44
windwhirl
silentbogoI'm 99% sure that's their equivalent of Super I/O (Multi-controller). Basically it handles power management, low-speed I/O, etc.
I'd say that's very likely. Once the console is on the market we'll probably see an iFixit teardown soon after.
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#45
Xuper
When does Sony allow people to teardown console? at least Microsoft was way more convenient than Sony , hell even Xbox is more robust while PS5 is more complex.
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#46
Jism
windwhirlI think that's a secondary processor because the PS4 had one for handling some background stuff, and that chip has another one nearby that looks a bit like a Serial Flash memory, normally used for firmware. The PS4 also had the firmware chip close to the ARM processor.
You think? If you read the datasheets its proberly a NIC. The CPU's are AMD IP's with their own sauce (microsoft/sony). Basicly a SOC with onboard GPU and some propertairy stuff they provide. They dont need to have a secundairy CPU somewhere outside of the board as AMD can provide the IP (secure processor anyone?) that makes the CPU have it's own co-cpu.
Posted on Reply
#47
B-Real
theonekvery complex cooling radiator, wonder what TDP will have this APU?
Thereyou go! 180W for the APU.
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#48
windwhirl
JismYou think?
We're just speculating over what could it be. So yes, I'm thinking about it.
JismIf you read the datasheets its proberly a NIC
The PS4 had its Ethernet controller in a separate chip. Why couldn't they do the same again? Heck, the chip right behind the Ethernet port could be a candidate for that.
JismThe CPU's are AMD IP's with their own sauce (microsoft/sony). Basicly a SOC with onboard GPU and some propertairy stuff they provide. They dont need to have a secundairy CPU somewhere outside of the board as AMD can provide the IP (secure processor anyone?) that makes the CPU have it's own co-cpu.
OK, but the ARM chip on the PS4 also handled file operations (SATA, BluRay and USB), some network features (like background downloading) and firmware updates. What would stop Sony from including a secondary processor for handling that (except for the low-level SSD operations, since those will be handled by the custom NVMe controller)?
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#49
Bones
FleuriousLiquid metal should help with temps but isn’t there a concern about that stuff drying/oxidizing after a couple years?
If I should ever get one that will be the first thing I fix. ;)

LM is well known for deteriorating stuff it comes in contact with, it's like they are trying to recreate an issue like the PS3 has with the chips needed to be reflowed/resoldered after a few years.
That could still happen since they like using lead-free solder on everything anyway and I doubt they've changed a thing regarding all that.

I can also see storage issues with the build-in SSD stuff too.
Posted on Reply
#50
silentbogo
JismIf you read the datasheets its proberly a NIC.
I think you are lost in translation. The thing that iFixit mistakenly called a "NIC" is Aeolia Southbridge.
Since Zen took most high-speed stuff off the SB, all that's left in it is Supper I/O and secure processor.
JismThey dont need to have a secundairy CPU somewhere outside of the board as AMD can provide the IP (secure processor anyone?) that makes the CPU have it's own co-cpu.
Just look up 33C3 presentation from fail0verflow. There's lots of info on this topic in it. Especially the fact that they ditched PSP in favor of their own implementation, which was handled exactly by that chip.
Even though PS4 was eventually hacked, it took awhile. That's probably why Sony decided to improve on their previous work and simply stick with what's already working.
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