Sony’s PS5 teardown video unveils removable sides, next-gen internals

Sony has just released a teardown video showing the internal components of the much-anticipated PS5 game console ahead of its November 2020 release.

In a seven-minute teardown video posted at PlayStation’s official blog and YouTube account, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Hardware Design Division Mechanical Design Department VP Yasuhiro Ootori went on to dismantle the PS5 console, narrating the entire process in Japanese.

First thing he notes is the location of three USB Type A ports and a single Type C port. There’s also a LAN port, HDMI OUT port and the AC IN connectors. He also explains how the PS5 rear vents are designed to better exhaust air out of the console.

At the bottom, there is a round base held by screws when it's oriented vertically. It can be moved to the side though if you want to use it horizontally. The distinctive white side panels can be easily removed without any tools though a simple lift and slide. Underneath sits the main cooling fan that draws air in to keep the internals cool. There are also two dust catchers that can be vacuumed out through two holes.

Upon removing the plastic case, there’s the Ultra HD Blu-ray Drive Unit, and the motherboard that houses the AMD Ryzen Zen 2 processor, AMD Radeon GPU, GDDR6 16GB RAM, and SSD with an M.2 slot for expandable storage.

To keep the console running quiet and cool, there’s a large copper L-shaped, pipe-based heat sink that occupies a big portion of the insides, coupled with the 120mm diameter, 45mm thick, double-sided centrifugal fan.

The company says it spent five years designing the PS5, two of which were spent creating the liquid metal compound solution that can conduct 86 percent more heat. These cooling solutions were put in place to significantly drop operating temperatures and reduce noise levels even while under demanding tasks.

“We’ve also highlighted the mechanism in the video below that we’ve incorporated into the PS5 console to make the operating sounds even quieter. After an extensive and complex trial and error process, we were pleased with the end result and I cannot wait for our fans to get their hands on the PS5 console and “hear” it for themselves,” shares SIE Hardware Engineering and Operation EVP Masayasu Ito on the official PlayStation blog.

Watch the seven-minute teardown video here:

The PlayStation 5 console will go on sale for $499 (Standard Edition) and $399 (Digital Edition) in the US, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea on Nov. 12. It will launch in Europe and other parts of the world by Nov. 19.