Dismantling a PS4 with Sony's Engineering Director.

[dave7692]

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/11/07/get-your-fir...

I'm going to buy an Xbox but still an interesting watch.

My only query would be that at E3 they mentioned that you'll easily be able to upgrade the HDD but judging by that video you'll need to remove the warranty seals which might be a bit of a sticky area, they sort of made out it would be an easy job.

[RobGT81]

dave7692 said:

My only query would be that at E3 they mentioned that you'll easily be able to upgrade the HDD but judging by that video you'll need to remove the warranty seals which might be a bit of a sticky area, they sort of made out it would be an easy job.

The HDD just pops out the side, much like the PS3. One of the side panels comes off on its own, giving you access. You can see it on the video, no need for a full strip down!

[ceebmoj]

I was surprised by how well resolved it is for the first generation of the console. It's also nice to get rid of the external power supply.

[Civpilot]

ceebmoj said:

I was surprised by how well resolved it is for the first generation of the console. It's also nice to get rid of the external power supply.

PS3 doesn't have an external power supply either

[scorp]

Interesting how few components the main board appears to have, compared to the original PS1 and PS2.

[Beati Dogu]

Nice clean interior design. Pity the exterior looks like a cheap 1980s VCR, although not as much as the Xbox One does.

[Digger]

I wonder if there is some smoke and mirrors here?

Surprisingly uncluttered.

[Zad]

Smoke and mirrors in what way? What you are looking at there is effectively a laptop PC motherboard, minus any PCIE expansion bus+slots and various other bits and bobs. So basically CPU+graphics, memory, Northbridge equivalent (SATA, audio I/O etc), core voltage power supply. If you combine the experience from making games consoles, plus the huge experience from the PC market, then you have a really simple product to produce. It may only be the 4th generation of Playstation, but each of those may have had 10 or more design revisions, reducing costs through lower component count, integration etc.

"Add lightness"

Original PS3:


PS3 Slim (Same machine, after several evolutions):


PS4

[Xaero]

I don't know much about the need for shielding which looks rather space consuming, but it seems like it could be made quite a bit smaller, a slim model in a few years time shouldn't be much of an issue at all. Apart from the massive heat sink, it's not much different from the average laptop these days inside (replacing batteries with that power supply).

Either way, it's nice of Sony to release an official video showing the insides so us curious souls don't have to invalid a warranty out of interest.

[dave7692]

RobGT81 said:

The HDD just pops out the side, much like the PS3. One of the side panels comes off on its own, giving you access. You can see it on the video, no need for a full strip down!

Yeah I looked it up since and saw that was the case, as I said I'm buying an Xbox so I hadn't really looked into it, it was just when I saw him taking out screws to remove it the process looked quite invasive. I didn't realise there was an easier way.

[RobGT81]

dave7692 said:

Yeah I looked it up since and saw that was the case, as I said I'm buying an Xbox so I hadn't really looked into it, it was just when I saw him taking out screws to remove it the process looked quite invasive. I didn't realise there was an easier way.

The method he shows is handy at least, for when you need to put it all in the oven when you get a YLOD

[Rick_1138]

So not having seen such an effort form MS on the XB1, I assume that the mahoosive transformer PSU brick will still be a feature

[dave7692]

Rick_1138 said:

So not having seen such an effort form MS on the XB1, I assume that the mahoosive transformer PSU brick will still be a feature

I think due to the release of the XB1 being a week later the embargo on such reveals is also a week later but they've already done a "whats in the box" video and it does have an external power brick, which personally I prefer as I'd rather have the heat from that outside of the shell of the console

[Rick_1138]

dave7692 said:

I think due to the release of the XB1 being a week later the embargo on such reveals is also a week later but they've already done a "whats in the box" video and it does have an external power brick, which personally I prefer as I'd rather have the heat from that outside of the shell of the console

I agree, as its not something you see behind the TV stand, its just moaning for moaning sake about MS products.

Still cant wait till forza 5, just bit pissed about having to buy a new wheel and pedal setup, but that's after xmas.

[P-Jay]

Civpilot said:

ceebmoj said:

I was surprised by how well resolved it is for the first generation of the console. It's also nice to get rid of the external power supply.

PS3 doesn't have an external power supply either

I have NEVER understood the advantage of this, or the desire to do it. Power Supply generates heat, which adds to the cooling requirement and associated noise level, adds bulk of course and it's 'something to go wrong' which is a bit of a pain if it's on the end of a cable but is easily fixed, where as if it's in the machine it's a job most people won't fancy themselves.

ultimately cables are ugly, but a black box half way along them doesn't make them any worse and they're all hidden down the back of the TV anyway.

[dave7692]

^ thats the way I see it, by bringing that much heat closer to the console its surely just asking for trouble, I know PCs have them internally but there's generally a lot more space inside them and more fans.

I genuinely don't understand people who think the power brick is a massive issue.

[Zad]

Xaero said:

I don't know much about the need for shielding which looks rather space consuming, but it seems like it could be made quite a bit smaller, a slim model in a few years time shouldn't be much of an issue at all.

The shielding is for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) legislation around the world. Basically, with digital electronics you have a high power radio noise generator which can swamp radio, TV, mobile phone, wifi etc. Conversely, it has to be protected from someone putting their phone on top of it while a call is active, bursting several Watts of radio frequency energy.

Good circuit board design helps with this, but a pressed sheet metal shroud which forms a Faraday cage around the product is a really cheap and effective protection system. When they produce a slim version, I reckon they will delete the DVD/BR drive. They take up a huge amount of space. The reason for integrating the PSU might be that it needs active cooling. This is much easier to do when it isn't an external brick.