PS5 “Slim” teardown shows how the detachable disc drive works

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The PS5 “Slim” as it’s affectionately referred to by the public at the moment has just received its very first teardown ahead of its the console’s official launch date. It’s not entirely clear when the console hits store shelves. Other than Sony confirming that it will land this month. However a recent rumor suggests it’ll launch on November 10.

Launch date speculation aside, the teardown provides a good look at the most notable change of the console design refresh – the detachable disc drive. YouTube content creator Dave Lee (Dave2D) was able to get his hands on one of the new PS5s early and he takes a closer look at the components. Breaking it down piece by piece.

There’s some interesting restructuring of the console’s internals. Not the least of which is the lesser amount of SSD chips even with having more storage space. Sony has also restructured the cooling with a brand-new 19-blade fan that’s made by Foxconn. As well as a smaller configuration for the radiator and heat pipes. All of this helps contribute to a slightly smaller, slightly “slimmer” PS5 console. Of course, the most exciting part is the disc drive. How does it work? How did Sony engineer a disc drive that you can remove on a whim? It’s actually really ingenious.

The PS5 Slim has a brilliant design for the detachable disc drive

The first detail that’s worth mentioning is that the disc drive is completely free of screws. At least with regards to user removal. You can take off the side panel that covers it and simply pop out the disc drive with absolutely no tools whatsoever. Making its detachment an incredibly easy and fast process.

The connection is just as clever if you think about it. The disc drive itself has a small connector on the side that touches the board and it slots right into a socket that connects it to the system. Again, completely toolless to attach and detach. Sony even makes it easy for users to recognize where to lift up to remove the drive – a little arrow pointing right of the drive designates you simply lift up to dislodge the connector from the socket, and the rest of the thing just comes right off. You can watch the whole teardown in the video below if you want to see what the internals look like.

2023-11-08 15:07:35