So far, we’ve only had glimpses of Sony’s PlayStation 5 from the official reveal and a few videos from Japanese publications, but nothing too detailed about its inner hardware. Well, the wait ends now, thanks to Sony’s official teardown video of its latest console. Yasuhiro Ootori – VP of Mechanical Design Department, Hardware Design Division at Sony Interactive Entertainment – meticulously took apart the PlayStation 5 on video while explaining the engineering that went behind it. However, the two aspects that stood out the most about the PlayStation 5 are its ingeniously designed stand and the use of liquid metal for cooling

Starting with the stand, it looks like a disc with a slight incline and two claws. Notably, the stand is put to use irrespective of whether the console is kept vertically or placed horizontally on a table. When standing vertically, a single metallic screw at the base is used to hold the stand and the rest of the console in place. Now, if you want to position it vertically, it is easy too, but you must first worry about safely storing the screw. Or NOT. 

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The stand’s underside has a small compartment where the screw can be safely kept. Now, all you have to do is rotate the top of the stand and the screw will be safely sealed in the compartment. And if you’re worried about the screw hole at the base being visible while the console is kept horizontally, Sony also hides a small plastic screw in the aforementioned compartment that can be used to cover the screw hole. Neat, isn’t it? Now, you can use the stand’s claws to clip it alongside the real panel, while the flat portion cushions the sides as the PlayStation 5 is laid horizontally.

The M.2 slot for expanding the storage using PCIe 4.0 drives.

The other interesting thing we learned from the PlayStation 5 teardown video is that Sony has used liquid metal for cooling. Now, this is not a first, as Asus has already showcased it on video and plans to use the novel solution in its ROG-branded gaming laptops soon. However, it is by no means an easy feat to achieve inside a console, as Sony claims to have spent over two years trying to fine-tune the liquid metal technology and getting it ready for the PlayStation 5

PlayStation 5 uses liquid metal for cooling instead of thermal paste or vapor chamber solution.

The liquid metal plays the role of a Thermal Interface Material (TIM) to draw heat from the processor and direct it to the huge heat sink inside the PlayStation 5. Ootori pointed out that the liquid metal solution is as effective as the vapor chamber technique, which Microsoft has adopted for its own next-gen console – the Xbox Series X – without namedropping it. The Sony executive also mentioned that using liquid metal instead of the conventional thermal paste as TIM ensures “long-term, stable, high-cooling performance.”

Sony claims that despite using a larger two-side fan, the PS5 will run quieter.

Sony’s official PlayStation 5 teardown video also reveals the M.2 slot that can be used to expand the storage using compatible PCIe 4.0 drives. Additionally, the two dust catchers are easily accessible, which means all foreign particles can be vacuumed out without breaking a sweat by just removing the two side panels with bare hands. On the front, you’ll find a USB Type-C port and a USB 2.0 Type-A port. 

The rear panel has two USB 3.1 Type-A ports without a 10Gbps output, sitting alongside an ethernet port and an HDMI port. The console is also claimed to be quieter, despite using a larger, double-sided fan with a 120mm diameter and 45mm thickness. Overall, it appears that the PlayStation 5 won’t be a repairability nightmare. You can watch the entire teardown video below: