Tool manufacturer iFixit dismantled Microsoft’s Xbox Series X game console and exposed the innards. The teardown makes it clear that the Xbox Series X can be taken apart quite easily thanks to the use of standard screws without glue. In the bottom sits a 130 mm large axial fan, which pushes fresh air through the cooling complex in the housing. The diameter is quite unusual; supplier Delta does not sell the model publicly at least so far – alternatives are likely to come onto the market in the future.

In the In the middle sits a sandwich of two mainboards, a multi-part cooler and power supply. A large aluminum body absorbs the waste heat from the AMD combined processor and GDDR6 memory via a vapor chamber; a metal frame keeps the voltage converters at temperatures. The latter is used to stabilize and shield against electromagnetic radiation, as iFixit explains in the teardown of the Xbox Series X.

Cooler sandwich of the Xbox Series X: The aluminum body on the left guides the Waste heat from the combination processor.

(Image: iFixit)

Cheap standard SSD Microsoft puts an M.2 SSD from Western Digital on the mainboard – the 30 mm short card is very similar to the SN 530 and has, at best, undergone small adjustments. The connection is apparently via four PCI Express 3.0 lanes and not via PCIe 4.0 x2 as assumed. The SN 530 is an entry-level model that can be exchanged very cheaply. The situation is different with the Seagate memory expansions: Pictures from Venturebeat show that the module internally represents a CF-Express card as known from the camera environment. Phisons E 19 – controller relies on two PCIe 4.0 lanes, which have the same transfer rate as four PCIe -3.0 lanes. Microsoft’s so-called Velocity architecture primarily relies on API adjustments to increase speed: It compresses data and allows the GPU to access the memory directly without going through the CPU.

The Xbox Series X has an M.2 connector (M -Key) for a PCIe-SSD.

(Image: iFixit)

Microsoft is taking a different approach than competitor Sony with the Playstation 5: The latter combines a controller it designed itself with flash modules – all four Chips are firmly soldered on, but achieve higher speeds thanks to PCIe 4.0.

The use of an M.2 card makes warranty cases in particular cheaper for Microsoft, since the SSD can be replaced without throwing away the entire motherboard. Users don’t benefit much because they can’t partition the memory and install the operating system. In addition, there are hardly any 19 mm short M.2 cards (M. 2230) – common are 80 mm (M. 2280). The same applies to the built-in UHD Blu-ray drive, which can be exchanged, but contains a daughterboard with an assigned hardware ID – only Microsoft and partners can make meaningful repairs.

Bottom line iFixit awards the Xbox Series X 7 of points for repairability.

(mma)