Nintendo DSi XL Teardown

Teardown

Teardown

Teardowns provide a look inside a device and should not be used as disassembly instructions.

Featured Guide

Featured Guide

This guide has been found to be exceptionally cool by the iFixit staff.

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Oh Happy Joy! It's here! The Nintendo DSi XL for all to see! Whoopee! Join us for an exciting teardown into the innards of this behemoth of a DSi.

Also check out the video slideshow of the teardown!

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Add Note Edit Step 1 — Nintendo DSi XL Teardown  ¶ 

  • The Nintendo DSi XL is the latest iteration of Nintendo's ever-popular handheld gaming console, the Nintendo DS.

  • Along with fancy new packaging, the new features include:

    • Two screens that are 93% proportionally bigger than those found in the DS Lite.

    • A new full size stylus for added precision on larger screens.

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Add Note Edit Step 2  ¶ 

  • Contents of box:

    • Nintendo DSi XL

    • Operation Manual

    • Quick Start Guides

    • AC Adapter

    • Full Size Stylus

  • Mario, Mario, Mario...when will you understand...no matter how many invitations you send for Club Nintendo, our answer is still no...

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Add Note Edit Step 3  ¶ 

  • The DSi XL measures in at 161 x 91.4 x 21.2 mm and weighs in at a whopping 314 g. That's 45% heavier than the 217 g DSi.

  • Side by side comparison of the DSi (left) and DSi XL (right).

  • The featured specs of the DSi XL are the twin 4.2" LCD panels.

  • The back side of the DSi XL. What a surprise! It's made in China.

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Add Note Edit Step 4  ¶ 

  • The full-sized stylus, measuring 10 x 130 mm, takes a little getting used to but fits more comfortably in the hand than its 5 x 90 mm smaller twin.

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Add Note Edit Step 5  ¶ 

  • Remove the two Phillips screws securing the battery door to the outer case of the DSi XL.

  • Lift battery door off the bottom outer case and remove the battery from its housing.

  • Both screws remain captive within the battery door.

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Add Note Edit Step 6  ¶ 

  • Nintendo provided quite a hefty upgrade in battery size from 840 mAh in the DSi (Right) to 1050 mAh in the DSi XL (Left).

  • For all you math haters out there, that's 25% more capacity!

  • Larger capacity comes with the cost of more weight. The XL's battery weighs 23 g compared to the 19 g DSi battery.

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Add Note Edit Step 7  ¶ 

  • A total of seven Phillips screws are all that stand in the way between us and the innards of the DSi XL.

  • Keep track of each screw's location because they have different lengths.

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Add Note Edit Step 8  ¶ 

  • After a bit of careful prying, the lower case comes off without a hassle.

  • An orange ribbon remains connected to both cases. Pry with care to prevent any damage to this connector.

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Add Note Edit Step 9  ¶ 

  • Pry the following connectors straight up using the flat end of a spudger:

    • SD board cable connector

    • Volume control cable connector

  • The lower case should now be completely detachable from the upper case of the DSi XL.

  • Thankfully, Nintendo designed the DSi XL to eliminate a long ribbon cable spanning the width of the old DSi.

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Add Note Edit Step 10  ¶ 

  • Lift the Wi-Fi board from its edge nearest the center of the DSi, and it comes right off the logic board.

  • Use the flat end of a spudger to pry both antenna cable connectors from their respective sockets on the Wi-Fi board and logic board.

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Add Note Edit Step 11  ¶ 

  • Removing the main board is a piece of cake:

    • Remove the five Phillips screws.

    • Disconnect the six connectors on the front side, flip the board over and remove the one last connector hiding on the back.

  • Whenever unlocking flat ribbon cable sockets, use your fingernail to flip up the small retaining flap.

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Add Note Edit Step 12  ¶ 

  • The lower display is held in place by the pressure of the board secured over it. No screws!

  • After freeing it from the light adhesive around its perimeter, lift the lower display out of the DSi XL.

  • The displays on the DSi XL conveniently integrate the digitizer, LCD, and backlight into one package.

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Add Note Edit Step 13  ¶ 

  • Remove the seven Phillips screws securing the battery/control board to the upper case.

  • The D-Pad and I/O buttons are conveniently integrated onto the face of the battery/control board.

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Add Note Edit Step 14  ¶ 

  • Four red plastic covers need to be removed to reveal the Phillips screws underneath.

  • Removing the four Phillips screws allows access to the top display.

  • Push the top outer case toward the top edge of the DSi XL, then use a spudger to pry it off the clips holding it to the inner case.

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Add Note Edit Step 15  ¶ 

  • Use a spudger to pry the outward facing camera from its resting place on the top outer case.

  • Remove the single Phillips screw securing the inward facing camera's bracket to the top inner case.

  • Carefully pull the camera ribbon cable through the hollow right hinge, being careful not to rip it or the display ribbon cable.

  • The DSi XL has two digital cameras; one on the internal hinge pointed toward the user and the other pointed away from the top outer case.

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Add Note Edit Step 16  ¶ 

  • The antenna board for the Wireless LAN rests in the upper right corner of the top outer case.

  • Removing it is as simple as lifting it up.

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Add Note Edit Step 17  ¶ 

  • After prying up the speakers, carefully de-route the display ribbon cable through the hollow right hinge.

  • Remove the upper LCD assembly from the inner case.

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Add Note Edit Step 18  ¶ 

  • The DSi XL's twin supersized screens.

    • Touchscreen controller: NB-F7B AB1 018

  • Each screen measures 4.2 inches diagonally.

  • Although the screen size has been enlarged, the resolution still remains the same at 256 x 192 pixels per screen.

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Add Note Edit Step 19  ¶ 

  • Remove the seven Phillips screws securing the left trigger, right trigger, and the stylus holder to the bottom outer case.

  • Lift the SD board and the stylus holder out of the case.

  • The electronic right trigger button is integrated into the SD board.

  • Reassembling the triggers is quite difficult. Take them apart if you dare.

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Add Note Edit Step 20  ¶ 

  • Samsung and Fujitsu chips are identical to the DSi:

    • Samsung 1st generation MoviNAND KMAPF0000M: 256 MB NAND Flash and MMC controller. The integrated MMC controller allows the CPU to offload the complex work of directly talking to the flash memory.

    • 82DBS08164D-70L: Fujitsu Ltd 128-bit FCRAM (fast-cycle RAM) chip.

  • TI (TXN) 72071B0 power managing and charging circuit. This used to be a Mitsumi chip in the smaller DSi.

  • PAIC3005B: We assume it stands for Primary Antenna Interface Controller, given that it's located right by the antenna.

  • Primary Nintendo ARM CPU, manufactured the last week of 2009. This chip's markings are identical to the DSi. It's definitely not the Tegra chip that had been rumored.

  • Here's a couple of large photos of the front and back of the logic board. Warning for 56K users: we mean large.

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Add Note Edit Step 21  ¶ 

  • Slide by slide comparisons of the DSi XL layout and the DSi layout.

  • DSi XL, hear us now! You've been slayed by iFixit!

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