iFixit

The Blu-ray drive comes right out.

This drive is still quite large, and takes up the bulk of the space inside the PS3.

We disassembled the drive, and found that it appears to be a proprietary Sony-manufactured part.

More connectors and screws to unplug/unscrew.

The design aesthetic of this machine is quite a bit more bare-bones-functional than Apple's, but is still beautiful in its own way.

Several components, including the AC power inlet, are simply held to the unit by the pressure of the screws connecting the top and bottom cases.

A few more screws, and the logic board lifts free of the chassis!

Unscrewing several screws securing the EMI shield.

The two identical matte finished brackets in the first picture are designed to apply pressure to the center of the processors, keeping them firmly planted on their heat sinks.

Separating the metal electromagnetic interference shield from the logic board.

The whole [slim] enchilada!

Counterclockwise from the left:

• Power supply, main board, hard drive, EMI shield, heat sink, fan, Blu-ray drive, controller, and plastic case.

That's it for the disassembly, but we'll continue to post board photos and analysis as the information pours in.

The logic board. Sony's going green on the inside, to reflect their commitment to the environment. View HUGE version.

We've never seen cool snowflake-like patterns in the thermal paste after we removed a heat sink before. This may indicate that the thermal paste was overapplied or that it was not distributed evenly.

If you look closely at the thermal paste, you'll see it is a fractal!

The Cell processor looks very spiffy under our lights.

We didn't think it was possible to synthesize reality, but the RSX chip (from an Acura?!) proves us wrong.

Chip labels: RSX Reality Synthesizer CXD2991EGB 0916HFZ 114477