PS4 Pro: CUH 7100 compared to CUH 7000

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The PS4 Pro recently received a new revision with a new model called CUH 7100 (the launch model is CUH 7000).

There are minor differences on both sides of the motherboard based on the pics we have. Notably on the APU side they removed a small group of components, top left of the APU.

What are those they removed ? Are they related to power consumption ? It looks like a part of the group is similar to 6 components located top and down of the APU. there are only 6 on the CUH 7100 in total.

On the back of the board they removed one small EMI shield in order to get the GDDR5 chips in direct contact with the general enclosing metal shield. For better heat dispersion or only cost saving ?

Also the APU has gotten a revision too. CXD90044GD on CUH 7100 instead of CXD90044GB on CUH 7000.

Sadly we don't have any power consumption comparisons yet. But I wouldn't be surprised if the new model consumes a bit less power. Similar to PS4 1000 -> 1100 models. It would be nice to have noise tests too.

Pro 7000:
20161110_01.jpg


Pro 7100:
20171011_03.jpg


CUH 7000:
20161110_13.jpg


CUH 7100:
20171011_01.jpg


Pics taken from the dying but still kicking neogaf. APU info taken from this site.
 
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Seems they removed a voltage regulator phase (power fets, inductor and associated caps), for the GDDR I would assume. So there might be new memory drawing less power, or memory is the same but the previous power supply design was overengineered, or possibly same memory drawing same power from new design which uses fewer but more powerful components.

Hard to know which is true without knowing more, like if memory chips also differ for example.
 
Lots of minor changes, I guess all are small cost cutting. The heat cover for the ram was aluminum (expensive) while the shield is cheap clad steel I think. Simpler assembly too?

I'm curious about power consumption but it's probably a very small difference.

The tiny regulator removed doesn't look powerful, could be dedicated for a small chip like the ethernet controller, or some USB power, something they combined elsewhere instead. The two big regulators that stayed look more of the kind that would be needed for gddr (or usb)
 
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Is there any way to tell which revision of hardware one has? Is there a cut-off date that after such time it's the CUH-7100?
 
Lots of minor changes, I guess all are small cost cutting. The heat cover for the ram was aluminum (expensive) while the shield is cheap clad steel I think. Simpler assembly too?

I'm curious about power consumption but it's probably a very small difference.

The tiny regulator removed doesn't look powerful, could be dedicated for a small chip like the ethernet controller, or some USB power, something they combined elsewhere instead. The two big regulators that stayed look more of the kind that would be needed for gddr (or usb)
Yes but now the GDDR5 chips are in direct contact with the whole shield (with some paste) so in theory they would be better cooled by the whole shield (itself cooled by the air intake), right ?

Is there any way to tell which revision of hardware one has? Is there a cut-off date that after such time it's the CUH-7100?
I don't know about the console itself but It's written on the box; Easily noticeable here: bottom left of this bundle.

91dOn4yA9uL._SL1500_.jpg
 
Then it seems the base Amazon $350 1TB 4Pro console that went out from Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales were the old model, or at least some mix of the sales were. The model number is on the upper right corner and shows "CUH-7015B Jet Black 1TB Pro.
 
Yes but now the GDDR5 chips are in direct contact with the whole shield (with some paste) so in theory they would be better cooled by the whole shield (itself cooled by the air intake), right?
It depends what it's made of. Steel cost almost nothing but it's a much worse heat conductor than aluminum, we see plated thin steel most of the time for shielding purposes. The smaller "cover" on the original Pro is aluminum I think. It's hard to tell, but the full shield sheet looks like plain plated steel to me. The size possibly makes it equivalent?
 
wow look how clean that looks compared to my PC's motherboard

Amazing what they can do when they don't have to support analog sound output, PS2 keyboard/mouse connectors, PCIE slots, 95+ watt TDP CPUs, multiple SATA drives, variable amounts of memory (potentially 64-128 GB on standard MBs), additional USB headers, additional audio headers, M.2 slots, potential for overclocking, support for a wide range of CPUs, support for variable quality PSUs, etc. etc. etc. :D

Or, oh wow, it's about as well designed as some laptop MBs, albeit much larger than most laptop MBs nowadays. :)

Regards,
SB
 
Amazing what they can do when they don't have to support analog sound output, PS2 keyboard/mouse connectors, PCIE slots, 95+ watt TDP CPUs, multiple SATA drives, variable amounts of memory (potentially 64-128 GB on standard MBs), additional USB headers, additional audio headers, M.2 slots, potential for overclocking, support for a wide range of CPUs, support for variable quality PSUs, etc. etc. etc. :D

Or, oh wow, it's about as well designed as some laptop MBs, albeit much larger than most laptop MBs nowadays. :)

Regards,
SB
But... PC motherboards are still ugly.
 
But... PC motherboards are still ugly.

Unless you are into LED lights and whatnot. :p I noticed when I was recently getting a Ryzen MB, that there are a LOT of PC motherboards nowadays being marketed with user customizable LED lights. :oops:

Not my thing, but more power to them, I guess. :D

Regards,
SB
 
like what?
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=l...YAhUKULwKHZk9Ab4Q_AUIvgEoAQ&biw=2110&bih=1130
I looked at the first few hundred and not a single one was as clean, not even in the same ballpark

Well, sure if they had the massive amount of PCB space that the PS4 MB has, then they could spread things out more. But I find beauty in the tight integration in the limited space. That's not to say the PS4 MB isn't well designed, but it has the luxury of lots and lots of space.

Regards,
SB
 
The difference is, every other motherboard has lots of fiddly little bits all over it. Like an old town that's built up over the years around the industrial centres, and people live and work in the same areas. The PS4 Mobo looks like a newly planned area of high-tech industry, with your major industrial centres separated from the quiet villages and hamlets that the workers live in. It seems pretty unique among electronics.
 
What is it determining the size of PS4's mobo? With all that empty space, why aren't Sony shrinking it and having a smaller, cheaper box?
 
Unless you are into LED lights and whatnot. :p I noticed when I was recently getting a Ryzen MB, that there are a LOT of PC motherboards nowadays being marketed with user customizable LED lights. :oops:

Not my thing, but more power to them, I guess. :D

Regards,
SB

Being as gaudy and visually obnoxious as possible has always been the mantra for designing PC hardware. Particularly for hardware with gaming in mind. Whereas just about every piece of hardware seems to get cleaner and more minimalist as the price goes up, PC hardware has always gone the bling route of 90s hip hop.
 
The rectangular component missing in the middle looks like a crystal oscillator. The set on the top seems like a smaller voltage regulator with capacitors, maybe for 5V USB power.

There's no PCB picture on the back so I can't tell if the southbridge is different.
We can tell they're using a different chip a the far left, (a controller from Renesas?) which is now a lot smaller, so some or all of those missing components could now be embedded into that new chip.
 
Would it not be more fair to compare it to a mobile phone PCB given they are closer with most functionality within a single APU?
Cellphone PCBs are ludicrously tightly integrated these days. Most chips these days in these devices, minus the SoC itself and flash, are basically bare-naked dies surface mounted directly to the PCB, because traditional BGA packaging takes up too much space. :p

The SoC and flash are typically multi-chip modules, and the SoC in particular has also quite a lot of connections to it, so these retain packaging. The rest have to go without. But, they'll reside inside metal shielding cans anyway to hide their nudity. :)

The similarities to console hardware would only be passing.

What is it determining the size of PS4's mobo? With all that empty space, why aren't Sony shrinking it and having a smaller, cheaper box?
I'm thinking, a larger box gives a 'beefier', more 'premium' appearance. (Can backfire, if not executed well.) Also, internal airflow/cooling reasons, perhaps?

And building things smaller isn't always cheaper. Tighter integration can end up costing money instead because manufacture gets more complicated and expensive. Also, costs can come in indirect ways sometimes if the smaller enclosure means higher running temps and more premature deaths of your hardware. :p

Whereas just about every piece of hardware seems to get cleaner and more minimalist as the price goes up, PC hardware has always gone the bling route of 90s hip hop.
Blingy PCs started in the aughts, roughly. Before then, OEM PCs like those from HP, Dell and so on were targetted at office users and were boring and ugly as all shit, and most aftermarket enclosures were beige.

Interestingly, it was most likely Apple which helped get the blingy PC ball really rolling, because the line of 'fruity' iMacs showed that people were interested in visually appealing, colorful computers. Things took off and got a life of its own from there... :p
 
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