NVIDIA’s $299 handheld gaming console is now shipping, and as NVIDIA’s first entry into the consumer device space, it’s generating a bit of buzz… and uncertainty. One thing that is certain though, is that if you take apart the NVIDIA Shield, you can get a better idea of what makes the device tick.
So that’s what the folks at iFixit did.
Here are some of the things they found:
- There’s a 7350mAh, 28.8 Whr battery, which helps explain the device’s spectacular battery life.
- NVIDIA clearly expects the Shield to get hot at times, and unlike most Android phones or tablets, there’s a small fan in the case.
- The buttons, fan, and other mechanical bits are pretty modular and should be easy to replace if they break.
- The display, not so much.
Other specs are pretty much as expected, including an NVIDIA Tegra 4 ARM Cortex-A15 quad-core processor, 2GB of SK Hynx RAM, 16GB of storage thanks to a Samsung eMMC module, and a variety of sensors, a Realtek audio controller, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 5 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel multitouch display.
“There’s a $7350mAh, 28.8 Whr battery”, Wow, that battery is expensive!
If I wouldn’t have to replace my really nice AMD card with a $150 Nvidia card for steam streaming, I would have one of these today.
So 28whr battery and five to six hours of battery life so entire device consumes about 5 watts per hour…That is not actually bad, it kills Baytrail in gaming.