RAM:

The Xbox One features 8GB of DDR3 RAM reaching a bandwidth of 68 GB/sec.  This 8GB of RAM is further split into 16 DRAM on the motherboard. Unlike the PlayStation 4, all 16 DRAM units surround the APU. The Xbox One uses the SK HYNIX INC H5TQ4G63AFR-TEC model featuring programmable CAS latency of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14. This DRAM is capable of synchronous operations for both rising and falling edges of the clock.

APU:

Similar to the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One features a custom built APU. Modeled as ‘X887732-001 DG3001FEG84HR’, the CPU has a peak clock speed of 1.75 Ghz. The CPU had an initial speed of 1.6 Ghz but Microsoft bumped it up later. The GPU has 14 compute units out of which 2 are inactive to increase yield and also in case any of the others become faulty at any point. The custom chip uses 28-nanometer-process geometry, again similar to the PlayStation 4.

Southbridge:

The Xbox One uses the X861949-005 T6WD5XBG-0003 southbride. A southbridge is essentially a support processor that handles the communication between different components. In this case, the game controller, Kinect, Wi-Fi, HDD and HDMI are some of the components that this bridge handles.

Flash NAND Memory:

We had reported earlier that the Xbox One has 8GB of NAND Flash Memory. The exact model number is SK Hynix H26M42003GMR 8 GB eMMC NAND Flash. H26M42003GM features a density of 32Gb [gigabits] i.e. 4GB [gigabytes] across two stacks. That makes it 4 GB per stack. Its exact use is currently unknown but being, flash memory, it might be used for app snapping.

Ethernet Controller:

The Xbox One uses Realtek’s RTL 8151GNM model for its Ethernet Controller.

Integrated Power Control IC:

The Xbox One uses NCP4204 GAC1328G for managing power requirements to and from the board.

High Current Load Switch:

A high current load switch protects the various components on the motherboard in event of a high voltage, hence preventing damage to the console. Microsoft have used industry standard Texas Instruments’ TPS2590  for this purpose. This is ideal for voltage levels varying between 3 V to 20 V.

Note: Architecture image was provided to us by IHS.

The one in the green is the ‘SK Hynix H26M42003GMR 8 GB eMMC NAND Flash’. Click the image to see it in full screen. Image Credit: Ifixit

The internals of Microsoft’s next gen console have been ripped apart in a tear down walkthrough by Ifixit. In doing so a tiny little detail has caught our eye. Among the various components revealed, Ifixit found out that the Xbox One consists of 8GB of NAND flash memory.

The exact manufacturing model is SK Hynix H26M42003GMR 8 GB eMMC NAND Flash. SK Hynix  is a South Korean company that deals in semiconductor technologies delivering RAM and flash memory. On digging through the internet we found out the specification sheet for the chip.

The sheet reveals some interesting details about the flash memory in terms of its density [density is the amount of bits i.e. information that can be stored in a given area]. So the more the density, the more the information that can be stored. H26M42003GM features a density of 32Gb [gigabits] i.e. 4GB [gigabytes] across two stacks. That makes it 4 GB per stack.

Now we are not sure what this flash memory is being used for.  But we have a couple of guesses:

• The system might be storing temporary states [resume/suspend]. It is an erasable memory after all.
• Video gameplay capture.
• Flash memory is known to be quick, so it might also be used by the apps. App snapping calls may be utilizing this.
• Quick read and write access by the OS.

As mentioned earlier, these are all guesses. Hopefully we will get some sort of solid confirmation about its purpose in the coming days. What do you guys make out of this? Let us know in the comments section below.

For more on next gen consoles, check out our PlayStation 4 motherboard components article here and the full review of PS4 here.