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After Hours

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

By Bill Detwiler December 6, 2006, 4:01 AM PST Bill Detwiler on Twitter billdetwiler

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Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Nintendo GameCube

Nintendo GameCube

ntReleased in 2001, the GameCube was Nintendo’s fourth video game console and a significant step forward. With the GameCube, Nintendo moved away a from cartridge-based games to 1.5GB 8cm discs–similar to miniDVD.
nt
ntOriginally priced at $199 USD, we purchased this refurbished unit for about $70.

n

ntnn

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

GameCube front

GameCube front

The four controller ports and two memory card slots are located on the GameCube’s front panel.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Right

Right

The GameCube’s air intake is located on the unit’s right side.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Game disc lid open

Game disc lid open

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

DC power connector and AV outs

DC power connector and AV outs

The GameCube has one analog audio/video output and one “Digital” video output–this output was removed in later versions of the GameCube.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Bottom port covers removed

Bottom port covers removed

The GameCube has a highspeed data port and serial port.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Gamecube, power adapter, AV cable, and controller

Gamecube, power adapter, AV cable, and controller

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

GameCube Controller

GameCube Controller

The GameCube controller has two analog sticks, a D-pad and eight buttons.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

GameCube Controller back

GameCube Controller back

Two trigger buttons and a shoulder button are located on the front of the controller.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Top cover, front panel, back panel, and chassis

Top cover, front panel, back panel, and chassis

Disassembling the GameCube begins by removing the four tamper resistant screws that hold on the top cover.

These screws use a 6-point, external star head. You can buy specialty screwdrivers and bits online, but I didn’t have that much time. I used a drill. this damaged the four cover posts on the GameCube’s chassis, but it doesn’t really matter. I don’t plan on moving this GameCube around much and with the top cover in place, the unit works fine.

With the four screws removed, you can lift off the top cover and the snap off the back and front panels.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Front panel

Front panel

The front panel snaps to the chassis. It contains the four controller ports and slot for the two memory card ports.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Chassis with optical drive still attached

Chassis with optical drive still attached

The GameCube’s optical drive sits atop the chassis.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Optical drive

Optical drive

With the fan removed, you can access and unscrew the remaining Phillips screws that hold the optical drive to the chassis.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Gamecube motherboard and heatsink - Top

Gamecube motherboard and heatsink - Top

With the optical drive gone, we get our first look at the motherboard. The large heatsink covers most of the GameCubes chips.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Gamecube motherboard and heatsink - Front

Gamecube motherboard and heatsink - Front

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Heatsink screws

Heatsink screws

Six Phillips screws hold the heatsink to the motherboard.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Heatsink without screws

Heatsink without screws

With the screws removed, I can gently remove the heatsink and expose the CPU, GPU and the GameCube’s two 1T-SRAM memory chips.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Motherboard without heatsink

Motherboard without heatsink

After removing the heatsink, we can see the CPU, GPU, and two 1T-SRAM memory chips.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

IBM Power PC "Gekko" CPU

IBM Power PC "Gekko" CPU

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

ATI "Flipper" GPU

ATI "Flipper" GPU

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Two MoSys 1T-SRAM memory chips (24MB total memory)

Two MoSys 1T-SRAM memory chips (24MB total memory)

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

16MB DRAM chip and audio/video outputs

16MB DRAM chip and audio/video outputs

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

GameCube heatshink - Top

GameCube heatshink - Top

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

GameCube heatshink - Bottom

GameCube heatshink - Bottom

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Chassis with metal base plate

Chassis with metal base plate

The metal base plate is secured with two Phillips screws.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Second PCB

Second PCB

With the metal base plate removed, we can see the GameCube second PCB.

Cracking open the Nintendo GameCube

Second PCB close-up

Second PCB close-up

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By Bill Detwiler
Bill Detwiler is the Editor for Technical Content and Ecosystem at Celonis. He is the former Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and previous host of TechRepublic's Dynamic Developer podcast and Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show.
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