AfterDawn: Tech news

Ouya scores 9 out of 10 in repairability

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 08 May 2013 7:29 User comments (3)

Ouya scores 9 out of 10 in repairability Ouya, the little open-source game console that could, has received very high marks for repairability by iFixit.
iFixit tears down consoles, phone, tablets and other devices to see what hardware is used and grades the devices on how easy they are to repair if something were to go wrong.

The console, which costs just $99 for consumers, is three inches across by three inches high and deep. Under the hood is 1GB SDRAM, a Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU, a Texas Instruments power management tool and comically, five metal weights used to make the console more bottom heavy and not topple over and to keep the cables connected in the back more stable.

Scoring a 9 places the Ouya in rare company, as many current generation devices are almost impossible to repair on your own if something were to happen. For example, the new Microsoft Surface Pro tablet scored a 1/10, with the company calling it impossible to repair.



Additionally, iFixit tore apart the controllers (which cost $50 after the first one) and found they are powered by an ARM Cortex M3 processor. The company says the joysticks are soldered to the circuit board, however, meaning if the joysticks are damaged you will likely have to completely replace the controller.

More pictures here: Ouya Teardown

Previous Next  

3 user comments

19.5.2013 08:22

Hate to bash the little box in any way...but having the ram and cpu permanently mounted to the board should cost it some points. As far as I can tell, the only physical repairs the average user can do would be to replace the fan and thermal compound.

29.5.2013 10:13

And the power of that box is 2/10

311.5.2013 17:24

Originally posted by KillerBug:
Hate to bash the little box in any way...but having the ram and cpu permanently mounted to the board should cost it some points. As far as I can tell, the only physical repairs the average user can do would be to replace the fan and thermal compound.
Agree. Sounds like it should get a 2/10 for repairability. Sure, you can put it into a new plastic mold, and you can swap the fan. Big deal, anything else goes, and you get to buy a new one.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

Sony suspends memory card sales because memory chips are simply not available Sony suspends memory card sales because memory chips are simply not available (28 Mar 2026 6:49)
Sony has announced that it is temporarily suspending the sale of memory cards used in mobile phones and digital cameras, among other things. The company states that the reason is problems with the availability of memory chips.
Austria plans to ban social media for under 14 year olds Austria plans to ban social media for under 14 year olds (28 Mar 2026 6:17)
Austria is planning to ban social media for children under 14. The reform aims to protect children from harmful effects and addictions, but at the same time, it is problematic from a privacy perspective.
TP-Link urges users to update their routers - several vulnerabilities patched TP-Link urges users to update their routers - several vulnerabilities patched (26 Mar 2026 1:56)
Serious security vulnerabilities have been discovered in several TP-Link router models, for which patches were released at the end of March 2026. The company urges users to update their router software immediately.
Google: The feared Q-Day is now expected to happen in 2029 Google: The feared Q-Day is now expected to happen in 2029 (25 Mar 2026 4:32)
Google has advanced its estimate of when current forms of encryption will become insecure. The moment is called Q-Day, or Quantum Day, when the computational power of quantum computers will be sufficient to break currently used encryptions.
OpenAI shuts down its AI video service Sora OpenAI shuts down its AI video service Sora (24 Mar 2026 6:28)
OpenAI has decided to shut down Sora, its AI video creator, just months after its release. The decision is due to issues such as copyright problems and the deepfake phenomenon.

News archive