You can always count on the gang at iFixit to promptly tear down a new gadget just as it hits store shelves which is exactly what they have done with Nvidia's new portable gaming platform known as Shield.
As you might have imagined, the Shield looks nothing like any game console or tablet they've ever taken apart. And if you think Nvidia just threw together some hardware to push something out the door, you'd be mistaken. There's plenty of complicated hardware inside and even an active cooling fan to keep it all from overheating. Luckily the fan is "a breeze" to replace should that component bite the dust.
Other noteworthy components include a three-cell, 3.7V, 7350mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery and the motherboard. The latter contains the quad-core Tegra 4 processor, Samsung eMMC, a wireless module, 2GB of RAM, a 6-axis gyroscope and accelerometer and a Realtek audio microcontroller.
Ultimately the handheld earned a repairability score of six out of 10 (the higher the score, the easier it is to fix). iFixit found a durable design that should withstand regular use and a modular design that should translate into lower repair costs as smaller components can be replaced individually.
Because this is a new type of device, however, there's certainly some room for improvement in terms of repairability but as it sits today, repairs and reassembly are pretty difficult. Furthermore, the battery isn't easily accessible and will require some skill to reach and replace.