As alien as this console looks, the opening procedure is actually quite human-friendly. Both white panels pop off with a gentle lift-and-slide motion—allowing immediate access to the M.2 SSD expansion slot, the fan, and ... vacuumable dust ports.

When it comes to easy maintenance of your console's cooling hardware, you could say we're pretty big fans.

But to go any farther, we need a T8 Torx Security driver. (Why on earth does your PS5's fan need security screws?)

The PS5 implements “omnidirectional” cooling, with this thick 120 mm squirrel cage pulling in cool air from both sides. It's capable of moving a lot of air, but Sony won't let it spin fast enough to make much noise.

Thankfully, the M.2 storage expansion bay is very accessible. Remove one Phillips screw and a metal shield, and you're ready for upgrades. That's pretty thoughtful of Sony, especially since the built-in storage is worryingly limited.