If you love something, take it apart and see what's inside. That's the geek mantra that some zealous gadgeteers are applying to the iPhone 3GS today. Their biggest discovery: a CPU that's running at just 72% of its capacity.

Both iFixit and Rapid Repair, companies that specialize in repairing broken gadgets, have got their hands on the new iPhone 3GS, torn it apart, and photographed the process. They were good enough to share their photos with us so we can bring them to you here. IFixit even sent its teardown supremo Kyle Wiens 5,400 miles across the Atlantic to sunny England in order to exploit time-zones and get the job started a few hours early.

Here's a selection of images from the first frenzied moments in the life of the iPhone 3G S (and the last few moments in the life of two specific units).

Got any more details about what you see in the photos here? Let us know in the comments. We'll update the story as we get more info.

What's in the box? This is everything, including Apple's custom "paperclip" SIM card key, a UK power charger and the UK O2 SIM. Of course, everything shown here is usually sold in a more fully-assembled form. If you open the box and see this, you should be worried. Image credit: iFixit.

There is no visible difference between the 3G and the 3GS other than the model number and, if you opt for the 32GB iPhone, the number 32 on the back. This is good news for 3G owners – you won't look as goofy as those cheapskates still on the chunky 2G version. Image credit: iFixit.

Removing the brain

This is the real guts of the machine, the logic board which contains the Samsung CPU and other electronics. There are plenty of connectors to release, but you'll see this view after removing just two screws. Image credit: iFixit.

iPhone 3G S logic board close-up and personal

The heart of the logic board is the CPU, the Samsung S5PC100 (both previous iPhones used the Samsung S3C6400). It runs at 600MHz, just as T-Mobile let slip last week, but according to Samsung’s spec sheet it can run at up to 833MHz and its native speed is 667MHz. This means that Apple is underclocking, presumably for better battery life. The chip also has built-in 720p video, and the memory for use by the OS has been doubled to 256MB. Image credit: iFixit.

iPhone 3G S (left) and iPhone 3G

There is little difference between the 3G and 3G S other than the big Toshiba NAND flash chip smack bang in the middle. Image credit: Rapid Repair.

The screen and digitizer

The trickiest part of the job is removing the digitizer from the screen. It requires a heat gun, a steady hand and nerves of steel. See the one on the left, missing the home button? It will remain this way forever. According to Rapid Repair, "The home button is held on with plastic pegs which cannot be replaced." In other words: Kids, don't try this at home. Image credit: Rapid Repair.