Chapter 9

Understanding Laptops
• Portable systems have gotten smaller, lighter (more portable), more
powerful, and less expensive.
• Because the technology and price disparity between the desktop and
laptop platforms has decreased significantly, laptops have outsold
desktops since the mid-2000s.
• A portable computer is any computer that contains all of the functionality
of a desktop computer system but is portable.
• Of course laptops are not the only types of portable computers in the market today. There are Chromebooks,
tablets, and a variety of handheld smartphones that can also lay claim to being called computers.

• The original portable computers were hardly portable, hence the unofficial term luggable. They were highly
inferior to desktops and very expensive
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSOq-VvIPqs

• Laptops are also called Notebooks because they resemble large notebooks
 Understanding Laptop Architecture
• They contain many parts that perform similar functions as desktops do
• Because laptops are significantly smaller than desktops, this raises the
concern of heat, hence laptop parts are significantly smaller
• Also, laptop parts are designed to consume less power and to shut
themselves off when not being used (desktops have the latter feature too)
• Laptops have grown smaller and smaller. In 2007 the first Netbook was
introduced – Chromebook is an example
 Laptops vs Desktops
Primary Differences:
• Portability – They run on batteries and have wireless network cards so
you can move around with them.
• Cost - Their prices are much higher than desktops even though desktops
are much more powerful because miniature versions of components cost
more. But the price difference has shrunk significantly in the last few
years
 Laptops vs Desktops
• Performance - Compromises must often be made between performance and
portability, and considering that portability is the major feature of a laptop,
performance is what usually suffers. Laptops that outperform desktops are
significantly higher in cost
• Expandability – Desktops are designed to be modular hence their
capabilities are easier to upgrade. Other than memory and hard drives, most
laptop upgrades consist of adding an external device through one of the
laptop’s ports, such as a USB port – processors and motherboards are next to
impossible to upgrade
 Laptops vs Desktops
• Quality of construction - materials used to construct the laptop case and
other components must be extremely durable. Durability is important in a
desktop too, but it won’t be tested as much as in a laptop.
 Laptop Case
• Made up of 3 main parts:
1. Display – LCD or LED
2. Case Frame – Metal reinforcing structure inside the laptop for rigidity
3. The case – plastic cover for protection against other elements
• **In the A+ objectives, you will see the words plastics and frames used
together. These terms are basically interchangeable with the term laptop
case
 Motherboards and Processors
• Backbone structure / connects all components
• All components are integrated
 Motherboards

• Their motherboards differ from desktops – 1. Smaller FF 2. Lack

standards
• Uniquely shaped to fit the specific case i.e. proprietary
• Daughter board – saves space. Video circuitry, usb , network etc. can be
built on a daughter board. Disadvantage – whole board needs to be
replaced if a part goes bad
Daughterboard
 Laptop processor
• Brain of the laptop, smaller, slower
• Small laptop case means heat issues, thus processors are built with:
1. Streamlined connection to the motherboard –soldered directly or built with Micro-
FCBGA (Flip Chip Board Grid Array), i.e. balls instead of pins
2. Lower voltage/clock speeds – to combat heat processor voltage is lowered or speed
reduced
3. Active sleep and slowdown modes – Processor throttling – run in lower power when
on battery to extend battery life and throttled back up when power is available
 Laptop processor
• Many laptop processors include built in wireless networking
• E.g. Pentium M consist of
1. Graphics memory controller chipset
2. Intel Pro Wireless LAN connection
3. Intel Centrino chipset (the brain) which runs at lower power than
Desktop processors
 Memory
• 2 Types – SODIMM (small outline) and MicroDimm (50% smaller)
 Memory
Recap: Physical Differences between DDR, DDR2 and DDR3

DDR DDR2 DDR3

1st Generation 2nd Generation 3rd Generation
Chips use TSOP (Thin Chips are mounted using Ball Grid Array
Small Outline package) – Ball Grid Array – invisible
square chip with legs on ball-like legs under the
left and right chip directly plug to the
board
Notch is slightly to the Notch is a little more to the Notch is further to the left
right middle
Long rectangular chips Square chips Small square chips
 DDR 1
Thin Small Outline Package (Surface Mounted)
Ball Grid Array
 Memory
SODIMM
• Smaller than DIMMS. Available in DDR, DDR2 and DDR3
• 32-bit (72-pin) and 64-bit (144-pin SDRAM, 200-pin DDR, 200-pin DDR2, and
204-pin DDR3) configuration available
MicroDIMM
• Newer. 50% smaller than SODIMM
• Does not have any notches on the bottom
• 64-bit modules with 172 or 214 pins for DDR2 are popular
• Storage – Trend moving to cloud based storage
• Hard drives – 2.5” or 1.8” instead of the fullsized 3.5”
SSD

Desktop
• SSD – no moving parts, similar HDD Laptop
PATA/SATA connections, faster, less HDD

Power, silent, harder to damage, more

Reliable but EXPENSIVE, smaller space
• Hybrid drives – fusion of SSD and regular HDD drives. Frequently used files
are stored on flash memory, others on magnetic plates. Price/performance in
between HDD and SSD

• Optical drives – smaller but similar functionality. More expensive

 Input Devices
• Keyboard – built into the lower portion of the clamshell. Special function
keys (Fn) combinations commonly control video, audio and media,
network)
**Numeric pad is normally missing.
**Video dimming and source selection
 Input Devices
Pointing devices
• Trackball - similar to a mouse turned upside down. Pick up durst and
therefore do not last
• Touchpad - has a pad of touch-sensitive material. Touch sensitive
• Pointing stick - a pointing device that uses a small rubber-tipped stick –
in between the GB&H keys on Lenovo and IBM laptops
• Touchscreen – Screen senses touch. How they work beyond the scope
 Expansion Buses and Ports
• Express Cards - support USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and PCI Express
 Expansion Buses and Ports
• Mini-PCIe – replaces Mini-PCI and reside inside the case
 Expansion Buses and Ports
• USB Ports for expansion
USB devices that act as adaptors include:
• ■■ USB to RJ-45 ■■ USB to Wi-Fi
• ■■ USB to Bluetooth ■■ USB to HDMI
• ■■ USB to Thunderbolt ■■ USB to DisplayPort
• ■■ USB optical drives ■■ USB smart card readers
 DisplayPort
• Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) introduced DisplayPort
in 2008.
• Was to replace VGA and DVI, Backward compatible using adapters
 Thunderbolt
• Launched by Apple in 2011
• Includes support for PCIe
• Thunderbolt supports not only video devices but also several other types
of peripherals – HDD, SSD, Printers, docking stations etc
 Other Ports
• Mouse/Keyboard Port – PS2 and USB
• Communications Port – wireless cards standard, others have modem,
Bluetooth, infrared, cellular and ethernet
 Docking station

Docking Port - used to connect the laptop

Docking station - an extension of the motherboard of a laptop
 Docking stations
• A port replicator reproduces the functions of the ports on the back of a
laptop so that peripherals such as monitors, keyboards, printers, and so on
that don’t travel with the laptop can remain connected to the dock and
don’t all have to be unplugged physically each time the laptop is taken
away.
• Docking stations function as port replicators
 Power Systems
• Portable computers can use either of two power sources: batteries or
adapted power from an AC or DC source
• AC power source needs to be rectified (converted) to DC to power
internal components
 Batteries
Types of batteries (chemistrie):
1. Nickel cadmium (NiCd),
2. lithium-ion (Li-ion), and
3. nickel-metal hydride (NiMH)
4. lithium-polymer (Li-poly)
• Energy density measures how much energy a battery can hold.

• Power density measures how quickly the stored energy can be accessed,
 Power adapters
• Convert AC to DC
 Laptop Displays
Video Card
• Like desktops it’s responsible for generating and managing the image sent
to the screen
• Most LCD monitors are digital, meaning that you need a video card that
puts out a digital image
 Backlight

• LCD displays don’t produce light

• The typical laptop display uses a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) as
its backlight
 Inverter
• Fluorescent backlight require high energy/voltage
• The inverter is a small circuit board installed behind the LCD panel that
takes DC current and inverts it to AC for the backlight
• Causes flickers if faulty
• Inverters can discharge energy, which can cause severe injury to you. Be
careful when working with them!
• Screen - Current popular options include LCD, LED, and OLED (ch4)
• Digitizer is a device that can be written or drawn on, and the content will
be converted from analog input to digital images on the computer.
• Webcam and Microphone
• Wi-Fi Antenna - generally run through the upper half of the clamshell
case
• Cable Locks – for security
Disassembling and Reassembling laptops
• Be organized
• Document
• Use the right tools