A laptop is a convenient assistant and companion for a modern person. It is less portable than a smartphone or tablet, but it allows you to use the same operating systems as on desktop computers. The design and layout of the laptop components allowed them to fit into a very limited space.
Instructions
Step 1
The heart of the laptop is the motherboard. It differs greatly from that used in a desktop computer, but it contains the same components: a processor, a chipset, RAM, ROM with BIOS, a real-time clock with a battery, etc. In most cases, the processor is located in a socket, like on the motherboard of a conventional computer … But the fan on it is of a special design. It blows around the radiator, which is not located directly on the processor, but on a sealed hollow copper tube filled with refrigerant. The other end of this tube is attached to a polished plate that is pressed through thermal paste or thermal pad to the processor. Branches from the tube lead to similar plates of other sizes, pressed against the chipset and video card. This cooling system is very flat, which is what a laptop requires.
Step 2
The video card is also unusual. It is not located perpendicular to the motherboard, but parallel to it. Instead of slots, connectors are used to connect it. And the connector for connecting an external monitor is not on the video card, but on the motherboard. The RAM modules, for access to which the cover is provided, differ from those used in desktop computers by about half the length. They are called SO-DIMMs. Sometimes one of these modules is located under the keyboard, which in this case can be easily removed. In a netbook, some of the memory can be soldered to the motherboard.
Step 3
The hard drive and DVD drive are located on a removable carrier. They are connected via adapters to connectors on the motherboard. The design of these assemblies has been chosen such that they consume a relatively low current and fit easily into a laptop case. Their supply voltage is also selected to be small. If in desktop computers both nodes are powered by two voltages (5 and 12 V), then in a laptop - only one (5 V). Solid-state drives, sometimes non-removable, are also used in netbooks. And if an old-style hard drive that is not on sale in a laptop is out of order, the machine can be booted from a USB flash drive.
Step 4
The battery is connected to the motherboard through a heavy-duty connector. The charge controller automatically starts and stops charging, switches the laptop from external to internal power and vice versa. If in a desktop computer, the built-in power supply generates all the necessary voltages directly from the mains, then in a laptop this conversion takes place in two stages. An external power supply unit generates one voltage, which, depending on the type of computer, from 12 (in netbooks) to 19 V. The rest of the required voltages are generated from the voltage of the power supply unit or battery by converters located on the motherboard. The power units do not have fans.
Step 5
The keyboard and touchpad are connected to the motherboard by ribbon cables. There is no controller in the keyboard, it is located on the motherboard. The touchpad has it just like a normal mouse. The screen is connected through the connector with a bundle of thin wires placed in a metallized fabric, connected to the common wire of the laptop. Built-in speakers, as well as a strip with control buttons and LEDs, are connected with ordinary wires, or also with loops. The auxiliary miniature slots contain Bluetooth, WiFi, and sometimes GPS (GLONASS) modules. Antennas are connected to them through even more miniature coaxial connectors. On the sides of the motherboard there are external connectors for connecting external devices, a volume control, Bluetooth and WiFi switches.
Step 6
The nodes of the laptop are quite fragile due to miniaturization. It is enough to look at them once to understand why the laptop requires careful handling. But if any of these nodes fail, don't be upset. Changing them, although more difficult than in a desktop computer, is also possible.
