© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 1 Explain hardware and display components for laptop configuration. Objective Course Weight 3%

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 2 What to Build into a Laptop  Not much interchangeable.  The trade-off paradox:  More capable = less battery life.  Battery Users:  Bigger screens  Brighter screens  Faster CPU  Faster RAM  Discrete GPU

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 3 Battery  All Li Ion.  Number of cells can differ.  More cells longer run time per charge.  Apple custom battery.  Average lifetime 2-3 years based on 1000 charge cycles.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 4 CPU & RAM CPU  Some are BGA and are soldered to the motherboard.  Most are LGA and PGA allowing them to be changed.  This offers upgradability, but choices are slim.  Often the sockets for laptops differ from those in desktops so CPUs cannot be interchanged. RAM  More is better.  Higher frequency drains power.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 5 Storage Bays & Connectors  Laptops usually have room for one storage drive.  Many 17” or larger models have two drive bays.  Many of today’s laptops have a mSATA or m.2 slot on the motherboard.  Small connectors that support small form factor (SFF) SSDs for caching or as a primary drive.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 6 Storage Drives  Most are equipped with 5400 RPM HDDs.  7200 RPM is more desirable.  Hybrid drives are another reasonable option.  Hybrid means a regular HDD with some solid state storage for caching of most frequently used information.  Pure SSDs are the best option for laptops.  Not susceptible to movement damage like HDDs.  Require very little power.  Offer amazing performance.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 7 Optical Drives  One optical drive on most laptops.  DVD dual layer burners are common.  Slim models (ultra books, MacBook Air) do not have optical drives.  Blu-ray option is quite appealing.  Use high capacity disks for back up storage.  High definition movie viewing.  Effect on battery.  Mechanical motors require power to operate.  Digitally stored movies are better for battery life.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 8 Graphics  Integrated graphics are recommended as discrete GPUs drain battery rapidly.  Intelligent Switching - A technology that is implemented uniquely by each vendor that allows the integrated and discrete graphics of a PC to work together. Often helps laptops to save power by switching to integrated graphics when the demand for graphics performance is low.  AMD Hybrid Switching  Nvidia Optimus  Lucid Virtu

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 9 Casing  An often overlooked specification.  Durability is heavily impacted by the construction of the laptop casing.  A laptop shell that is manufactured from a single piece of metal:  Provides structural stability.  Heat dissipation. “Unibody” (video) designs offer advantages.Unibody

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 10 Displays  LED backlighting:  Brighter source of light.  Great for battery.  Aspect Ratio & Resolution:  Nearly all laptops today have a widescreen aspect ratio. 16:9 16:10 (slightly taller)

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 11 Displays  Low cost configurations usually feature 1366 x 768 resolution.  Mid range configurations may have 1600 x 900 resolution.  High end configurations have full HD 1920 x 1080 or higher.  At small screen sizes (<15”) it is costly to create HD screens. Placing the same number of pixels in a reduced space means that the pixels must be smaller and therefore more expensive to manufacture.