MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown · Step 1 — MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown We were relieved to discover the MacBook Air ships in more than just a manila
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304Teardown
Written By: Luke Soules
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown Draft: 2012-05-01Guide ID: 598 -
This document was generated on 2019-09-18 07:56:32 AM (MST).
The new MagSafe power adapterhas been rotated 90 degrees tohandle the Air's extreme thinness.
The earlier MacBook power adapterworks, but won't fit when the Air isplaced on a flat surface.
Step 4
The more traditional ports arehidden in a bay that drops down toreveal:
One USB port.
One headphone jack.
And one micro-DVI port.
The placement of the ports meansthat the Air doesn't play nicely withbulky connectors. To get your Air tosit flat on the desktop, you'll needeither a dongle or slim connectors.
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown Draft: 2012-05-01Guide ID: 598 -
This document was generated on 2019-09-18 07:56:32 AM (MST).
But things aren't so bad. Once thescrews are out, you can just unplugit.
If you weren't counting, that's 19screws to remove the battery.Replacing the battery isstraightforward, but not somethingyou'll be doing when your batterydies mid-flight.
It won't be long before we, alongwith the rest of the Mac market, willbe selling replacement batteries forthis machine.
Step 10
The hard drive sits beneath theUSB, micro-DVI, and audio ribboncables.
Borrowing from the iPod design, thehard drive sports both foam paddingand rubber bumpers. For those of ustoo stingy to spring for the shock-resistant SSD, hopefully this will givethe hard drive a little extraprotection.
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown Draft: 2012-05-01Guide ID: 598 -
This document was generated on 2019-09-18 07:56:32 AM (MST).
With the cables unplugged, you canlift the hard drive out of its frame.
A hard drive swap is definitelypossible, but it's no longer a trivialprocedure like in the MacBook.
Step 12
The MacBook Air comes standardwith an 80 GB 4200 RPM ParallelATA hard disk drive.
Just like the 80 GB iPod Classic, thehard drive is 1.8" wide and 5mm tall.Unfortunately, 80 GB is the largestdrive in this form factor currentlyavailable. If you're a data pack rat,the Air probably isn't for you.
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown Draft: 2012-05-01Guide ID: 598 -
This document was generated on 2019-09-18 07:56:32 AM (MST).
The RF module, in all its blue glory.We spliced together two photos, sothis image shows the front and backof the PCB.
The Broadcom 802.11 chip had themarkings BCM4321KFBG.
We removed the EMI shieldcovering the RF chips. Weuncovered a Skyworks SKY652225-11 R8, a Broadcom BCM2G55KF86,a Broadcom BCM2046, and an SST39VF200A. We also found eight ofAnaren's 1mm square balunsinterfaced between the Broadcomand Skyworks chips, presumablyrunning at 2.4GHz and 5GHz.
And the backside had another chipmarked with BCM94321COEX2.
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown Draft: 2012-05-01Guide ID: 598 -
This document was generated on 2019-09-18 07:56:32 AM (MST).
The heat sink is made of very thinaluminum and looks totally differentfrom anything we've seen in a Macbefore.
The L-shaped aluminum bracket onthe heat sink rests tightly against thelower case, providing thermalconductivity without making anelectrical connection to the chassis.The inside of the lower case has apatch of non-conducting material toaid this thermal dissipation.
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown Draft: 2012-05-01Guide ID: 598 -
This document was generated on 2019-09-18 07:56:32 AM (MST).
We found Intel's new Core 2 Duo chip right beneath the heat sink (no surprises there). Atemperature sensor sits on an external board glued between the CPU and graphics chips. A high-resolution image is available here.
There are 16 RAM chips (eight one-gigabit chips on each side of the logic board) for a total of 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM.
The large microchip in the center of the picture is a low power Intel North Bridge GS965 integratedgraphics chip with the markings LE82GS965.
Three chips adjacent to the North Bridge/graphics controller have a semi-transparent blue epoxycovering them, as part of the HDCP hardware requirement for digital video signals.
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown Draft: 2012-05-01Guide ID: 598 -
This document was generated on 2019-09-18 07:56:32 AM (MST).
The reverse side of the logic board.Many of these chips are for powermanagement. A high-resolutionimage is available here.
You can see the second half of theMicron RAM chips.
We identified the Silicon ImageSIL1392CNU HDMI video chip andTexas Instruments TPS51120 dualcurrent mode synchronous step-down controller (powermanagement).
Step 19
We found a Broadcom BCM5974touch screen controller chip on theinterconnect board.
This is the same chip you'll find inthe iPhone and iPod Touch.
This board also contains an SST25VF020 Serial Flash chip, likelycontaining machine code for anearby chip. There are a fewCYPRUS chips nearby, one of whichwe identified as the CY7C638 low-speed USB peripheral controller.
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown Draft: 2012-05-01Guide ID: 598 -
This document was generated on 2019-09-18 07:56:32 AM (MST).
The display assembly is attached tothe case with 19 small screws:
Four (relatively) large Torx whichscrew into the hinges.
Thirteen #00 Phillips which holddown the clutch cover.
And two #00 Phillips which screwinto cable ground loops.
Apple made no compromises on theAir's display. Amazingly, the entiredisplay assembly weighs only 465 g(slightly more than a pound), 34percent less than the functionally-equivalent display assembly on theMacBook.
Step 21
Unfortunately, getting into thedisplay assembly isn't as easy ascracking open the lower case. Thereare no screws holding the frontbezel to the display, only (very, verysticky) double-sided tape.
We bent the bezel a bit getting it off.Things aren't as bad as they werewith the Titanium, but it's nocakewalk.
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown Draft: 2012-05-01Guide ID: 598 -
This document was generated on 2019-09-18 07:56:32 AM (MST).
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
Step 24
We're left with 88 screws and lots ofparts. It's hard to believe everythinghere weighs in at only three pounds.A high-resolution image is availablehere.
If you have any additionalinformation about components in theMacBook Air, or interestinginformation about its construction,please drop us a note. We're happyto post additional information.
MacBook Air Models A1237 and A1304 Teardown Draft: 2012-05-01Guide ID: 598 -
This document was generated on 2019-09-18 07:56:32 AM (MST).