♪♪ Narrator: THE FIRST COMPUTERS USED TO BE THE SIZE OF AN ENTIRE ROOM. THEN THEY WERE BUILT TO FIT ON YOUR DESK. THE NEWEST DESIGN IS A PORTABLE DEVICE THAT SITS ON YOUR LAP, AND TODAY'S LAPTOPS ARE MADE EVEN SMALLER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER.
WITH ITS LIGHTNING-FAST PROCESSOR AND IMPRESSIVE GRAPHICS, THIS LAPTOP IS DESIGNED FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE GAMING. THE COMPUTER'S BRAIN, CALLED THE MOTHERBOARD, BEGINS AS A PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD. ITS PATTERN OF LINES AND PADS AND COPPER IS THE WIRING FOR THE ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS THAT WILL BE SOLDERED TO THE BOARD.
THIS MACHINE PLACES A STENCIL OF THE COMPONENT LAYOUT ONTO THE BOARD AND APPLIES SOLDER PASTE THROUGH THE OPENINGS. A QUALITY-INSPECTION CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHS THE SOLDER PASTE AND SENDS THE IMAGES TO A COMPUTER. THE COMPUTER ANALYZES THEM, LOOKING FOR ANY MISSING PASTE, MISALIGNMENT, OR OTHER MISTAKES.
IF THE BOARD PASSES INSPECTION, IT PASSES THROUGH 15 ROBOTIC MACHINES, EACH OF WHICH PLACES UP TO 150 COMPONENTS ON THE CORRECT LOCATIONS ON THE BOARD IN JUST 30 SECONDS. THEN THE BOARD RUNS THROUGH AN OVEN THAT MELTS THE SOLDER PASTE, CONNECTING THE COMPONENTS TO THE BOARD. ANOTHER CAMERA INSPECTION ENSURES THAT THE INTERNAL PROCESSOR IS CORRECTLY SOLDERED, AND THAT NO COMPONENT IS MISSING OR SHIFTED OUT OF POSITION.
AFTER FUNCTION TESTING AND A VISUAL INSPECTION, THE MOTHERBOARD MOVES TO THE ASSEMBLY LINE AND IS SET ASIDE FOR THE TIME BEING. NEXT, TECHNICIANS MANUALLY ASSEMBLE THE TOP HALF OF THE LAPTOP CALLED THE PANEL KIT. THEY PLACE PROTECTION FILM ON THE 15-INCH L.
C. D. SCREEN.
THEN THEY PLUG IN THE CABLE THAT WILL CONNECT THE L. C. D.
TO THE MOTHERBOARD. THEY INSERT THE L. C.
D. SCREEN INTO A FRAME WITH A WEB CAMERA AND MICROPHONE ALREADY EMBEDDED. THEN THEY ATTACH THIS ANTENNA BOTTOM COVER TO THE SCREEN COVER AND POSITION THE MOTHERBOARD CABLE INSIDE IT.
NEXT, THEY INSTALL THE MODULE FOR THE WEBCAM AND MICROPHONE. THEY ATTACH TWO HINGES, WHICH CONNECT THIS PANEL KIT TO THE REST OF THE LAPTOP. THEN THEY INSTALL THE WI-FI ANTENNA IN THE ANTENNA BOTTOM COVER.
♪♪ ALL COMPONENTS ARE CONCEALED IN THE ANTENNA BOTTOM COVER BEHIND THIS ANTENNA TOP COVER. THEY COMPLETE THE PANEL KIT BY PRESSING IN A THIN METAL FRAME AROUND THE SCREEN. ♪♪ NEXT, THEY ASSEMBLE THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE LAPTOP.
FIRST, TECHNICIANS ATTACH THE TOP COVER TO THE PANEL-KIT HINGES AND THE TOUCHPAD. ♪♪ THEN THEY INSTALL THE RIGHT AND LEFT SPEAKERS IN THE TOP COVER. NOW THE MOTHERBOARD COMES BACK INTO PLAY.
AFTER INSPECTION, A COMPUTER-GUIDED ROUTER CUTS OUT OPENINGS TO ACCOMMODATE THE COMPUTER'S FANS, WHICH PREVENT THE ELECTRONICS FROM OVERHEATING. A GAMING LAPTOP GENERATES A LOT MORE HEAT THAN A REGULAR LAPTOP AND THEREFORE REQUIRES TWO POWERFUL FANS RATHER THAN ONE. AFTER CHECKING THAT THE FAN SCREWS ARE SUFFICIENTLY TIGHTENED, THEY PLACE THE MOTHERBOARD INTO THE TOP COVER.
CONTAMINANTS SUCH AS DUST OR OIL CAN IMPEDE PROPER CONTACT, SO AS A PRECAUTION, THEY CLEAN THE CONNECTORS FOR THE MEMORY MODULES WITH SOLVENT, THEN DRY THEM WITH COMPRESSED AIR. THEN THEY INSTALL THE MEMORY MODULE, THE WI-FI AND BLUETOOTH MODULE, AND THE SOLID-STATE DISC, WHICH STORES DATA. THEY CONNECT A HIGH-CAPACITY BATTERY TO THE MOTHERBOARD.
BATTERIES FOR GAMING LAPTOPS ARE TYPICALLY LARGER BECAUSE THE FASTER PROCESSOR AND DUAL FANS CONSUME MORE POWER. THE LAST COMPONENT IS THE KEYBOARD, WHICH FITS INTO A RECTANGULAR OPENING IN THE TOP COVER OF THE BOTTOM HALF. A LASER-ETCHING MACHINE MARKS THE REQUIRED INFORMATION UNDERNEATH.
AN AUTOMATED MACHINE TESTS NUMEROUS FUNCTIONS, AND A QUALITY-CONTROL TEAM TESTS SEVERAL OTHERS, INCLUDING THE VIRTUAL-REALITY FEATURE. . .
. . .
THE L. C. D.
AND KEYBOARD COLOR DISPLAYS. . .
AND THE KEYS. NOT ONLY MUST THE KEYS FUNCTION PROPERLY, THEY NEED TO BE DURABLE, SO ENTHUSIASTIC GAMERS WON'T BREAK THEM WHILE PLAYING.
