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Step 17
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We found Intel's new Core 2 Duo chip right beneath the heat sink (no surprises there). A temperature sensor sits on an external board glued between the CPU and graphics chips. A high-resolution image is available here.
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There are 16 RAM chips (eight one-gigabit chips on each side of the logic board) for a total of 2 GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM.
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The large microchip in the center of the picture is a low power Intel North Bridge GS965 integrated graphics chip with the markings LE82GS965.
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Three chips adjacent to the North Bridge/graphics controller have a semi-transparent blue epoxy covering them, as part of the HDCP hardware requirement for digital video signals.
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Step 18
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The reverse side of the logic board. Many of these chips are for power management. A high-resolution image is available here.
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You can see the second half of the Micron RAM chips.
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We identified the Silicon Image SIL1392CNU HDMI video chip and Texas Instruments TPS51120 dual current mode synchronous step-down controller (power management).
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Step 19
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We found a Broadcom BCM5974 touch screen controller chip on the interconnect board.
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This is the same chip you'll find in the iPhone and iPod Touch.
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This board also contains an SST 25VF020 Serial Flash chip, likely containing machine code for a nearby chip. There are a few CYPRUS chips nearby, one of which we identified as the CY7C638 low-speed USB peripheral controller.
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Step 20
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The display assembly is attached to the case with 19 small screws:
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Four (relatively) large Torx which screw into the hinges.
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Thirteen #00 Phillips which hold down the clutch cover.
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And two #00 Phillips which screw into cable ground loops.
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Apple made no compromises on the Air's display. Amazingly, the entire display assembly weighs only 465 g (slightly more than a pound), 34 percent less than the functionally-equivalent display assembly on the MacBook.
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Step 21
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Unfortunately, getting into the display assembly isn't as easy as cracking open the lower case. There are no screws holding the front bezel to the display, only (very, very sticky) double-sided tape.
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We bent the bezel a bit getting it off. Things aren't as bad as they were with the Titanium, but it's no cakewalk.
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Step 24
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We're left with 88 screws and lots of parts. It's hard to believe everything here weighs in at only three pounds. A high-resolution image is available here.
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If you have any additional information about components in the MacBook Air, or interesting information about its construction, please drop us a note. We're happy to post additional information.
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