ASUS Eee Box Motherboard Teardown

Form: Custom (210mm x 170mm)

ODM: Pegatron (assumed)

Mobo Model: PSLD2EB-DHS

CPU/Chipset: Intel Atom Processor N270, 1.6GHz, 512KB L2 Cache,

533MHz, 45nm Process

Intel 945GSE Northbridge - Graphics and Memory

Controller Hub

Intel ICH7-M Southbridge - I/O Controller Hub 7-M

Overview / Main Features

This does not represent a teardown of an entire finished product (desktop PC system in this case), but rather a 'motherboard-only' analysis of the ASUS Eee Box B202 Net-Top computer motherboard. The custom motherboard (much like a laptop motherboard) features an Intel 945GSE Northbridge/Southbridge solution along with the Intel Atom N270 Processor.

This is a custom analysis which also applies custom functional areas for a very detailed technical slice of the data. These functional areas are exceptional in their detail and do not represent standard iSuppli functional areas, but are much more detailed and offer much greater resolution in cost analysis.

ASUS Eee Box Motherboard Main Image

Low-cost Net-Top computer category; mainstream consumers - media centric computing

Released

June 2008

ASUS Eee Box Motherboard - Motherboard Top

Pricing - The complete ASUS Eee Box PC is priced between $280 and $325.

Availability - globally (assumed)

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have assumed a lifetime production volume of 2M units over 2 years.

As a reminder, teardown volume production assumptions are primarily used for our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially). Unless assumed, volumes increment by an order of magnitude. Minor changes in volume (say 1 million vs. 2) rarely have a large net effect on our final analysis.

ASUS Eee Box Motherboard Cost Analysis

Main Cost Drivers Representing 85% of Total Direct materials Costs

AU80586GE025D - Intel - CPU - Intel Atom Processor N270, 1.6GHz, 512KB L2 Cache, 533MHz, 45nm Process

QG82945GSESLB2R - Intel - Northbridge - Graphics and Memory Controller Hub

AW-NE766 - AzureWave - WLAN Card - 802.11b/g/n

NT1GT64U8HB0BN-3C - Nanya - SODIMM DDR2 - 1GB, 128Mx64, 667MHz, 1.8V

NH82801GBMSL8YB - Intel - Southbridge - I/O Controller Hub 7-M (ICH7-M)

Global Brands Manufacture Ltd - 6-Layer - FR4

Heatsink/Cooler - Copper Tube, Aluminum Fins, 2 Copper Plates w/ Mounting Tabs & Thermal Transfer Material

CH7315B-TEF - Chrontel - HDMI Transmitter - SDVO Bus, HD Audio, 192kHz S/PDIF

RTL8111C-GR - Realtek - Ethernet Controller - Gigabit LAN, PCI Express

RT8202APQW - RichTek - Regulator - DC-DC Controller (Qty:4)

Materials and Manufacturing $117.90

What Is Not Included in our Cost Analysis

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect ONLY the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted EMS providers), AND manufacturing with basic test. Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the material manufacture of the core device itself - cost of intellectual property, royalties and licensing fees (those not already included into the per component price), software, software loading and test, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs including not only EMS provider and the OEM's margin, but that of other resellers. Our cost analysis is meant to focus on those costs incurred in the manufacture of the core device and exceptionally in some circumstances the packaging and literature as well.

Manufacturing Notes

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Based on markings, the unit was assembled in China. Furthermore, we have assumed that custom mechanicals (plastics, metals, etc.) were also sourced in China.

Country of origin assumptions relate directly to the associated cost of manufacturing, where calculated by iSuppli. In the cases of 'finished' sub-assemblies (such as heat sink), we do not calculate internal manufacturing costs, but rather assess the market price of the finished product in which case country of origin assumptions may or may not have a direct effect on pricing.

Remember also that labor rates are applied directly only to hand inserted components and systems in our bill of materials, and although regional assumptions do, these new rates do not have a direct effect on our modeled calculations of placement costs for automated SMD assembly lines. "Auto inserted components (such as SMT components) placement costs are calculated by an iSuppli algorithm which allocates a cost per component based on the size and pincount of the device. This calculation is affected by country or region of origin as well.

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

The ASUS Eee Box motherboard features a total of 802 components (7 of which are mechanical in nature). This component count is on par with other nettop motherboards analyzed as part of this analysis, in fact it's at the low end of similar models.

Component counts have a direct bearing on the overall manufacturing cycle times and costs, and also can increase or decrease overall yields and re-work. Our calculations of manufacturing costs factor counts and more qualitative complexities in the design. The cost of manufacturing is also, to some extent, decreased in this case because of assumed labor rate applied for China.

Note that manual labor has a much smaller effect on auto-insertion assembly lines (for the Main PCB, for example), where manufacturing costs are much more capital equipment intensive and driven by these investment costs.

ASUS Eee Box Motherboard - Motherboard Bottom

Design Notes

Here is a summary of the major components used in the ASUS Eee Box PC Motherboard design:

Chipset

• Intel - 945GSE Northbridge - Graphics and Memory Controller Hub
• Intel - ICH7-M Southbridge - I/O Controller Hub 7-M

CPU

• Intel - Atom Processor N270 - AU80586GE025D

Memory

• Nanya - NT1GT64U8HB0BN-3C - SODIMM DDR2

I/O Interface

• Winbond - W83627DHG-A - I/O Controller - Super I/O Device, w/ LPC Interface
• Chrontel - CH7315B-TEF - HDMI Transmitter - 480i/576i/240p/480p/288p/576p/720p/1080i/1080p
• Realtek - RTL8111C-GR - Ethernet Controller - Gigabit LAN, PCI Express
• Realtek - ALC888-GR - Codec - Audio, 7.1+2 Channel, High Definition
• Realtek - RTS5158E - Card Reader Controller

Clock

• IDT - ICS9LPRS552AGLF - Clock Generator