Computer Electronics

HP dc7800 SFF Desktop Motherboard Teardown

13 August 2008
The following is an overview of a teardown analysis conducted by IHS Benchmarking.

Form:

  • Custom Form Factor (SFF) (12.1" x 8.25" - 307 x 210mm)

ODM:

  • Unknown

ODM's Mobo Name:

  • Unknown

Chipset:

  • Intel - LE82035SLAEX - Northbridge - Q35 Express, Memory Controller and Graphics Hub
  • Intel - NH82801I0SLAFD - Southbridge - I/O Controller Hub (ICH9DO)

HP dc7800 SFF Desktop Motherboard Main ImageHP dc7800 SFF Desktop Motherboard Main Image

Overview / Scope

This does not represent a teardown of an entire finished product (desktop system in this case), but rather a 'motherboard-only' analysis of the motherboard from HP Compaq dc7800 system. The board features an Intel chipset / solution. As part of our extended analysis, this unit is compared side-by-side with an ostensibly similar HP Compaq motherboard (dc5800) with similar Intel solution.

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.

This motherboard is not commercially available and has no retail price because it is OEM from HP Compaq systems.

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this analysis, we have made a volume assumption of 3 million units over the course of the product lifetime.

As a reminder, volume production assumptions are meant primarily to be 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), and not necessarily as a market accurate estimate for a specific model. Our estimations are based on iSuppli market research and we derive rational estimates based on overall market shares of the manufacturer in question, as well as the number of products in a given portfolio and the relative popularity of certain lines of products.

HP dc7800 SFF Desktop Motherboard Cost AnalysisHP dc7800 SFF Desktop Motherboard Cost Analysis

Cost Notes

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.

HP dc7800 SFF Desktop Motherboard - Motherboard TopHP dc7800 SFF Desktop Motherboard - Motherboard Top

Manufacturing Notes

Country of Origin

This motherboard was produced in China based on marking on a label.

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 power supplies, or Bluetooth modules), 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.

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

A comparative analysis of both motherboards will be found in the spreadsheet analysis allowing for quick and easy side-by-side comparisons of the two motherboards, and can be examined based on several alternative breakdowns (by functional areas, component family, etc.).

This motherboard from the HP dc7800 - features a total of 1402 components.

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

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.

Design Notes

The HP Compaq dc7800 is based on a core Intel Northbridge / Southbridge solution. This motherboard is based on the Intel® Q35 chipset which consists of the Intel - Q35 Express, Memory Controller and Graphics Hub, and the Intel - NH82801I0SLAFD - I/O Controller Hub (ICH9DO).

This motherboard's design is very similar to the dc5800 motherboard as most of the supporting chips are the same with different Northbridge and Southbridge chipsets. The dc5800 uses Intel's Q33 Northbridge chipset and ICH9 Southbridge while the dc7800 uses Intel's Q35 Express chipset and ICH9DO Southbridge. These two motherboards support the same series of Intel CPUs and has the same number of expansion slots, apart from the dc5800 with 1 extra SATA.

Major component summaries:

Southbridge / Northbridge

  • Northbridge - Intel - LE82035SLAEX - Q35 Express, Memory Controller and Graphics Hub
  • Southbridge - Intel - NH82801I0SLAFD - I/O Controller Hub (ICH9DO)

I/O & Interface

  • I/O Controller - SMSC - SCH5327-NS - Super I/O Device
  • Codec - Analog Devices - AD1884JCPZ - HD Audio SoundMAX, 2 Stereo DAC/ADC Pairs, w/ S/PDIF Output
  • Ethernet Transceiver - Intel - RU82566DM - Gigabit LAN Connect
  • Trusted Platform Module - Infineon - SLB9635TT1.2 - Microcontroller for Computing Security

Clock

  • Clock Synthesizer - Silego - SLG84516S - For Intel PCI-Express Chipset


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