HOw are the ports attached to the logic board of a macbook pro?

[Revmax]

Hi, just out of curiousity, how are the ports (firewire, USB 3.0, etc) attached to the logic board of a macbook pro?

Asking because I have a new MBP and I noticed that all the ports have a bit of "play" - the cable connections themselves are tight, but the actual ports seem to have a bit of wiggle in them - when the cables are plugged in, if i wiggle the cable the ports themselves rock a bit back and forth

I'd noticed the same thing about an external SSD I have too, so the question popped up in my mind - what are the ports attached to inside the machine? Google says logic board.

How are the ports attached the logic board though? They're not rock-solid, immovable, so obviously they're not soldered in place or something - do they perhaps have a bit of "play" by design? How, exactly, ARE they attached to the logic board? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[T5BRICK]

They're soldered onto the board. The logic board is a price of fiberglass with some copper layers in it. Maybe that's what you're feeling when you wiggle the connectors?

 

[Revmax]

They're soldered onto the board. The logic board is a price of fiberglass with some copper layers in it. Maybe that's what you're feeling when you wiggle the connectors?

Hmm, interesting, OK thanks. I used to have a lacie hard drive that when the firewire was plugged in, the thing was rock solid... zero play or movement.

I recently replaced almost my entire set-up (last time I did this was in 2006) and just kind of noticed that all the ports seemed to rock back and forth a bit, or to have more play than I remebered - and I mean everything, from the ports in the USB hub to the ports in the MBP itself, even the external HD ports.

So if the connections are tight (and they are) then it sounds like the "movement" I notice may be whatever larger boards the ports themselves are connected to shifiting around a bit on the other side in respons eto port wiggle - I don't think solder itself gets "loose"

NOt worried about it, just curious - thanks!

 

[T5BRICK]

If you're still curious, there are a several high resolution pictures of the logic board on iFixit.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2012-Teardown/9515/1

 

[Revmax]

If you're still curious, there are a several high resolution pictures of the logic board on iFixit.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2012-Teardown/9515/1

Thanks... I actually just talked to a customer service guy at seagate and he confirmed for me that on portable devices, there are different manufacturing tolerance standards for lateral port movement/wiggling - the ports themselves are designed to rock back and forth a bit (sideways) in a way that would not have been typical on older, desktop equipment

Nothing to worry about as long as the connection is fine

Still do wonder how that works in terms of a connection though, solder is not flexible... however did just check my macbook pro at work and the ports are the exact same