March 26, 2015

My original idea came from a curiosity as to what exactly I could fit inside my laptop. I sucessfully added a USB 3.0 port in my post here but was unable to come even close to fitting it inside the computer without some components hanging out. Enter the thin strip of blue LED’s i found below. Due to the fact that this strip was so small and the wires were extremely thin I could tuck the strip into my laptop and power it via a USB port without having any external evidence of modification, other then a cool blue glow. Below is a step by step guide on how I did it.

Layout (under motherboard):

I began by taking out the motherboard (or logic board as apple likes to call it) and cleaning out the dust that had built up over the years. I laid the LED strip out underneath the motherboard, near the exhaust and the ports on the side. Then I electrical taped them down so they don’t interfere with the Motherboard, and replaced the motherboard.  

 

Powering the LEDs:

I powered the LEDs by tapping into the USB port power on the underside of the motherboard and soldering leads from that.

 

Layout (over motherboard):

I basically just found any space inside where I could lay the LED strip and put it there. I snaked it between and around everything I could, until I decided it was enough and called it a day. I made sure there were no shorts and closed up the laptop. (Click on the image to enlarge it)

 


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The finished product:

I am pretty happy with how it came out in the end. I wish that the keyboard had more holes in it but in the dark I think it looks pretty great. It also goes pretty well with the rest of my blue LED setup at home (see last picture).