Who really makes your laptop board: Compal, Quanta, Wistron and other ODMs
Most laptop brands don't design their own motherboards. Learn which ODM builds boards for Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer and Asus, and how to read their board numbers.
Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer and most other brands outsource the design and production of their laptops to ODMs — original design manufacturers. The board inside your Dell may be a Compal design, the one in your HP a Quanta or Inventec design. For repair this matters: the schematic is filed under the ODM board number, and the same board can appear in laptops of different brands.
The main ODMs
| ODM | Board number | Typical clients |
|---|---|---|
| Compal | LA-xxxxP, LS-xxxxP | Dell, Lenovo, Acer, HP, Toshiba |
| LCFC | NM-xxxx | Lenovo (joint venture with Compal) |
| Quanta | DA0xxxMBxxx | HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, Sony |
| Wistron | xxxxx-x, 48.4xxxx.xxx | Dell, Lenovo, Acer, HP |
| Inventec | 6050Axxxxxxx | HP, Toshiba |
| Pegatron | project name | Asus, Dell |
| Foxconn | project name / MBX | Sony, HP |
| Clevo | 6-71-xxxxx | own brand, Sager, Eurocom, XMG |
| Huaqin | NBxxxx | Asus, Lenovo (budget lines) |
Why it helps you
- More search results. A file named “Compal LA-D801P” is the same board as “Dell Inspiron 15 5567”. Search by board number and you'll find both.
- Similar designs. Boards from the same ODM and generation use similar power circuits, so experience with one transfers to another.
- Codenames. Quanta project codes (ZAA, R33…) and Dell codenames (BAL20, CAZ20) appear in file names — they're another way to match a board.
Not sure which number your board has? See how to find your motherboard number.
Keep reading
Torry's Delphi Editor & curator
Hi, I'm Torry's Delphi. For more than ten years I've been writing software that collects and organises data — scrapers, catalogues, automation pipelines. Repair documentation turned out to be the perfect mess to clean up.
The files listed here were collected by the community in the Telegram channel @schematicslaptop, plus a Google Drive archive. I wrote a parser that reads every file name, recognises the brand, the ODM manufacturer (Compal, Quanta, Wistron…) and the board number, and turns it into pages you can search and browse.
Next to the catalogue I keep a small set of practical notes on electronics and PCB work — KiCad libraries, moving designs from Eagle, making prototype boards at home, LCDs and EEPROMs. If something is sorted wrong or a note is unclear, write to me and I'll fix it.