SMC Hardware documentation?

Question

jcolber2 OP

Created Apr ’16

Replies 5

Boosts 0

Views 1k

Participants 3

Hey all,

Relatively new to the forums but I've been using Apple products for a long time now.

I'm currently studying Electrical Engineering and have become increasingly interested in how these interconnecting systems actually work.

So I guess my question is where can I find documentation on how things like the SMC work? And how can I begin researching how the software stack interacts with the hardware itself?

Thanks in advance!

PS

I wasnt exactly sure which board would fit this question best, feel free to move the topic if it's out of scope here!

Boost

Answer 1

bob133 OP

Apr ’16

I'm fairly certain that you wouldn't be able to find stuff like this on any manufacturer's website. You'd probably have to check out hackers' blogs, makerspace websites, and the like.

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Answer 2

jcolber2 OP

Apr ’16

I was afraid you'd say that...

I'm no stranger to combing through various forums trying to look for an actual set of documentation -lookin at you xBox 360- but I was really hoping there'd be a better way.

I'm gonna leave the topic open for a bit, but thanks for posting.

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Answer 3

bob133 OP

Apr ’16

Yeah, sorry I can't help… but I can totally understand why this stuff is hard to find—if I were a manufacturer I'd want it that way too.

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Answer 4

KMT OP

Apr ’16

As noted, that info is the secret sauce and not laid out for the public.

And while there is considerable engineering information that isn't under NDA, your issue may be more about deciding exactly which component process(es) you want to learn about, as there are dozens in play. Everything from power control circuits to proprietary memory management, you may want to pick one or two specific topics that are of interest and then start digging.

Good luck in any case.

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Answer 5

jcolber2 OP

Apr ’16

Eh, not really sure. This actually seems to be something exclusive to Apple from what I can tell.

Its just mildly annoying when you're trying to do things like compair and contrast the advantages of using something like an SMC to control low level tasks vs just letting the Intel Chipset/Processor handle it.

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