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wouldn't it be great if you could upgrade mobos and video card in notebook computers?

post #1 of 16
8/10/05 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 
wouldn't it be great if you could upgrade mobos and video card in notebook computers?
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post #2 of 16
8/10/05 at 3:27pm
Not really, I enjoy the thrill of cracking open a new laptop's packaging that I just received in the mail after waiting for 2-3 weeks because I had it built to my specifications.

Theres also the new laptop smell that is for a lack of a better word heavenly.
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post #3 of 16
8/10/05 at 4:25pm
Yes, it would be great, and it can be done on a very small percentage on laptops, but definately not easily.
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post #4 of 16
8/10/05 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Studio54
Not really, I enjoy the thrill of cracking open a new laptop's packaging that I just received in the mail after waiting for 2-3 weeks because I had it built to my specifications.

Theres also the new laptop smell that is for a lack of a better word heavenly.

i hope you are joking.


i would rather build myself a superior product for less money
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post #5 of 16
8/10/05 at 5:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ps24eva
i hope you are joking.


i would rather build myself a superior product for less money
Ah, but there's the rub. What to you is a "superior product" will have critical flaws for others.

That's the problem with laptops. Because they come in so many shapes and sizes and performance levels, to impose standards on all laptop components, such as systemboards will kill certain market segments right away, or result in so many standards that upgrading will be just as difficult as it is now.

For example, you can kiss ultralight and thin and light categories good bye if there were a standard systemboard for laptops.
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post #6 of 16
8/10/05 at 6:09pm
not if they made the componets to different catagory system like they do now but I am not sure it would be cost effective or profitable for companies
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post #7 of 16
8/10/05 at 6:34pm
Then what would be the point of standardization? The whole point of standards is to have 1 standard. Also, the manufacturers of laptops won't have anyof that. Why? You hit that nail on the head: It's not profitable.

Why cut your own financial throat by producing laptops that can be cheaply upgraded by parts manufactured by your direct competitor?

Why build something to a standard when all it means is that the customers flock to the lowest prices?

laptops take a lot of R&D financing. Especially if you invested a lot of your homegrown technology into it. In this case when you standardize, you kill the innovation. How much incentive is there to 'think outside of the box' when a governing standard dictates where every single component, port and connector goes where?

Think about it.
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post #8 of 16
8/10/05 at 8:20pm
Thread Starter 
You can definitley have multiple standards, one for each notebook style, such as ultralight, thin etc.

Of course it wouldn't be a good idea for laptop manufacturers. Standardization would cut into their profits. But who cares about them?
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post #9 of 16
8/10/05 at 8:32pm
I don't think there should be standards that would allow swapping, yeah they would lower prices maybe, allow for upgraded systems, but you wouldn't have the level of technology that makes a great notebook thin and light and powerful at the same time. Yeah you pay more for the individual design of each notebook, but it's better that hauling around cookie cutter behemoths that will allow you to swap out a mobo and a vid card for a newer one. By the time it's worth it to upgrade the mobo and vid, the other tech will be coming along and not compatible with the case, screen, port positions, etc.
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post #10 of 16
8/10/05 at 8:41pm
There are many standards for PC mainboards (AT, ATX, mini ATX, mini ITX for example); not sure why laptops should be any different.

I'm all for different manufacturers trying to distinguish themselves through the variety of their offerings, but as the full attention of the PC industry is shifting from desktop to mobile offerings, it seems that standards must be inevitable. I can't see this as being anything but good news for everybody. Certainly the competition in developing PC main boards has been a huge benefit to the industry. With multiple vendors offering solutions ranging from cheap, barebones "work horse" solutions to cutting edge enthusiast systems, why would a vendor want to bother with the painful effort of designing a chassis, mainboard etc... from scratch if they didn't have to?

Plus, standards aren't laws. If a manufacturer wants to incur the headache and cost of a proprietary solution, they can go nuts. They just shouldn't be surprised when everybody else thumbs a big wet raspberry at them.
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post #11 of 16
8/10/05 at 9:41pm
Heavenly new laptop smell? I'm sorry, I don't go in for burning plastic.
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post #12 of 16
8/11/05 at 12:41am
Laptop standards isn't really the problem, the problem is the differences in the laptops themselves. For example, the Dell XPS2 could not handle the heat of the Sager 9880 without frying one or all of the componets as Yuriseal pointed out. If you have a case made for a P-M you could not replace the mobo to take a desktop chip like the P4. In this case upgradeability is very limited and not worth the cost to make the componets. I think we will see more notebooks like the 9880 with more upgrades over time and more barebone kits available. If a company sticks to case design they could offer upgrades like Sager did with the 5000 series upgrading from a 5670 to a 5690. That is the only viable solution for longivety in notebooks. Thanks to some companies it has already started in that direction and with laptops becomming more popular it may become a standard in that aspect.
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post #13 of 16
8/11/05 at 2:49am
Not really. Unless you always need the most cutting edge parts, chances are by the time you want to upgrade the entire platform is obsolete. I've never upgraded my desktops, aside from the hard drives because it just isn't worth it. I wanted to upgrade my video card a while ago, but to really see a performance increase I'd have to get a new mobo, CPU and ram too - basically I'd be buying a new computer. So you might save a bit by being able to upgrade instead of buying a whole new computer (especially for a laptop if you can reuse the screen) but you'd probably have to sacrifice design/portability for that. IMO that's far more important for a laptop.
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post #14 of 16
8/11/05 at 6:12am
If I could build a notebook (actually, have my BF build it lol), I could finally have everything I want: SATA, widescreen, as small as possible, as much RAM as I need without having to pay Dell another $200 bucks, etc.

The best notebook I like right now doesn't have SATA hard drives, so it isn't as future proof as I would like it.

That's kinda lame. But right now it's just really wishful thinking that doesn't help anyone, since you cant "really" build every notebook you want.
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post #15 of 16
8/11/05 at 4:44pm
Quote:
Not really. Unless you always need the most cutting edge parts, chances are by the time you want to upgrade the entire platform is obsolete. I've never upgraded my desktops, aside from the hard drives because it just isn't worth it. I wanted to upgrade my video card a while ago, but to really see a performance increase I'd have to get a new mobo, CPU and ram too - basically I'd be buying a new computer. So you might save a bit by being able to upgrade instead of buying a whole new computer (especially for a laptop if you can reuse the screen) but you'd probably have to sacrifice design/portability for that. IMO that's far more important for a laptop.
posted by Necrosis

Very true, but that is the only way I see to truly upgrade a laptop is for a company to release newer mobo, cpu, ram, gpu, etc. for the same case design. In some cases it is not worth it because that is essentially what you are doing is gutting the computer. I think it would be worth the price I rather spend 600+ for new componets than 2000+ for parts I already have that are still good like screen, drives, case, ect.. Laptop technology moves faster in some areas than in others, because it is more cast effective for a OEM to recycle the basic design than to redisgn a laptop from the ground up. For example, the upcomming Clevo D900K is the same case as the previous D900T. The R&D cost was probably cut in half, since they already had a viable case design.
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post #16 of 16
8/11/05 at 5:07pm
One thing that you guys havent really mentioned is that laptops 5 years ago compaired to desktops had a huge gap compaired to todays. Also when it comes to upgradeing this is dependent on the number manufacture's who deside to switch over to upgredable systems which will decide what happens with the market. Finally Desktops are getting alot small (not the graphicards though)(mini ITX)which can in the next 5 years mean that upgradable systems will start to appear if not sooner.

Side Note: I cant find it now but i do remember reading about an upgradeable laptop that was both cost efficent and versitile enough to be profitable in the long run but never made it to the market. Dont know why
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