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Just how hard is it to make your own laptop?

post #1 of 17
9/9/04 at 8:21pm
Thread Starter 
Hi people,

Im in market for a good laptop but its quite difficult to get the spec I really want. Building a desktop is absolutely no problem, but I thought what if I build my own laptop?
I can get those Clevo chassis' no problem but I might need help building a list of what parts in particular I need.

Haven't googled me the answers yet, but I thought here's a good a place as any to start my search.

Thanks for any replies. All tips welcome!
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post #2 of 17
9/9/04 at 9:47pm
Cpu
Ram
Hdd
Wifi
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post #3 of 17
9/13/04 at 2:56pm
I spent a day researching this, and learned that the difficult part of this task is purchasing the components. For example, you might be able to get a Clevo chassis, but you won't be able to get a working motherboard that is current. Getting the video card and screen combination is also difficult, unless the motherboard includes video.

I would think that this is an open market, as how many gamers would love to do this sort of thing, even if it cost the same. However, it doesn't seem like the industry infrastructure is there yet.

Hopefully you find a better answer.
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post #4 of 17
9/13/04 at 6:57pm
I do not believe you can buy your own full notebook. As pig stated, (or implied ), there are only a few components you can actually customize. But anyhow... most notebooks are pretty customizable now! And customizing your own laptop does NOT save you money. (Max $100 but thats rare...)
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post #5 of 17
9/19/04 at 11:38pm
Thread Starter 
Ahh the clevo chassis has all but the items awingedpig mentioned.

Let me find a link...

Ok, here : http://www.nusystems.co.uk/buy.asp?m=89


£950~ is a bit damn pricey - can get 2 laptops from Dell with that much!
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post #6 of 17
9/19/04 at 11:53pm
There's no way yet to select a chassis and then select a motherboard to put into an empty laptop shell. As it stands now, you select a barebones shell from one of any number of ODMs which would include the LCD screen, mobo, keyboard, integrated wired LAN and modem (typically) and in some cases, an optical drive. From there you must purchase your processor, RAM, hard drive and WiFi solution if desired.

Putting it all together is, in most cases, far easier than building a desktop system as, simply put, there's less to assemble. Things are, of course, a bit tighter when working inside a smaller space but assembly is typically very straightforward.
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post #7 of 17
9/20/04 at 12:14am
Its easy enough- easier than building a PC, I think. No motherboard to mount. I have no idea what Packbjammin is talking about, I have yet to see a notebook chassis that came without a motherboard and lcd... thats ridiclous, all those mounts are chassis specific.

You mount the CPU, add the ram, mount the hard disk, in some cases pop in a wifi card which is just like mounting ram, and if you have to add an optical drive, it slides right in. If I can do the physical build of a barebones system in 25 minutes, youll pick it up no problem. Just be careful of the components, smaller stuff is easier to mishandle.

Eric
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post #8 of 17
9/20/04 at 12:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by EricT
Its easy enough- easier than building a PC, I think. No motherboard to mount. I have no idea what Packbjammin is talking about, I have yet to see a notebook chassis that came without a motherboard and lcd... thats ridiclous, all those mounts are chassis specific.

You mount the CPU, add the ram, mount the hard disk, in some cases pop in a wifi card which is just like mounting ram, and if you have to add an optical drive, it slides right in. If I can do the physical build of a barebones system in 25 minutes, youll pick it up no problem. Just be careful of the components, smaller stuff is easier to mishandle.

Eric
Customizing a laptop by slapping in RAM, HD, and with PCI-E, video card, is different than building one out on your own. If you are buying the chassis/case, power, cooling, motherboard, lcd, and keyboard all at once, you are not building it.

If we could build one on our own, we would have AMD, WUXGA, customized cooling, etc. We wouldn't wait until the holidays to do it. We wouldn't send our Clevos (sager, prostar, alienware, eurocomm, etc.) in to get the mobo replaced, because we can't buy them and we are locked out of the tech docs. And we wouldn't drop serious ducats for a 3 year warranty.

I've been down this road. Are we talking semantics; build vs. customize?
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post #9 of 17
9/20/04 at 12:57pm
PackBenjamin:

Since the only option available for "building" a laptop is as we described, this is why we refer to it as building. IMO, customizing would be simply selecting the components you wanted at a company which builds it for you. At least when "building" a laptop from an ODM barebones you can select quality RAM, exactly the hard drive you want (manufacturer/specs), the wireless solution you prefer (if desired at all), etc.

In addition, by assembling it yourself you can be certain of the workmanship that went into the build which would include the use of a quality thermal compound between the proc and heatsink.

What you describe is "blue sky" and is not possible to do now and may never be an option.

In summation, you can BUILD a laptop starting from the foundation of a barebones from your preferred ODM.
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post #10 of 17
9/20/04 at 1:59pm
I am interested in building/customizing a notebook perhaps starting with an Asus M6Ne but I am having a difficult time finding places that sell them. Are there a few places that members of this board go to find their machines and/or parts?
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post #11 of 17
9/20/04 at 2:25pm
A google search for Asus M6BNe might yield you a few resellers who offer barebones. I know others in these forums have built their own but I can't recall specifically who they dealt with.
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post #12 of 17
10/10/04 at 11:44pm
Thread Starter 
offandon: have you managed to build your own laptop with that Asus chassis? That looks so nice, I'd like to how it turned out (if at all)
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post #13 of 17
10/11/04 at 1:50pm
Quote:
I do not believe you can buy your own full notebook. As pig stated, (or implied ), there are only a few components you can actually customize. But anyhow... most notebooks are pretty customizable now! And customizing your own laptop does NOT save you money. (Max $100 but thats rare...)
It saves you money for sure. Especially if you are able to pick up a processor for cheap off eBay. Dell has been offering a cheap 7k60 HD for sometime now, and as long as you get a decent price on 512/1gig RAM and a wifi card, building a barebones is VERY cost effective as opposed to buying it customized. A great reseller for the M6BNe is Space Center System based out of Texas. Search on their site for the M6, you won't be disappointed. I know I'm not.
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post #14 of 17
10/11/04 at 2:08pm
Question do they have their bios locked to regional zones..?
ie: Sony Vaio have their bios locked for the same units world wide will have a bios for US, Japan, Europe, UK etc...
Thanks for any feedback.
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post #15 of 17
11/15/04 at 2:31am
Thread Starter 
Hi all
sorry to bump this post but it seems like many of the decent laptop manufacturers are starting to sell the PCI-X laptops I've been waiting for.

Anyone know who makes the new PCI-Express Intel 915P chipset barebone?
I checked that site I posted earlier and they dont have it, and I'm no idea what to type in Google.

Thanks for any help!
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post #16 of 17
11/15/04 at 7:08am
actually you can.. asus has a barebone system and some site had a review of the building process. it's not worth it though, the barebone chassis is $900 and has only the notebook and the motherboard.

it's better to just get a high end notebook in my opinion.
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post #17 of 17
11/15/04 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by afobisme
actually you can.. asus has a barebone system and some site had a review of the building process. it's not worth it though, the barebone chassis is $900 and has only the notebook and the motherboard.

it's better to just get a high end notebook in my opinion.
What exactly are you referring to? Are you implying a barebone with only chassis and mobo? Are you saying it has no LCD? I think you are referring to the legitreviews.com building of an M6. After buying the cpu, ram, hdd, wifi, and optical drive, I believe I got a better system than the majority out there for a great price.
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