Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Hello,

I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately (the
case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video card, the sound
card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love being able to have full
control over the brand of the components, instead of buying from a shop like
Dell and either not having much choice or having no choice at all.

I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering buying a
laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components separately and put it
together yourself? Or is it only possible to buy a laptop fully assembled?

Thanks.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 17:28:47 -0400, <PCU> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately (the
> case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video card, the
> sound
> card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love being able to have
> full
> control over the brand of the components, instead of buying from a shop
> like
> Dell and either not having much choice or having no choice at all.
>
> I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering buying a
> laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components separately and put
> it
> together yourself? Or is it only possible to buy a laptop fully
> assembled?
>
> Thanks.
>


I'm not saying it CAN'T be done, but it will be a damn sight more
difficult, assuming its possible.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 17:28:47 -0400, PCU wrote:

>Hello,
>
>I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately (the
>case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video card, the sound
>card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love being able to have full
>control over the brand of the components, instead of buying from a shop like
>Dell and either not having much choice or having no choice at all.
>
>I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering buying a
>laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components separately and put it
>together yourself? Or is it only possible to buy a laptop fully assembled?

The problem you'd quickly run into is laptops aren't "componentized"
like standard PCs are. Many things on laptops are integrated into the
motherboard, which is why those boards are so expensive if they need
to be replaced. It can easily cost you half as much as the PC costs to
have one repaired or replaced.

Bottom line is if want to be able to tinker, stick with desktops. If
you want mobility, if your space is at a premium, then go with a
laptop. If you go with a laptop, buy the extended warranty. It's
pretty much the only item I'd ever advise that for, but believe me, it
can easily be worth it.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

You can only buy fully assembled.

--
DaveW



<PCU> wrote in message news:nv5gg01ckqvobt382euhh7nlb7ja7rhild@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately (the
> case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video card, the
sound
> card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love being able to have
full
> control over the brand of the components, instead of buying from a shop
like
> Dell and either not having much choice or having no choice at all.
>
> I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering buying a
> laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components separately and put it
> together yourself? Or is it only possible to buy a laptop fully
assembled?
>
> Thanks.
>

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

PCU wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately (the
> case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video card, the sound
> card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love being able to have full
> control over the brand of the components, instead of buying from a shop like
> Dell and either not having much choice or having no choice at all.
>
> I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering buying a
> laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components separately and put it
> together yourself? Or is it only possible to buy a laptop fully assembled?
>
> Thanks.
>
The trouble with laptops is that all the major "bits" are proprietary in
nature, meaning that most parts will only go with a particular laptop model.

About the only things that ARE interchangeable between different laptops
are the hard drive, PCMCIA cards (obviously), and in some cases, RAM
modules and optical drives.

As you already know, this is not at all the case with desktops, where
pretty much everything is interchangeable (within certain hardware limits).

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

<PCU> wrote in message news:nv5gg01ckqvobt382euhh7nlb7ja7rhild@4ax.com...
| Hello,
|
| I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately (the
| case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video card, the
sound
| card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love being able to have
full
| control over the brand of the components, instead of buying from a shop
like
| Dell and either not having much choice or having no choice at all.
|
| I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering buying a
| laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components separately and put it
| together yourself? Or is it only possible to buy a laptop fully
assembled?
|
| Thanks.

Somewhat yes. You can buy barebones notebooks and buy all your components
(CPU, memory, HD, wireleess, etc) to go in it. Once you buy allyour
components, you are better off (a lot cheaper +warranty) buying one exactly
how you want it from a manufacturer.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"DaveW" <none@zero.org> wrote in message
news:%BVNc.204879$Oq2.61484@attbi_s52...
| You can only buy fully assembled.
|

Not true

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

In article <ce9909$4ur$1@hercules.btinternet.com>,
mcr@nospamtombstones.org.uk says...
> PCU wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately (the
> > case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video card, the sound
> > card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love being able to have full
> > control over the brand of the components, instead of buying from a shop like
> > Dell and either not having much choice or having no choice at all.
> >
> > I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering buying a
> > laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components separately and put it
> > together yourself? Or is it only possible to buy a laptop fully assembled?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
>
> I would say its only pre-assembled. But lets assume there are some
> specialist suppliers somewhere, willing to sell you parts. You can bet
> your bottom dollar that the prices will be 10x. In addition consider
> the fact that laptop parts arent as widely available.
>
> This is one of the reasons I dont like laptops. Not upgradeable (not by
> much except RAM) and fragile.
>
>
Yeah, isn't it about time that some manufacturer somewhere came up with
some generic parts that homebuilders could use to assemble their own
laptop. Admittedly it's more difficult at the moment, but surely home
PC's were regarded in the same way at some early stage. Now, everyone
and their granny is able to, or knows someone who can, handbuild a PC.

Home PC components are only cheap now because they are so easy to get
hold of. I'm sure there's a market out there for laptop homebuilds if
only someone would be prepared to take the plunge. Come up with 2 or 3
generic case/displays with various slots for different I/o ports on them
and based around some popular laptop mobos and you're halfway there.
All that's required are the add-on components, some additional cooling
help and hardware and you're almost there.

I know I making it sound much more simplistic than the reality, but if
someone got the ball rolling I'm sure it could end up being that easy.

My 2 cents. ;-)
--
Pete Ives
Remove ALL_STRESS before sending me an email

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

PCU wrote in news:nv5gg01ckqvobt382euhh7nlb7ja7rhild@4ax.com:

> Hello,
>
> I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately
> (the case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video
> card, the sound card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love
> being able to have full control over the brand of the components,
> instead of buying from a shop like Dell and either not having much
> choice or having no choice at all.
>
> I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering buying
> a laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components separately and
> put it together yourself? Or is it only possible to buy a laptop
> fully assembled?
>
> Thanks.
>

The quick answer is no.

The slow, tedious answer is maybe, if you're willing to fabricate
the case and live with a laptop that is slow, physically large,
and clunky.

So, you want to try it anyway, Here's the overview. First, go to
www.mini-itx.com. They offer motherboards of the mini-itx size,
and possibly smaller. Mini-itx motherboards are about seven inches
square and come with most of the ports you will need, including
(on some models) pcmcia card slots. They also (I think) have
mini-power supplies.

With this in mind, design a case. My suggestion is to first look
at aluminum briefcases. The case will need to hold the motherboard,
hard disk, floppy and/or optical drive, power supply, plus the
screen. You will have to cut lots of holes in it. Don't ignore
cooling.

Find a screen that will fit in your case. Figure out how to mount
it.

Finally, consider a battery. I don't know where to go for this,
but some power suplies will take 12V DC.

Voila, a laptop that, if you are really good at this, is only
about twice the volume and weight of a regular one, but at
least it's yours, and it's upgradable.

By the way, if your case design is good, market it.

Just an idea.

..wk.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

MCR <mcr@nospamtombstones.org.uk> wrote in message news:<ce9909$4ur$1@hercules.btinternet.com>...
> PCU wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately (the
> > case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video card, the sound
> > card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love being able to have full
> > control over the brand of the components, instead of buying from a shop like
> > Dell and either not having much choice or having no choice at all.
> >
> > I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering buying a
> > laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components separately and put it
> > together yourself? Or is it only possible to buy a laptop fully assembled?
> >
> > Thanks.

Hi PCU,
Yes you can buy the parts necessary. And they aren't going to
cost you an arm and a leg, or your first-born son. We offer laptop
cases, including the motherboard, CPU, and screen, etc. We also offer
the parts to complete the system. However, you may actually want us to
build it for you so we can include a warranty. Overall, having us
build it for you won't cost you much more.
We only sell these items by request so, if you are interested in
them or want us to configure and build one for you, contact us by
phone or e-mail.

Silicon Alley Computers
www.siliconalleycomputers.com

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Peter wrote:

> >
> Yeah, isn't it about time that some manufacturer somewhere came up with
> some generic parts that homebuilders could use to assemble their own
> laptop.

That's IMHO a million-dollar idea.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Silicon Alley Computers wrote:

> Yes you can buy the parts necessary. And they aren't going to
> cost you an arm and a leg, or your first-born son. We offer laptop
> cases, including the motherboard, CPU, and screen, etc. We also offer
> the parts to complete the system. However, you may actually want us to
> build it for you so we can include a warranty. Overall, having us
> build it for you won't cost you much more.

Could you be more specific?

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Phil wrote:
>> I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately
>> (the case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video
>> card, the sound card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love
>> being able to have full control over the brand of the components,
>> instead of buying from a shop like Dell and either not having much
>> choice or having no choice at all.
>>
>> I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering
>> buying a laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components
>> separately and put it together yourself? Or is it only possible to
>> buy a laptop fully assembled?

Notebooks are not as modular as full systems, but there are exceptions. Asus
makes what they call a "barebone notebook" that you can configure yourself.

http://store.topmic.com/computers--notebooks.html
--

Mike Russell
www.geigy.2y.net

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

<PCU> wrote in message news:nv5gg01ckqvobt382euhh7nlb7ja7rhild@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> I've always built my own PCs by buying all the components separately (the
> case, the motherboard/CPU, the hard drive, the RAM, the video card, the
sound
> card, the network card, the CD drives, etc). I love being able to have
full
> control over the brand of the components, instead of buying from a shop
like
> Dell and either not having much choice or having no choice at all.
>
> I have absolutely no experience with laptops. I am considering buying a
> laptop now. Is it possible to buy laptop components separately and put it
> together yourself? Or is it only possible to buy a laptop fully
assembled?
>
> Thanks.
>

There have been some informative posts and some ignorant posts here. But it
truely depends on what you are starting with.

Some laptops you can buy a whitebox system and buy your own componets and
put them to together. As someone else sugest the asus m6ne you can do this.
I am looking into getting a compal CL56 and doing this also. But everything
is smaller and more breakable so YMMV.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,comp.laptops,comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Root wrote:

> There have been some informative posts and some ignorant posts here. But it
> truely depends on what you are starting with.
>
> Some laptops you can buy a whitebox system and buy your own componets and
> put them to together. As someone else sugest the asus m6ne you can do this.
> I am looking into getting a compal CL56 and doing this also. But everything
> is smaller and more breakable so YMMV.

I don't suppose it's actually going to save any money, is it?