Building Laptops--Not Worth It?
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: forums, discussion, ideas
- 1. Your Two Cents
- 2. Building Laptops--Not Worth It?
- 3. Plasma? My Opinion Is Better Than Yours
2. Building Laptops--Not Worth It?
A lot of our readers are visitors from Tom's Hardware, home of do-it-yourself PC builders extraordinaire. So, when Tom's Guide published an article on how to build a laptop from a kit, we expected some enthusiasm from those visitors. Not so much. Turns out that the hobby of building a laptop wasn't as interesting and costs too much money (even though building PCs can be an expensive habit as well).
This guy wasn't happy with the pricing, but was still kind enough to offer a tip to would-be notebook DIYers:
Zacktheperson
I considered building a notebook, but after some research, I discovered that it would cost about $200 more than if I bought a preconfigured system with similar specs and an operating system.
For disassembly of laptops, I recommend drawing a rough diagram of the notebook on a piece of paper and taping the screws in the corresponding places on the diagram. That way you not only keep all your screws, you know where to put them when you are done.
This next person offered a reasonable explanation for why he found laptop-building to be less valuable than PC-building.
JimmiG
The reason I build my desktop computers myself is mostly price/performance and being able to hand-pick components and upgrade bit by bit. It's just so much more affordable and flexible than being stuck with some proprietary HP mini-chassis with the bare minimum PSU and so on.
The reasons for me building a laptop would be price and easy of upgrading, but looking at the options, it looks like it's neither cheaper nor does it allow for easier upgrading.
Price: If you only need a basic laptop you can find a complete system for what some of those barebones kits cost. Not to mention netbooks that sell for well under $300 now. Maybe if you wanted to build a "gaming laptop" that would normally cost many thousands, you can save a few hundred. I don't know..I use my desktop system for gaming.
Upgrades: By the time you want to upgrade to a faster CPU, there will have been new chipsets released, new RAM speeds, new sockets, new everything. Even if you were able to upgrade to a significantly faster CPU three years from now, the system would be GPU limited because you're stuck with the same GPU.
But Quantumrand--a regular on these forums, and someone whose comments I usually find interesting--went out of his way to be rude in a way that I'm certain he didn't mean. Guys, try to be on your best behavior when thousands of people are reading your words. Quantumrand asks for a chance to write for Tom's. Should we give him a chance?
Quantumrand
Ok, that's it! I've now decided never to listen to anything Tom's Guides says again. These authors are ridiculously biased (either from corporate plugging or personal fanboyism).
DYI notebooks have been around for years. Both MSI and Asus are strong competitors in the field. OCZ is a brand new contender, yet its the only one mentioned.
I've been building DYI notebooks for years. You can fine tune your price/perfomance index nicely, but with these OCZ notebooks, you're stuck paying out the ass for a midrange notebook or paying out the ass and tearing out your rectum for a top performer.
OCZ just isnt worth it.LOL, perhaps Tom's should hire me, eh?
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Insert thoughtful, yet humorous response here.
Writing about Apple products is worse than opening a can of worms. We know what we are going to get when we write these articles, but still, we maintain hope that our readers will try to "think differently"and imagine other reasonable perspectives than their own.
Yeah, good luck with that darling. Toms is a site made for PC enthusiasts, founded by a PC enthusiast and read by PC enthusiasts trying to convince the readership of this site to look at a Mac as a viable alternative is like trying to give away Hot Dogs at a bar mitzvah.
I don't mean to me rude here but that's the truth of the matter.
As for the matter at hand there are a few posters on your forums that should be asked to write for the site, TheGreatApe springs to mind (you may have mentioned him here in your report but at this point I haven't read it all yet).
Well JeanLuc, a Mac is still a computer, one that some people love sadly, so it has it's place. Some of the PC vs Mac arguments kind of remind me of some of the "My Linux Distro is better than yours" arguments. Pointless.
. I guess I just need to post more.
Anyway I'm glad I didn't get cited looking like a complete tool, yet anyway
^_^
Hey now...You're clumping multiple comments into one, and it's just a bit misleading. I now know what it's like to be in the media spotlight and have anything I say taken out of context.
BTW, are you guys hiring? lol
Hey now...You're clumping multiple comments into one, and it's just a bit misleading. I now know what it's like to be in the media spotlight and have anything I say taken out of context.BTW, are you guys hiring? lol
LOL enjoy your 15 min of fame and don't worry if they aren't hiring here at tomz ,Ill bet fox news would hire you A.S.A.P no questions asked.
Well i just read the comments about the Worm in Apple Article, and i must comment on some Mac Lovers, been waiting for this chance for some time..lol
First of All Why to stay away from Mac.
1. Mac is a Dectator for forcing me to buy the hardware to get my hands on the OS.
2. Not much of games and small good software will run on it.
3. Its $$$$$ expensive, and it looks gay, no offense.
I do hate Microsoft, and support Microsuck, but gotta respect them, these guys are knew how to play it, Flexible software that runs on all hardware, and bounded only by the specs of the hardware. Never forced me to buy a pc or a notebook to get my hands on their newest OS.
Second all games and software runs on it, because they didn't sell there OS with Hardware manufactered for them only which led every single pc manufacturer to use the Windows OS and build their laptops with WIndows key. I hate their Monoplay, but as i said before, they know how to play it.
Linux is cool, stable, but ugly, gotta take time to learn it, and not one major game works on it.
I'll take Microsoft any time Mac Lovers.. ehm
Well JeanLuc, a Mac is still a computer, one that some people love sadly, so it has it's place. Some of the PC vs Mac arguments kind of remind me of some of the "My Linux Distro is better than yours" arguments. Pointless. Anyway I'm glad I didn't get cited looking like a complete tool, yet anyway . I guess I just need to post more.^_^
dont forget the infamous amd vs intel arguments as well *deep sigh*
Not pointless in the slightest megaman. A Mac is a PC, but it is certainly not an enthusiast class PC. Its an overpolished A) workstaton or B) all-in-one. Thats it. End of list. We dont need weeekly articles telling us Apple is going to release the same sh*t with a new polish.
My beef with the Mac articles has nothing to do with Apple products themselves... indeed I was a proud Apple user long before the Ipod generation discovered them.
My problem with Apple users, including the tone struck in the 17" Macbook article, is the disparaging and dismissive remarks they make about Windows and Windows machines.
A few virtually indisputable facts:
Premise: A properly configured PC by a PC enthusiast(which we all are)
1) Windows Vista is just as stable as OSX. Period. My FW is actually a touch more stable than my father's macbook. They're both rock solid though.
2) There is no reason why OSX gets less viruses than Vista. Because you shouldn't be getting viruses on Vista either.
3) Mac's DO cost more than a comparably configured Windows machine is the vast majority of circumstances.
When Mac users acknowledge these facts, I am quite happy for them, and can get excited about the positives in buying a Mac too. Indeed, I bought one for myself, and for my father not long ago. It's when resort to inaccurate characterizations of PC's that I get really annoyed.
wow... in this article... only one is a bout mac.. 3 others arent... and yet the whole comment is about mac... haha.. that's funny... try putting up a collection of news ranging from outbreaks, disaster and lastly mac... i'm betting my money that mac would still get the most attention in terms of comments that is...
honestly yeah, i do hate mac... i found no reason why people buy them other than the fact that it's stylish.. but still it's not like pc laptop or desktop that is stylish are unexistant... pardon my grammar... in terms of performance... pc beats them totally... and yeah i do mean totally... and mac lose to pc in terms of price also... but in the end... it's all up to consumer, us... to decide...
and yeah.. i used pc my whole life... the only one virus that really have any trouble for me was Brontok.. if anyone knew what it was... i was forced to format my pc... but it's not like it took me weeks to format... the longest it'd take was only 1 hour.. with an old system... and it was my fault in the first place.. i had no decent antivirus.. so yeah... pc is great.. i wouldnt want anything else...
Yeah, good luck with that darling. Toms is a site made for PC enthusiasts, founded by a PC enthusiast and read by PC enthusiasts trying to convince the readership of this site to look at a Mac as a viable alternative is like trying to give away Hot Dogs at a bar mitzvah.I don't mean to me rude here but that's the truth of the matter.As for the matter at hand there are a few posters on your forums that should be asked to write for the site, TheGreatApe springs to mind (you may have mentioned him here in your report but at this point I haven't read it all yet).
It is my job to make a distinction between Tom's Hardware and Tom's Guide.
Hey now...You're clumping multiple comments into one, and it's just a bit misleading. I now know what it's like to be in the media spotlight and have anything I say taken out of context.BTW, are you guys hiring? lol
Yes, I did combine two of your posts. Please forgive me. Offer still stands: If you have article ideas, send them in a message to TomsGuideRachel and I will take them seriously.
But but...
(lip quivers)
...but I'm a genius! Why wasn't I in there?!!!
Waaa!
Rachel. I like you. Please work for Anandtech instead. They are superior to Toms. :-)
But but...(lip quivers)...but I'm a genius! Why wasn't I in there?!!!Waaa!
Well, it doesn't mean you aren't clever, too. Think you're a good writer? Send me article ideas and we'll see...
I wouldnt write for Toms 'Guide' if I was payed a million bucks!
I wouldnt write for Toms 'Guide' if I was payed a million bucks!
That's a relief; you can't write. It is "Tom's Guide," and it is "paid" not "payed."
That's a relief; you can't write. It is "Tom's Guide," and it is "paid" not "payed."
Right on Rachel!!!!
I ought to do some opinion pieces.
Hello Rachel,
I understand you folks are looking for some "serious" writers with talent? I invite you to please cruise over to my blog at lgponthemove.blogspot.com and get a sample of how I may be able to contribute.
If you are interested, please shoot me an email at lgponthemove@yahoo.com.
Kind Regards,
Right on Rachel!!!!I ought to do some opinion pieces.
Send me a message with an idea for an opinion article. We'll see if it fits in...