Laptop Builds

[parttimetechie]

Does anyone know of a brick and mortar store where you can buy all the parts for a laptop build? Do they even MAKE all the parts you can build on your own, or do you have to buy them premade from Fry's Best Buy and Dell?

 

[basic]

You can look at Compal whitebox systems which are as close to a barebones laptop kit as you will get. Or go to a site like www.parts-people.com that have, pretty much, all the parts for a lot of Dell systems that you could purchase and assemble yourself.

 

[parttimetechie]

I gogooled the whitebox and didn't come up with any results. Looks like the dell site is replacing specific parts. Doesn't look like its that easy to do yet.

 

[pceinc]

I gogooled the whitebox and didn't come up with any results. Looks like the dell site is replacing specific parts. Doesn't look like its that easy to do yet.

We used to build laptops but stopped due to warranty issues. A few years ago Intel created a program called Verified By Intel (VBI). Basically it was composed of several laptop manufactures who developed laptops using a common building block, ie. some components were interchangeable with each other. If I remember correctly it was Asus, Compal, Quanta (Sabio Digital) and MSI. The batteries, AC adapters, optical drives, keyboards, and LCD panels were all identical between the units. Intel setup a disti channel with D & H, Tech Data, and a few others. The bare laptop would come in with no CPU, memory, or hard drive. The great thing about this program was that replacement AC adapters cost $13, keyboards cost $9, batteries cost around $30, and you could use your own source for CPU, RAM and HD's. The bad part about it was that Intel processed the warranty returns and would not let us replace LCD panels or motherboards. Their turn around time was less than stellar. When Asus started selling their branded systems for about $100 more than our cost on a total VBI solution, we stopped building our own. The VBI's looked very generic although they did have a program with Kinkos to have vinyl LCD covers that you could have printed with your own logo or customer supplied photo. Asus laptops are not the cheapest but they are very high quality. The warranty is excellent and they have a fairly quick turn around time for RMA's.

I personally will never sell a whitebook again. It consumed way too much of our time from marketing to RMA.

 

[parttimetechie]

Ya, I figured that it wasn't going to be easy to build..although a lot of people seem to love them for their portability.

 

[basic]

I gogooled the whitebox and didn't come up with any results. Looks like the dell site is replacing specific parts. Doesn't look like its that easy to do yet.

Compal? It's a major manufacturer...I'd try again. As far as the Dell site, you find a model you want, then buy up all the individual parts and you can assemble them....isn't that what you were looking for?

 

[shamrin]

Shuttle have a whitebox laptop system as well. www.shuttle.com

 

[parttimetechie]

Ya, I was thinking of being able to buy the case, the mobo, the RAM like a desktop, doesn't look like its quite that way for a laptop.

Ill look into shutle

 

[meanderer]

build yourself laptops was a quick fad.... I remember seeing these barebones and wanting to build one myself. that was 8 years ago.

I don't see these things being mentioned ever again...

 

[parttimetechie]

Why is desktop building still popular then? People seem to love laptops...why aren't there more building options?

 

[vdub12]

ASUS use to have a bare bones laptop. This was close to 8 to 10 years ago. I think they scraped it when they went full bore in to mobile computers. I remember building a few. They where not bad systems, a little clunky but not bad.

 

[meanderer]

I think it has to do with the tight integrations that happens with laptops, there's really not much you can build about laptops and that they aren't meant to be built by anyone other than fully experienced technicians.

On the other hand, anyone with a screwdriver, a brain, and some technical guts can build themselves a desktop. AKA college kids, your local teen geeks, etc.