Building a Laptop

[squeech]

Hello all,

I was wondering if you guys could give me some GOOD information regarding custom building laptops. I work for a computer store (Computer Renaissance) that has custom built dekstop systems for years, and now we are thinking about moving into the laptop market.

Now I know that desktop and laptop construction are not equivelant so I can't just go and build a laptop solely on the knowledge I have of the many desktop systems I've put together. Obviously there are concerns regarding EMI and ESC with the cramped space. So I am looking for two things:

1) Good suppliers of barebones laptops and parts
2) Some info pages on laptop assembly technique (and things to look out for)

Thanks in advance for any info.

[Telexen]

The only barebones systems I have ever found were from ECS...and I can't even find those anymore.

I have a friend who for a while bought laptop parts off eBay, then rebuilt and sold them for profit...maybe that's possible for you.

[DigitalVyper]

The problem with building your own laptop is engineering a good air flow path. All of the companies that sell laptops have their own way of making sure they keep everything in the laptop cool. If you cool the chip but accidently heat transger to the RAM, then ur screwed. If u cool the RAM and burn the graphics card ur screwed... etc. Thats a really hard thing to get right.

Secondly, most laptop parts are made "in house" to a certain extent. You can't mix and match for the air flow reasons. So, in my opinion, building a laptop that works right will take more time than its worth. I recommend just getting one from Dell or such.

[JPMiller]

Thats an ambitious build if I ever heard of one!!!
Kinda have to agree with DigitaVyper though....seems too complicated to be worth it!....unless you already have defunct / used laptops sitting around to be messed with?!

[Telexen]

It's not that complicated though.

You can get an ECS barebones system that has the motherboard...just buy a processor, cdrom, etc...you can build a nice system (~$1500) for less than $1000.

[squeech]

Thanks for the input so far, I know it's going to be a tough thing to do (and yes I have STACKS of laptops here in the back room to mess around with ).

Already we purchase refurbished systems from Dell and HP, but we are a retail store so I can't just go out and configure a system to customer specs and order it. We would have to upcharge on what Dell already sells it to us just to make money! Dell contracts for resale of new configurable systems are a major thorn for franchises like us...painfully expensive. The sales we would have to make to cover the contract costs is just too much for us.

Hey Telexen, do you have a link for the ECS systems?

[DigitalVyper]

Telexen - just wondering... where do u get the graphics card for a laptop? I've looked around and I can't find one anywhere, it seems as though they aren't on the retail market.

[thegladiatorgy]

Sager notebooks are pretty customizable.