G
Glenn
It looks to me like the components are not generally available, but has
anybody looked into assembling a laptop?
anybody looked into assembling a laptop?
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B
BigJIm
I have been working on and building systems for years and I have never built
a laptop.
Can't get the parts.
Their are places on the net where you order a customized one.
a laptop.
Can't get the parts.
Their are places on the net where you order a customized one.
D
Dave
The closest you can get are OEM laptops that you add your own hard drive and
ram to.
When people learn that I build computers, they always ask me to build them a
laptop. I think that the way they are manufactured, with everything
integrated and built together, would mean that you'd either need a factory
to build one, or it would cost pretty much the same, or less, to buy one
from a big company, warranty included.
Also, have you ever taken something like that apart and put it back
together? The screws can't get any smaller! And those annoying, short
ribbon wires. Building a laptop would probably be like assembling a
snap-together model with small screws to hold down the important stuff.
Really small F'in screws to lose all over the place.
Dave
ram to.
When people learn that I build computers, they always ask me to build them a
laptop. I think that the way they are manufactured, with everything
integrated and built together, would mean that you'd either need a factory
to build one, or it would cost pretty much the same, or less, to buy one
from a big company, warranty included.
Also, have you ever taken something like that apart and put it back
together? The screws can't get any smaller! And those annoying, short
ribbon wires. Building a laptop would probably be like assembling a
snap-together model with small screws to hold down the important stuff.
Really small F'in screws to lose all over the place.
Dave
P
Panos Papadopolous
Glenn said:It looks to me like the components are not generally available, but has
anybody looked into assembling a laptop?
Reinventing the wheel would be a lot easier.
G
Guest
Thanks for the response. You make several good points, however, there
was a time people thought the same about the desk top units.
Additionally, I would have thought that the motherboard manufacturers and
and the companies that build the cases, displays, keyboards, etc. would
have wanted to expand their markets. We know that Dell, Gateway, and IBM
do not make all their own sub-assemblies.
Yes, the sizes are small and the tolerances tight, but that is where the
real enthusiasts find the challenge. If everybody could do it, where is
the fun? However, not being able to get the parts, makes the question
mute, unless parts manufactures are tracking the newsgroup.
Glenn
was a time people thought the same about the desk top units.
Additionally, I would have thought that the motherboard manufacturers and
and the companies that build the cases, displays, keyboards, etc. would
have wanted to expand their markets. We know that Dell, Gateway, and IBM
do not make all their own sub-assemblies.
Yes, the sizes are small and the tolerances tight, but that is where the
real enthusiasts find the challenge. If everybody could do it, where is
the fun? However, not being able to get the parts, makes the question
mute, unless parts manufactures are tracking the newsgroup.
Glenn
D
Dave
I think what it comes down to is that there would be too many form-factor
standards with laptops. In addition, you would need to have the screen
integrated into the case with all of these different sizes. The way that
dell and gateway and Sony mount their motherboards, hard drives, and other
components differs, even among laptops of similar size.
The point I guess I am trying to make, is that once you get so small, you
would see something like a small form factor PC, where the motherboard comes
with, and is designed only for that specific case, pushing prices up. It
doesn't really cost that much more, per laptop, to have someone slide in a
hard drive, stick of ram (sometimes even this is built into the
motherboard), and cpu.
Having one standard for a specific size would limit creativity, although it
would be nice for homebuilders. Whitebox notebooks, therefore, where you
add your own ram and hard drive, seem to be the closest thing to building
your own notebook that we'll have for a while. There are, as far as I know,
no plans for laptop case standards. If we had the standards, though, it
would mean being able to build a laptop quite easily, but just not a cutting
edge laptop.
Dave
standards with laptops. In addition, you would need to have the screen
integrated into the case with all of these different sizes. The way that
dell and gateway and Sony mount their motherboards, hard drives, and other
components differs, even among laptops of similar size.
The point I guess I am trying to make, is that once you get so small, you
would see something like a small form factor PC, where the motherboard comes
with, and is designed only for that specific case, pushing prices up. It
doesn't really cost that much more, per laptop, to have someone slide in a
hard drive, stick of ram (sometimes even this is built into the
motherboard), and cpu.
Having one standard for a specific size would limit creativity, although it
would be nice for homebuilders. Whitebox notebooks, therefore, where you
add your own ram and hard drive, seem to be the closest thing to building
your own notebook that we'll have for a while. There are, as far as I know,
no plans for laptop case standards. If we had the standards, though, it
would mean being able to build a laptop quite easily, but just not a cutting
edge laptop.
Dave
G
Glenn
I think that you are correct. This then leads to the question as to why
the standards don't exist. Gateway / Dell / etc want to buy the parts
as cheaply as possible. This then leads to several possible thoughts:
a) Not enough laptops are sold to make price the big discriminating
factor. Price is important, but features and name brand still play a
major role.
b) The technology is not mature. There are still several ways to make a
laptop and standards / design do not drive a cost advantage.
c) No one sub-assembly manufacture has the resources to provide parts
for multiple major laptop end item manufactures. Therefore, each
manufacture (assembly and end item) are bound together.
All in all, I expect that it will only be a matter of time before an
approach wins out. The big boys will want the standards, someday.
Should we take bets, when we will be able to start building laptops?
Glenn
the standards don't exist. Gateway / Dell / etc want to buy the parts
as cheaply as possible. This then leads to several possible thoughts:
a) Not enough laptops are sold to make price the big discriminating
factor. Price is important, but features and name brand still play a
major role.
b) The technology is not mature. There are still several ways to make a
laptop and standards / design do not drive a cost advantage.
c) No one sub-assembly manufacture has the resources to provide parts
for multiple major laptop end item manufactures. Therefore, each
manufacture (assembly and end item) are bound together.
All in all, I expect that it will only be a matter of time before an
approach wins out. The big boys will want the standards, someday.
Should we take bets, when we will be able to start building laptops?
Glenn