I want to build a laptop myself...

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › I want to build a laptop myself...

pjtmd

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#35683 14-Jun-2009 15:42

I started a topic a while ago about me wanting to start making my own laptop with 1 terabyte HDD i was told it was impossible so i got rid of my account. then I decided to start checking out laptop companys and there it is a laptop with a 1T HDD.
God that is so frickin frustratin. I mean my laptop design is so flipin sweet az can any one tell me where i can get some cheap laptop bits.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79295 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#224918 14-Jun-2009 16:01

Did you ask us to delete your previous account, then create another one? That's why we don't have a self-service delete account button...

Back on topic - you can't "create" your own laptop easily. You can buy a laptop and replace some bit - drives mostly, but not video bits for example.

So providing you find a laptop that suits you in some of the basic aspects (video, CPU) it's easy to replace HDD and memory.

However... Buying a single laptop HDD might be more expensive than buying a laptop with a 1TB already built-in.

PS. I am changing the subject because "I start a topic" is not clue enough to make anyone want to read this in the laptops forum...

Fossie

1240 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#224957 14-Jun-2009 17:33

Unless there is some company out there that will customise and build a laptop to your specifications and design, you're out of luck.
Laptop parts are expensive and hardly 'generic', each having different sizes and specs depending on the manufacturer.

Your best bet is to find a laptop that you like from ie Dell, and pick the specifications that suit you.

To get a 1TB drive, you would need 2x 500gig drives running in RAID. Most laptops only have one connector for internal hard drives, so this is why you customise it using the manufacturer, instead of trying to do it later and finding out that you cant.

It is possible to upgrade the CPU, RAM, and Hard Drive yourself, but it ends up being very expensive if you want to do the CPU.

The GPU tends to be soldered in (CPU possibly is too), and very very very difficult, if not impossible to change.

nate

6473 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#225020 14-Jun-2009 20:33

pjtmd: I started a topic a while ago about me wanting to start making my own laptop with 1 terabyte HDD i was told it was impossible so i got rid of my account. then I decided to start checking out laptop companys and there it is a laptop with a 1T HDD.
God that is so frickin frustratin. I mean my laptop design is so flipin sweet az can any one tell me where i can get some cheap laptop bits.

You would save yourself a lot of hassle by just picking an off-the-shelf laptop (such as Toshiba, Sony, HP, Dell etc) and then upgrading the components you want bigger, such as memory, hard-drive, video card etc.

I don't think building a laptop is as easy as building a desktop. Remember that the space available is limited, so most manufacturers will design their componentry to easily fit into a smaller case.

Lastly, regarding the 1TB hard-drive, no-one on Geekzone knows everything so if you are in doubt, you can always Google. We are just a bunch of technology enthusiasts who learn something new from each other on a daily basis

hairy1

3332 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#225030 14-Jun-2009 20:55

Dell will ship you an XPS laptop with 2 x 500 GB hard drives.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

dawnraid

100 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#225071 14-Jun-2009 22:22

Wtf build your own laptop are you nuts? Just buy a prebuilt one and chuck some better components in it, The 15 & 17" MacBook Pros have space for 2x HD.

timestyles

424 posts

Ultimate Geek

#225073 14-Jun-2009 22:35

It certainly is possible to build your own laptop (in a sense), I suggest you get hold of Maximum PC magazine as they have had at least one article on the subject in the last 3 years. At least one manufacturer supplies the needed components (case, screen, mb, etc).

However as others have suggested, it's probably not worth it. Currently, the biggest 2.5" laptop you can buy is 500GB, wait 2 years and you'll probably see 1TB.

Incidentally, laptop manufacturers are 'segmenting' the laptop market using amongst other things hard drive size. The cheapest laptops have the smallest drives, right. That makes sense, but if you wanted a laptop with say a 320GB drive, which might be $50 more expensive, you may have to pay an extra $700.

Pskonejott

24 posts

Geek

#225221 15-Jun-2009 12:47

It is certainly possible to run two, three, or maybe even four HDD's in a laptop. For the fourth you'd probably need to use an adapter to run a HDD in the optical bay. But if you're running that many drives you'd probably be looking to install a second battery into the optical bay instead.

Like most things it comes down to money... For instance Alienware do a 17 inch that can take a core 2 Extreme quad processor, dual GeForce GTX 280M GPU's, dual 500GB 7200RPM drives etc.

Sager do an 18.4 with triple HDD's and dual GTX 280M's etc...

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

nate

6473 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#225264 15-Jun-2009 15:30

Pskonejott: It is certainly possible to run two, three, or maybe even four HDD's in a laptop. For the fourth you'd probably need to use an adapter to run a HDD in the optical bay. But if you're running that many drives you'd probably be looking to install a second battery into the optical bay instead.

Four HDDs? When does a laptop just become a desktop with a fold down screen?