Building a Laptop

[Altered Phoenix]

Hey everyone! So I'm new to this forum and all, hoping to get some good info.

I'm looking to upgrade my current laptop and I need some help.
Currently, I have an ASUS UL-50VT with Centrino 2 (1.3GHz dual core), 4GB RAM, and an NVIDIA Geforce G210M (512MB)
However, all the parts are fixed and I can't just swap components so in stead I am looking into a new laptop altogether.

I was looking at a Dell XPS 17 with i7-2720QM (2.2 with turbo to 3.3)
8GB RAM, NVIDIA GEforce GT 55M (3GB) and some other bonus features in it.

Some of my friends were telling that I should just build my own computer. I like the idea. I have never done it myself but I am relatively well versed in technology so I imagine it can't be too difficult.

My only problem is that I do not know where to start or how to go about building one. I also do not know whether or not certain components won't be compatible with others and so on.

Any tips?

 

[Altered Phoenix]

Sorry, this isn't a bump.

I just want to also throw out that this is supposed to be a high powered gaming, ever day use, and 3D modeling laptop.
And before anyone suggests a Mac, I would like to express that I have one of the biggest and most vehemently biased feeling against Mac and will NEVER own any Apple device.

 

[DMGrier]

For starters I don't think you can build your own laptop, there has been a few cases in the past and they are referred to as "bare bones" but they are few and still require you to fab your own parts like a mother board which I would think it is safe to say that 99% of people don't have that ability. It is far better to build a desktop and that would be easy and relatively easy to use.

In fact I would recommend you build a Hackintosh desktop, I do not like apple myself but if you do enough reading OSX is far better then windows, so get performance while getting the best OS possible unless you will go with a Linux OS like I have.

If non of those are a option give us a budget and I can find you a powerful windows based pc on newegg.com

 

[wolfeking]

you will never beat the build quality of Apple. If you hate OSX, then you could buy one and install windows 7 without any issue at all.

Otherwise, look into sager, they have good quality and performance too.

 

[GamingMonitors]

What you mentioned in your first post looks like a good setup. Although yes, true, in most cases you cannot BUILD your own laptop. Which is why people have troubles when they look for one.

Good LUck

 

[Altered Phoenix]

Ok thanks for the info guys! I was hoping that there would be some way to buy a shell and just put in what I want but oh well. At least Dell offers something similar to that. The XPS I get will be awesome!

 

[Russ88765]

You will have a hard time building your own laptop, but there are companies that have the parts available to customize you one. As far as I know, your best bet would be to go with whichever company resells the Clevo x7200 or x8100, it's got a nice array of ports, drives, and processing options. Sagernotebooks is one such place that works with those models, but be prepared to spend!

 

[DMGrier]

you will never beat the build quality of Apple. If you hate OSX, then you could buy one and install windows 7 without any issue at all.

Otherwise, look into sager, they have good quality and performance too.

I would say Asus and Samsung come close enough in quality of build with quiet a bit more performance under the hood for a better price.

 

[FXB]

I would say Asus and Samsung come close enough in quality of build with quiet a bit more performance under the hood for a better price.

I'm not sure which exact model you are referring to but in any case it is pretty hard to compare any mac to a windows pc as is to compare most pc's.

As for OP's question perhaps look into building a desktop and getting a simple notebook if needed. By going that route you will get a better bang for your buck and greater expandibility options.

 

[Altered Phoenix]

So a lot of my friends tell me that my insane bias against Apple is unjust but I honestly feel like all Apple computers are a waste of money. However, all you guys say different. Why is that?

I did some comparisons. Processors are either sub-par to or the same as all PC's at that level. RAM is usually on the lower end. I absolutely HATE the OS.

I know they generally have good video cards.
Other than the name of the brand, what makes everyone think they are so good and why are they so much more expensive?

 

[FXB]

Other than the name of the brand, what makes everyone think they are so good and why are they so much more expensive?

if you don't like the OS then it is pretty hard to justify getting a mac. However if you look at the macbook pro it's just a nice package.

1440 x 900 resolution
light weight
long battery life
solid aluminium housing
backlit keyboard
ambient light sensor
huge trackpad
multi-touch gestures
light weight OS
keyboard shortcuts
Spotlight
Slot-Loading dvd drive
cheaper software (OS, Office suite)

it's the complete solution that makes it great if you buy a macbook and install windows 7 overtop you loose a bit in battery life and allot in the multi touch gestures.

 

[wolfeking]

its like spending 10+ thousand extra to get a diesel truck, its for the longetivity.

Apple has a superb build quality, and is just generally stable. As was stated, they have an all aluminum cage, which will last ages around the general plastic construction of the average PC laptop (like all of mine. The only metal in/on the frames are the LCD hinges. And you can tell it in average use too.).

This is not to say that they are the end all on quality. There are a few good PC's out there, but you will have to pay for virus protection (not as many mac viruses), and the upgrades are way expensive comparatively too. (30 or so for OSX 10.6 , 99 for Windows 7).

 

[DMGrier]

Cause there apple fan boys, thats why. I at one time was considering on getting a mac and I went and became a member of macforums.com cause I figured if I wanted real info I needed to go to where they all posted at and you know what they told me, " Any pc that is over $1,000 will last just as long and performe just as well as a Mac". A majority of the users on there told me that and they said they just prefer the OS. To this day I have played on many apple computers but have yet to own one cause I can get a Samsung or Asus Laptop That looks as nice, will last just as long and cost less.

Plus I can run Windows just like a Mac, but I can run Linux a lot easier then a Mac can. So many people try to run Linux on a Mac and it can be done but I see them have so many problems.

Choose wisely.....

 

[wolfeking]

hey hey, I dont like being called a fanboy. I have never owned a mac at all. Quite frankly the one I device that I have is overrated at that.
I was stating what I have researched. They are aluminum, they do last, and not every laptop that cost 1000 or more will out preform or last as long as a mac. My DV7 has spent more time down for repairs than it has spent being used. Its plastic, and quite frankly a 1300 dollar paperweight.
Not only that, but there is quite a bit of Linux support for Macs. Its done more times without issue than it is with PC's.

 

[Perkomate]

hey hey, I dont like being called a fanboy. I have never owned a mac at all. Quite frankly the one I device that I have is overrated at that.
I was stating what I have researched. They are aluminum, they do last, and not every laptop that cost 1000 or more will out preform or last as long as a mac. My DV7 has spent more time down for repairs than it has spent being used. Its plastic, and quite frankly a 1300 dollar paperweight.
Not only that, but there is quite a bit of Linux support for Macs. Its done more times without issue than it is with PC's.

it's a HP. Expect it to break. Worst laptop division that i've ever come across.

 

[wolfeking]

ha, simple minded people. 2 years ago HP had more reported breaks than the others, and only 10% difference between them and the lowest (asus I think), and forever more they are bad.
The issue is not with the company. Its with the ATI HD5470 GPU. Cant get one to last much beyond 3 weeks till it starts artifacting and having its little mealtdown. I would not be so quick to pin that on the company, as they have no control over ATI's build quality.

 

[Perkomate]

I have a HP Mini 2140, a netbook. It runs on integrated graphics. It's still terrible. I somehow broke the screen on it, and it cost the insurance $750 to fix it. And it took them about 5 weeks to do it.

 

[DMGrier]

The word "fanboy" was used like that cause that is how some of you acted, not recommending to him a computer for what he needs, Just cause he says apple does not mean it is the best option to him without at least informing him of price. Plus if you bought a Hp I am sorry you did not properly do your research when you bought it, I know for a fact that for about two years on this forum we have told people not to buy Hp due to there low quality. Also if you understand anything about cooling, you would know plastic cools better and faster then Metal. That is why I prefer my plastic cases. But what would I know about that only being a Engineer in the Navy for the last 5 years .

So here it is, if you wanted a Dedicated graphics card cause I notice that is what you where looking at, so you can run games or whatever, the Cheapest Macbook pro is $1799.99 and it's hardware is really not all that great. It was painful looking at it for that price, you could get a Asus for about 7-800 less and it will do the job and last just as long even though you will probably replace it for a computer with newer hardware before it ever breaks.

My recommendation, build a desktop, pick which ever OS makes you happy whether Windows, OSX or linux does your fancy. You can build a desktop that will smoke a macbook pro or even most pc laptops for about $900 and have plenty to purchase a cheap laptop or nice netbook. If you don't want to build there is ibuypower.com and they have 3 year warrenty on the computer's.

If you go that path and then are curious on which netbook to go with on Sunday I will be doing a review on the Samsung Chromebook under General computer Chat area.

 

[wolfeking]

The word "fanboy" was used like that cause that is how some of you acted, not recommending to him a computer for what he needs, Just cause he says apple does not mean it is the best option to him without at least informing him of price.

I understand that now. thanks for the clarification

Plus if you bought a Hp I am sorry you did not properly do your research when you bought it, I know for a fact that for about two years on this forum we have told people not to buy Hp due to there low quality.

Yea, i can totally control what my grandad 1000+ miles away buys for christmas.

Also if you understand anything about cooling, you would know plastic cools better and faster then Metal. That is why I prefer my plastic cases. But what would I know about that only being a Engineer in the Navy for the last 5 years .

Yea, thats why we have aluminum radiators in trucks, and copper heatsinks, cause plastic cools faster.

My recommendation, build a desktop, pick which ever OS makes you happy whether Windows, OSX or linux does your fancy. You can build a desktop that will smoke a macbook pro or even most pc laptops for about $900 and have plenty to purchase a cheap laptop or nice netbook. If you don't want to build there is ibuypower.com and they have 3 year warrenty on the computer's.

The bold there is a violation of the terms of use with OSx. It can be done, but you wont get any support from Apple for it.

 

[DMGrier]

Umm well you don't use plastic for radiators because of how thin the baffels are, but if you like talking cars which I can do with you all day that is why in some of the newer and better designed cars these days and now that I think about it for the last 10 years they have replaced the aluminum intake manifold with a plastic one do to the fact of a higher cooling. There is probably a reason why they use copper on heat syncs but could tell you that one, we can argue this but I do have a decent machanical knoweldge being responsible for 4 engines that produce 25,000 hp each and get around 2,500 degrees and a lot more equipment.

Didn't know your computer was a gift, my bad I guess.

And yes it would be a Violation of Apple's monopoly but in the end I guess it is a good thing in a built desktop your hardware has a warrenty through the part's companies and for the Tech support of the Hack and the OS, well thank god to those forums that specialize in those areas.