Y
ou can build a desktop PC
while chained in an under-
water cage fi lled with testy
sea bass. You can build, boot, and
overclock a small formfactor rig
blindfolded. You think you’re the Jedi
Master of do-it-yourself PC building.
Think again, Padawan. Are you ready
for the next step? Are you ready to
build your own notebook?
Whether you call it a DIY note-
book, whitebook, or barebook,
confi guring and building your own
laptop computer is the fi nal test
before you ascend to PC greatness.
Of course, it goes without saying
that building your own notebook issignifi cantly more challenging than
building a mere desktop or SFF.
With their cramped interiors
and butterfl y-delicate components,
notebooks aren’t a wise undertak-
ing for the ham-fi sted tyro who has
problems snapping a memory mod-
ule in place without bending things.
That doesn’t mean you should be
afraid. If you have the motor coor-
dination and patience to build a
model X-Wing, you can easily build
your own notebook.
So when you’re sitting in a café
cruising the net and someone asks
you who built your notebook, you
can respond with pride: “I did!”40 MA XIMUMPC APRIL 2006
The only way to get the
exact notebook you’re
looking for—with a CPU,
hard drive, and chassis
that perfectly suit your
needs—is to build your
own! Let’s get started
BUILD
YOUR OWN LA PTOP
BY GORDON MAH UNG