42 MA XIMUMPC APRIL 2006
Q: Does anybody really build their
own notebook?
A: We’ll admit that building a notebook
isn’t what the normal, or even advanced,
PC user typically does. Look into the
computer room of the most hardcore PC
master and he or she will probably have
a Sony, Dell, or HP notebook mixed in
with a handful of home-built towers. But
while building your own notebook is still
a fringe hobby, it’s defi nitely picking up
steam. More and more vendors are sell-
ing notebook kits directly to end users.Q: How is building a notebook different
than building a desktop PC?
A: When you build a desktop PC, you
can select the case, pick a motherboard
and CPU, and so on. Building a notebook
is more akin to building a small formfac-
tor system, where you choose a case
and motherboard combo, and then take
whatever other hardware will work it.
With a notebook, you fi rst need to select
the chassis you want, which informs the
type of CPU you’ll use, the type of 3D
card you can install, and even the size
screen you get. Once you’ve selected
the chassis, all you have left to do is pur-
chase memory, a hard drive, and other
accessories.Q: If I can’t change the screen, graphics,
or CPU family, do I really have control over
any of the configuration?
A: Well, yes. Many of the big companies
let you make minor adjustments to the
configuration of their notebooks when
you place an order, but they usually limit
certain components to more expensive
models. You can’t, for example, order a
$500 budget 1.4GHz Celeron M note-
book and have the company upgrade the
CPU to a 2.2GHz Pentium M. In order
to do that, you have to step up one or
more classes of notebook, which natu-
rally cost more money. In a DIY notebookyou can run whatever processor fits
your budget and requirements—from
an $80 1.3GHz Celeron M650 to a $600
2.26GHz Pentium M 770. The same goes
for the hard drive, optical drive, and
everything else.Q: What tools will I need?
A: To build the exact same notebook
we built, you’ll need a quality set of
precision screwdrivers. We recommend
that you invest in Wiha’s basic eight-
piece set of precision screwdrivers ( http://www.
wihatools.com ) that includes both slotted
and Phillips tools. Don’t even think of
using the cheap $3.99 “jewelers” screw-
driver set you picked up at the fl ea mar-
ket. These cheap tools usually result in
bunged-up or stripped screws. We also
needed a paper clip to transplant our
optical drive, and a magnet to pick up the
screws we dropped. You should keep a
container handy for storing the screws,
as well.Q: What are the potential pitfalls?
A: The biggest hurdle to overcome is
accidental destruction of the even-more-delicate-than-normal mobile hardware.
It’s much easier to bend, break, or
destroy the notebook during construc-
tion than it is with standard desktop
parts. And beyond that, as with any DIY
project, the only person responsible for
troubleshooting and fi xing problems will
be you. (While our AOpen kit comes with
a one-year warranty, there’s no option
for an extended warranty and no on-site
tech support.)Q: What does a DIY notebook cost and
where can you buy one?
A: We used an AOpen 1559 unit for our
step-by-step walk-through. It came with
a combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive and
cost about $590. We added a 2.13GHz
Pentium M 770 ($450), 1GB of DDR2
RAM from Corsair ($140), a 100GB SATA
Seagate Momentus 7,200rpm drive
($160), a Mini PCI Wi-Fi A/G/B card ($32),
and an 8x DVD burner that supports
dual-layer burns ($80). The last two com-
ponents were diffi cult to fi nd, but we got
ours from Newegg.com. The 1559 can’t
be purchased directly from AOpen, but is
available from both Chemusa.com and
Jetta.com as a barebook.
Continued on page 44 ËBUILD YOUR OWN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
We know you have some questions, we had a ton before we got started. We’ll tell you why you’d even want
to build your own laptop, and let you in on the pros and consLAPTOP
BUILD
YOUR OWN