Has anyone seen or bought......

[tomdrum]

Hey guys

well im looking into the future for things such as university and im going to need a laptop arent i...My current computer i love, but i cant exactly take it places.

I am looking at buying a laptop, but through my experience they suck unless you buy a really expensive one, but i have found on scan these

Scan Barebones laptops

Im wondering if anyone has tried homebuilding a laptop, wether these are any good (and they look awesome) what do they come with etc. as they havnt given much detail.

Also although i dislike Macs they are quicker running on laptops so should i consider it?

 

[tomdrum]

nobody?

 

[geofelt]

Caveat: I have not built a laptop, nor am I particularly knowledgeable about them. I bought a refurbished IBM T40, but that is about it. I do think you are onto a good idea. Pre-built PC's always come with some unknown amount of "bloatware" which you can avoid by building your own. Do your homework. There should be a number of sources out there. The tiger stripes on the link you provided raises a flag for me, that the vendor may be more focused on bling than substance.
---good luck---

 

[liquidx]

If your just out looking at laptops, don't forget Dell.

Homebuilding laptops is not really a new idea. Asus has been selling barebones setups for years. But seriously, there are a lot of sites out there that would do much more for you then the TG forumz will when looking for a laptop. No offense guys, but you all know it is better to look for the people that focus on the stuff more then the general computing experience. So definitely check out.notebookforums.com

and
notebookreview.com

 

[tomdrum]

Im very interested in the Asus C90 laptops that they will b ebringing out. Its basically the same as a desktop and can be customised. But im sure will be expensive

 

[Gneisenau]

I'm not sure you really need a laptop for school. Do most professors even allow you to use one in class these days? If you are going to end up using it just in your dorm, then your present computer that you said you like should be ok. If you want to be able to carry it with you in a back pack all day long, then make sure it's small and light. Carrying around a 17" laptop along with your books and supplies doesn't sound too fun to me.
Also look at battery life. Some of todays notebooks can run for up to 8 hours on a single charge. This will save you the weight of the power brick and make it less likely you loose it or leave it behind somewhere. That is if you are able to leave it in your dorm room and work off of batteries everywhere else.
I think that if you want it to play 3D games, then you probably won't want to drag it around with you all day.
Mine weighs about 15 pounds with it's power brick, and it get rather heavy to carry around fast.

 

[EXT64]

I had to get a Tablet for school (VT engineering), so I didn't have many choices. I went with the Gateway CX210X, recently replaced by the C-140X. I am quite impressed by the build quality, not to mention I got a 3 year warranty with Accident protection for $260.

As for bloatware, it is definately there, both on my Gateway and my brother's Dell. If you really care, you could always reformat and reinstall I guess. The tablet is only for light gaming, so I don't really worry about the bloatware. Also, the new intel processors are so fast that I don't notice lag while working or gaming.

I have built all of my recent desktops and thought about building a Laptop, but I just couldn't find the parts for laptops like desktops. I have heard of the Asus kits and would probably go with them if I had to build. Really though, I don't think it is worth the effort.

 

[tomdrum]

haha yer looked at alienware...bit expensive but i suppose its probly the prices il have to pay anyway.

Hmm well im just thinking a laptop would be so much easier to take instead of my bulky tower. Il be needing it for computer animation, so this is why im looking at the top specs.

 

[Guest]

I'm no expert, but I've dabbled in computer animation and modeling in school..

If I were you, rather than get the laptop, I would take that available cash and put it all into a nice desktop setup. A much more powerful GPU, Quad core processor, more RAM, and if you can swing it, dual monitors. I found dual monitors to be quite enjoyable while learning 3DS Max.

Well, that is unless you have to carry it to and from class every day. If you will be using it in a dorm or apartment, then give the desktop a boost.

 

[I]

Hey guys

well im looking into the future for things such as university and im going to need a laptop arent i...My current computer i love, but i cant exactly take it places.

Buying for the "future" is always a risky proposition. IMO, a laptop you really want to take with you a lot should be small and cheap. Transporting it does subject it to worse environments and a risk of theft. Plus, for the cost of upgrading it until it's "great" by gamer-elite standards, you could practically take the difference in price and buy a desktop gaming system too.

I am looking at buying a laptop, but through my experience they suck unless you buy a really expensive one, but i have found on scan these

Scan Barebones laptops

Forget the idea of "suck", the whole point is that they cost less and that's what you need. If you can't do the typical things on a laptop today, when people had been using far slower tech fine for years, then you've become a slave to marketing. Your best bet is something that gets the longest battery life possible, is running WinXP, and has a 7K2 RPM HDD & 1GB memory.

The scan page looks like you will spend more to get less. Individual laptop parts cost more than a whole laptop, and the OS (WinXP OEM) was a negligable increase in cost to OEMs, and to you.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried homebuilding a laptop, wether these are any good (and they look awesome) what do they come with etc. as they havnt given much detail.

Find a hot looking woman and marry her. You will then care less about a fancy notebook case. Someday you will understand what I mean but for now, if you really want to do without any warranty (going DIY) and just want a fancy graphic(s) on the case, buy a whole laptop and have it custom painted.

Also although i dislike Macs they are quicker running on laptops so should i consider it?

You should get a cheap laptop and a giant sized thumbdrive. Treat the laptop well, but consider it disposible, everything of consequence is on the thumbdrive.

To be frank, you need to walk before you can run. Having no laptop and thinking good ones are expensive, is not making you a good candidate to start out building it yourself which ends up being the most expensive way to go. Someone will get you drunk and steal it, and insurance won't help because you NEED it immediately which you can't have, rebuilding a custom laptop takes time (as you're already finding out), even several weeks if/when parts don't work, aren't compatible and you're going through RMAs and reordering, all without the aid of having (a computer) to spend all the time. Instead you'll have to spend more time finding other computers and trapsing back and forth just to get work done.

Just get a cheap OEM laptop for your use. If you want to build something fancy, make it a longer term hobby.

 

[tomdrum]

Ok well i have taken onboard the comments...

I think the best thing to do is simply take my desktop down as i have spent alot of money on it and it does what i want. The money i would spend on the laptop would be very nice for my new GPU and a new screen...and possibly new quad (lets see how things turn out this time next year)

I can then also get a cheapish laptop to do the essential things that need doing out and about.

 

[EXT64]

Good choice, you have a good computer, any laptop you buy would be a disappointment for gaming, so just go cheap and durable. You could shell out $2000 or more and still end up with a laptop worse than your desktop, not to mention it would run at obnoxious temps. Even my laptop with an ATI X1400 runs hotter than my liking.

 

[emp]

another idea is buy one of the barebones shuttles cases in newegg.com and strip your tower from its CPU, Ram, and Video card and put them on the shuttle case (of course you need to buy one with a compatible mobo). Now you only need a not too heavy screen and you're set for traveling.