Diy Laptop..what would be in yours?

[rennaizxance]

I've seen posted a few times questions about a laptop built from desktop components. Let's say hypothetically it were possible, what desktop parts would you like to be able to add, specific products if possible. I'll leave a few questions to get you started.

1.)What screen size/native resolution?
2.)Hard drive Options?
3.)What's the "best" graphics card and processor you'd like to have the option of using? (considering the restraints of making a reasonable sized laptop, being able to cool adequately, and power consumption)
4.)Are internal speakers a must?
5.)What would be the maximum thickness of the finished design (2 in?, 3in?)?
6.)Would a "mobile desktop" solution be acceptable? By this I mean a system that required plugging to work(no or minimal battery), but is still on a laptop frame for easy mobility.
7.) What battery life would you expect for non-intensive use?
8.)What components would you expect to come with the base 'kit' and how much would you pay for that?
9.)Would a completely prebuilt solution be more attractive? (different levels of base components and you are able to upgrade as you please)
10.)Any concerns not listed?

I'll start by answering for myself:
1.) I haven't paid enough attention to this in my past laptops to notice a difference so I'll say anything that works reliably here.
2.) I prefer at least two hard drive bays, just so I have the option of a solid state os drive.
3.) I'm a casual gamer so I rarely need things on highest settings. Probably a Radeon 7750 or GeForce GT 440 would handle anything I need. My max processor would probably be i5-2405s. That would be more than I'd ever need, but it's low power consumption and has enough on board graphics that I could probably make out with better battery life. Can't wait for Ivy though
4.)When I'm home I hook up to my sound system and when I'm away I use headphones so I don't see where these would be absolutely necessary. Most laptop speakers suck anyway.
5.) Anything above 2.5in is pushing it
6.) Sure if it meant better options for other components. My laptops all have dead batteries anyway so I deal with this already.
7.)I'm not really used to battery life, but 2 hours would be outstanding
8.)Probably the chassis, screen, power supply(and battery if offered) and maybe the keyboard. Price is "nothing too ridiculous". Essentially somewhere around the price of getting a good desktop case, display, power supply and keyboard if all that is included. Of course there will be a price bump for a battery. So maybe 550-650 total if all that is included? Sounds good
9.) Pending the price, sure

[gman863]

Since it's almost impossible to find a "barebones" notebook PC anymore, I'll answer the question in the form of how I would design my ideal notebook PC:

1. Quit charging a fortune for a true 1920 x 1080 res. screen. To get true 1920x1280 on a 19" desktop monitor, it adds about $70 to the price. On a notebook PC, it usually adds a minimum of $300.

2. A 7200 RPM HDD should be standard. 2003 called; it wants its 5400 RPM drives back.

3. No crapware. This is especially true for HP/Compaq.

4. Make the cooling fan an easily accessible replacement part, similar to the trap doors for HDD and RAM access. Replacing one should not require a complete disassembly of the PC.

5.A water resistant keyboard. Given most $10 desktop keyboards are all but waterproof, a rubber membrane behind the keys and a seal around the outer rim should only add a few bucks to the price.

6. Although on-board video is fine for value-priced models; a motherboard with a mini PCI-e slot GPU that's upgradeable would be nice on mid and high end units.

7. Start working on screen technology that's more durable. Many people would pay extra for a notebook PC with a screen that could actually survive a 2 or 3 foot drop without shattering. Given the advancements in plastics technology, I'm guessing this could be accomplished without the huge outer shell found on mil-spec units like the Panasonic Toughbook.

8. Thermal shut-down. Almost every desktop board now has this option in the BIOS to prevent an overheating meltdown; I've yet to see a notebook with this feature. I've seen too many notebook PCs with Kentucky Fried Motherboard as a result of the fan failing and the PC overheating.

9. Include a factory restore DVD. If the hard drive crashes, the restore partition on the factory HDD is useless.

[rennaizxance]

Thanks for the reply. I agree to most of what you said. I don't know what the technology differences are between the monitors and display for the price increase, but the pricing can get ridiculous. I don't think I've used any preinstalled software on any system I've owned so bloatware is a definite no for me. I think everything should be easily accessible to replace. The amount of work required to open a notebook versus opening up a tower for component access is a staggering margin. Recovery disks are a must in my opinion. I don't know if they're working on screen material tech or not but that would certainly be useful. And pretty much all you've said has been on point.

[Goldenskull]

lol usually its all ways to go the cheap rout most of the time There really is not much difference like for say a Dual core and a six core yeah sure with a six core you have more cores to work with but even a fast Over clocked CPU like mine its a dual core AMD Athlon II X2 260 (OC) 3.68GHZ can do the same as a six core can.

[gloozit]

1.)What screen size/native resolution?
I'm at 1366x768 on my laptop. A higher res would be better for the Photoshop stuff I do. 16 Inch screen is perfect for me
2.)Hard drive Options?
An SSD for sure. At least a 100 gigs, plus another 500 GB SATA.
3.)What's the "best" graphics card and processor you'd like to have the option of using?
(considering the restraints of making a reasonable sized laptop, being able to cool adequately, and power consumption)
At least a GTX470M
4.)Are internal speakers a must?
Absolutely, that's why I bought a Toshiba. Best Laptop speakers out there for basic models.
5.)What would be the maximum thickness of the finished design (2 in?, 3in?)
2 inches or thinner, if possible
6.)Would a "mobile desktop" solution be acceptable? By this I mean a system that required plugging to work(no or minimal battery), but is still on a laptop frame for easy mobility.
Yepper, that's what I have now. I get about an hour and a quarter on battery, less if I am using PS. It's not a minimal battery, I just have the Power options set to fully utilize the CPU, GPU, and monitor (no dimming).
7.) What battery life would you expect for non-intensive use?
What I expect and reality are two different things.
8.)What components would you expect to come with the base 'kit' and how much would you pay for that?
All of them. 1/2 of what they would cost, put together by a manufacturer
9.)Would a completely prebuilt solution be more attractive? (different levels of base components and you are able to upgrade as you please)
For me I would prefer building and options for upgrades. Not everyone needs intensive graphics, 8 gigs of RAM, or an i7
10.)Any concerns not listed?
CPU's, fans, cooling ducts and flow. I have a nice Toshiba with an i7 and a nVidia 300M. It gets HOT!. Well, it's within specs, but it could use a fan, bigger heatsink or better flow past the GPU

BTW I am thinking non-desktop parts, as in the mobile GPU and the drives.

[gloozit]

Originally Posted by Goldenskull

even a fast Over clocked CPU like mine its a dual core AMD Athlon II X2 260 (OC) 3.68GHZ can do the same as a six core can.

I beg to differ. I have 3 PC's in my house, a laptop (i7 Q740M), which is comparable in speed, but just very slightly slower than a Black box AMD Phenom II X4 965, and then there is the 2600k, which blows both of them away.
This is not comparing benchmarks, it's the feel of them, while on them. I feel very little difference from the laptop to the AMD, but there is a big difference between them and the 2600k.

[Goldenskull]

I have mine well tuned i don't feal much difference i can have has many things opened as i want i can even play a online game and have two clients open at the same time and not have much of an issue.But i will get a six core soon for my AM3 slot that cost as much as my GTX 550 TI does.

My
807A-G54 Motherboard is good tons of Room to upgrade Worth the money
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/870A-G54.html#/?div=Basic

[rennaizxance]

Good answers all. I think it really depends on what you're doing and how you have your system set up as to whether or not multicores will affect your general performance. I think it's one of those things where "the more you put in the more you get out". If you spend time tweaking a dual core setup I'm pretty sure you can get performance out of it that will rival higher core systems. And it also depends on whether or not your system is optimized to take advantage of higher cores.

Goldenskull, I don't think the price will come down to half, but I do think switching over to desktop parts would allow for some long term savings. Imagine just buying the next processor/video card/etc when it comes out instead of getting an entire new system to update. That's why I prefer to dream of a mobile solution using desktop parts. Or at least some standardization in laptop parts that would allow for aftermarket suppliers.

[Goldenskull]

Mainly it really Depends on what you want your computer to do Do you just want it to do just regular computer stuff Or do you want a pure gaming machine.Some people just need a simple computer to do stuff like web surfing Some like me just pure gaming power.That can do just about any thing.Its basically what your needs are really.

[gloozit]

rennaizxance, somewhere I ran across a mod for a laptop. It used the express card slot to add in a GPU. It was a nice little setup, including the PSU.
Just a thought. Laptops are customizable that way.
http://www.techradar.com/news/comput...adaptor-915616
@ Goldenskull, I game on my Desktop, but I don't consider it a gaming PC, it's my workhorse.
Just a side note, my card is just shy of 3000 Passmark benchmark points, about 1100 more than yours.
That's pure gaming power