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View Full Version : Why we cant assemble laptop pcs like desktop pcs?



Martial-law
January 1st, 2011, 09:51 PM
I cant understand why we cant assemble laptop/notebook pcs for ourselves as we can assemble desktop pcs according to our requirements. If all the parts are available I think there is no way that assembling our own laptop/notebook computers is not possible. May be its the laptop/notebook companies which are responsible for this as I think they prohibit the manufacturers of parts to sell them in open markets. But I think that hardware manufacturers could create a very large market and do a handsome business if they sell laptop/notebook parts in the open market. What do you think about that? Why in your opinion we cant assemble laptop/notebook pcs ourselves? And do you think it would be possible in the future?:guitar:

sprocket10
January 1st, 2011, 11:07 PM
As a mechanical engineer, my first thought is I think each laptop form factor is designed to handle up to a certain thermal load, therefore you cannot put super-fast processors in a tiny chassis w/o overheating. This allows the manufacturer to produce specific frames for their machines, reducing or eliminating upgradability, which they profit from nicely.

There is one company I know of that does make laptops with interchangeable parts: Shuttle.
http://spa.shuttle.com/main/check?pageName=about_shuttle
I tried to build one on their website, but it appears you have to be a business to get access. I suppose it hasn't matured enough yet. We can hope though.... :)

tgalati4
January 1st, 2011, 11:43 PM
Have you ever done a complete laptop tear down? And then try to reassemble it so it works again? It's not trivial.

Adding memory or replacing a hard disk is pretty straight forward on most laptops. (There are exceptions--partially-eaten fruit).

Try replacing a cracked screen or broken hinge (with the VGA cable running through it) and you will run screaming.

The small form factor of laptops does not allow easy service. Everyone wants lighter and brighter, longer and stronger. Try servicing a Macbook Air. That will definitely cause you to run screaming.

An open-source hardware laptop with published interface standards and easy assembly would look like an early portable computer:

http://oldcomputers.net/osborne.html

perspectoff
January 1st, 2011, 11:45 PM
Why can't I ride my dog like I ride my horse?

geekguy
January 1st, 2011, 11:52 PM
If you want me to answer literally, I'll say that you would squash your dog. If there is hidden significance, I haven't found it.

Lucradia
January 1st, 2011, 11:58 PM
Some motherboards have modular components, such as the IBM T4# Series, with their dedicated graphic cards.

Most laptops integrate everything so nothing falls out, I guess.

sgosnell
January 2nd, 2011, 12:23 AM
You can certainly assemble a laptop from parts, if you can find a case exactly the right size and shape, a motherboard that fits it perfectly, and all the other parts and pieces. Getting the LCD screen installed can be tricky, as well as all the other parts and pieces. You can also buy all the parts and assemble your own car if you want. The only difference is in the size of the parts. You can build either from parts, if you have the skills and tools, but why in the world would you want to?

themarker0
January 2nd, 2011, 12:54 AM
They are called barebone laptops. Newegg sells them

handy
January 2nd, 2011, 01:51 AM
I can see a market where a certain notebook case is specified to take a certain motherboard with a maximum CPU rating. If it became a big enough market there would be more case/screen size/motherboard etc options.

You would end up with basically a build it yourself machine with options on CPU speed, amount & speed of RAM, size/brand/speed/cache of drive, brand speed of optical drive if desired, with the GPU & RAM you could also have limited options.

When it came to the LCD screen, it would be nice if they were built for such a system in an easy to handle fashion, which really isn't hard or expensive to do when you are building a do it yourself kit.

You could save some money & have some fun with such a kit.

I'd certainly like to play with one of those. :)

ki4jgt
January 2nd, 2011, 02:02 AM
???? I'm wondering why only one other person has pointed this out. You can. There are a few companies which allow you to built your own laptop, but as mentioned above, if you don't do it right, it will end up being a piece of scrap metal in a junkyard somewhere. About 3 years ago, I found 6 or 7 sites which did this. I can imagine there should be more today.

handy
January 2nd, 2011, 03:08 AM
???? I'm wondering why only one other person has pointed this out. You can. There are a few companies which allow you to built your own laptop, but as mentioned above, if you don't do it right, it will end up being a piece of scrap metal in a junkyard somewhere. About 3 years ago, I found 6 or 7 sites which did this. I can imagine there should be more today.

So you have a relatively limited choice of components that you specify & they send you the kit & you install the speakers, PSU, CPU/'sink/fan, daughter board(s) on the motherboard into the case, add the screen to the lid, fit the lid, wire the screen in, add the optical drive, fit the keyboard, fit the HDD, RAM, battery & then plug it in to mains power?

Or are they already pre-assembled to the point where you just drop the motherboard in, add the lid that already has the screen in place & then add the drives, RAM, battery, keyboard?

ki4jgt
January 2nd, 2011, 03:22 AM
So you have a relatively limited choice of components that you specify & they send you the kit & you install the speakers, PSU, CPU/'sink/fan, daughter board(s) on the motherboard into the case, add the screen to the lid, fit the lid, wire the screen in, add the optical drive, fit the keyboard, fit the HDD, RAM, battery & then plug it in to mains power?

Or are they already pre-assembled to the point where you just drop the motherboard in, add the lid that already has the screen in place & then add the drives, RAM, battery, keyboard?

I believe it was the first one. But isn't that what a good mod is for? :-)

sprocket10
January 2nd, 2011, 04:25 AM
I thought the OP was referring to laptops that can have their parts upgraded over time, as a desktop can :confused:

juancarlospaco
January 2nd, 2011, 08:19 AM
You can, but you dont have the money to do such thing...

Paqman
January 2nd, 2011, 10:01 AM
Because desktop systems all conform to one of several standards (eg: ATX, mini-ITX, etc). This ensures interchangeability of parts. Due to the fact that space is critical you can't really define a similar form-factor standard for laptops. Or if you did, the OEMs wouldn't stick to it for more than about 5 minutes.

Martial-law
January 2nd, 2011, 01:12 PM
I think it can be made possible if hardware manufacturers are willing to sell parts for laptops in the open market and not just to OEMs and simplify the process of assembling laptops just like that of desktop pcs.

handy
January 3rd, 2011, 01:30 AM
I think it can be made possible if hardware manufacturers are willing to sell parts for laptops in the open market and not just to OEMs and simplify the process of assembling laptops just like that of desktop pcs.

Kind'a, it is complicated by the fact that many of the big OEMs do their own R&D & then get the machines built to their specifications, taking whatever precautions they can to, to protect their IP as best they can.

Assembling a notebook is far more difficult/fiddly than building a desktop box. Most people who build their own desktop boxes would be put off by this I think. So the market would probably not grow large enough for the production runs to be big enough to bring the price down to where we'd like it, & the options available to us up where we'd like them.

Anyway, notebooks have become so cheap in comparison to what they were even just a couple of years ago that it is ridiculous. The same can be said for colour laser printers too. They cost an arm & two legs once.

earthpigg
January 3rd, 2011, 02:10 AM
to quote myself, in an old thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1344134)...


Do you think there would be a market for an OEM that sold laptop parts that could be assembled by end-users, similar to how there is currently a market for desktop components?

A set of standards would need to be established... the basic replacement for an ATX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atx) case would be... well, lets call it LTX just for fun.

(im going to use inches here. adopt conventions for the rest of the world by whatever method is currently used for desktop displays.)

Let's break LTX down into a few sizes, for displays. your basic LTX case comes with a power supply, a display, and cords. the display size dictates the exact LTX size. so, a 14 inch display would be LTX-14. tentatively, lets start with -8, -14, -17, and -22.

LTX-14 motherboards would be required to fit into an LTX-17, but not the other way around for obvious reasons. if you wanted to (for whatever reason), you could put something together using standard components that is only slightly more expensive than a current netbook, and has a 22 inch display. put a LTX-9 ATOM motherboard into a LTX-22 case.

MicroLTX would be similar, but not have space for a separate laptop video card (o yes, we are standardizing laptop video cards, too) and perhaps top off at two RAM slots. MicroLTX motherboards fit into LTX cases, but not the other way around.


all connectors pertaining to the display, power, etc, would be identical. individual case OEM's can use different hinges to attach the display to the base and whatnot, but the wiring all needs to be identical.