Building your own notebook computer is an excellent project for educating yourself on laptop components, saving money and gaining the flexibility to customize the computer to your exact needs. Because you will save quite a bit of money by building the computer yourself, you can reinvest your savings in the components and build a computer that will last longer. You will also have an intimate knowledge of your system and will be able to potentially save money in the future by doing repairs yourself.

The Shell

The first thing to acquire when you set out to build your own laptop computer is a bare-bones shell. A bare-bones shell will include the basic essential components for a laptop, including the enclosure, an LCD screen, a motherboard, chassis, speakers, a touch-pad, connectivity ports and a graphics processing unit (GPU). It is possible to get a bare-bones shell without a built-in GPU if you are set on using a custom one, but these are not as common.

Additional Components

You must select all additional components according the specifications of the bare-bones shell you have have selected. The components must be compatible with the motherboard and fit inside the case. The first consideration when deciding what additional components you will purchase is what available expansion slots your shell has left after installing all of the necessary components. Necessary components include a processor, cooling system, RAM, a wireless card and a hard-drive. When selecting your processor, be sure it meets the specifications of your motherboard. For instance, AMD motherboards will not support Pentium processors. You also need to install cooling systems in your laptop. Since you are already saving a good amount of money by building the computer yourself, you should go for high-end heat-sinks and fans. A good cooling setup will greatly increase the life-span of your computer's components. You need to get RAM that is compatible with your motherboard's specifications. Most laptop motherboards only have two RAM slots, so it is advisable to get the largest DIMS possible. Choosing your hard-drive depends on how much storage space you think will be necessary. Many motherboards will come with on-board wireless cards. If yours doesn't, purchase a compatible card.

Assembly

Once you have all the parts, begin assembling your new computer. The most difficult part of the assembly process is installing the CPU. The instructions that come with your shell will indicate where the processor goes and how to install it. Follow these instructions carefully. Do not, in any case, force the processor into place. Once the processor is installed, apply some type of coolant gel or paste and install the heat-sink. Coolant will probably come with the heat-sink. After this, installing the rest the components is more or less plug and play with a few screws to secure the pieces in place. Once all of the components are installed your computer should boot up, and you can begin installing an operating system and software.

Source:

Computer Shopper: Build Your Own Laptop

Tom's Guide: How (And Why) To Build Your Own Laptop : Debunking the Black Box

Directron: DIY Laptop/ Notebook Computer - Do It Yourself Notebook, Picture Tutorial

More Information:

Laptop Logic: Do It Yourself Laptop

Tom's Hardware: Building Your Dream Notebook

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