It's been several years since we ran our extremely popular 'how to build a laptop' feature, but now, most of the kit mentioned in the piece is obsolete or now longer available. Although Scan started stocking a limited range of self-assembly laptop kits last year, these too are now unavailable. However, OCZ has now announced that it will be launching its own range of do-it-yourself notebook barebones kits, so if you're interested in making your own portable machine, all hope is not lost.
The first OCZ DIY Gaming Notebook to be announced comes with a 15.4in glossy finish display, and uses a motherboard based on Intel’s PM965 chipset. Graphics are included, and consist of a fairly healthy NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB DDR2 memory. A 4x dual-layer DVD burner with 8x single-layer writing is also supplied. It’s then up to you to find and install a Core 2 Duo processor, system memory, hard disk and of course, an operating system. The fastest compatible processors is the 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo T9500, and up to 4GB of DDR2-667 is supported. Unsurprisingly, OCZ also suggests using one of its SSDs instead of a regular SATA hard disk. OCZ is even offering a one-year warranty.
The 15.4in model is just the beginning, too. Custom PC has learned that a 17in version is also set for release, most likely at Computex in June. This looks even more exciting, with support for quad-core CPUs, DDR3 memory, and dual GPU graphics. OCZ is also claiming that it will be offering the first notebooks with 800MHz memory, via its own SO-DIMMs. With just three custom components to supply and fit yourself,
OCZ’s DIY Gaming Notebook is nowhere near as customisable as your average desktop, but it could be cheaper than buying a readymade laptop - full details of UK availability and pricing haven’t yet been announced. However, OCZ told us it was ‘Setting up distributors at the moment, including the usual Overclockers UK, Aria and Ebuyer. The kits should be available in the next few weeks.’ Pricing is expected to be under £800 inc VAT for the 15.4in model.
OCZ launches build your own laptop kit, wah lao!
May 18 2008, 11:20 PM, updated 18y ago
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