Barebones laptop?

[Username]

Is this a worthy route?

I hear there are cheap, very upgradable laptops out there. Video cards, memory, and CPU can all be upgrading much more effeciently. Also, no cost for windows licencing.


Does anyone know of any good models or barebone kits?

[kent1146]

Barebones laptops aren't really worth it.

The only parts of a laptop that you can really upgrade are the memory, CPU, and hard drive. Parts like the motherboard chipset and GPU are generally not upgradeable.

Barebones laptops are not worth it for 3 reasons:

1) You can select the components that go into laptops purchased from an OEM anyway. There is no advantage in either price or selection with barebones laptops.

2) Barebones laptops use very generic ODM laptop chassis designs. They are typically made by manufacturers like Clevo and Sager, and follow the very "clunky" square designs seen in generic Taiwanese no-name laptops. You do not get the style and miniaturization that you'd find in something like Sony, and the ultraportable offerings of Dell, HP, IBM, etc.

3) Warranty and support are basically non-existant. Laptops historically suffer from a 40% rate of requiring maintenance. If you do a barebones laptop, you pretty much need to get support from the manufacturer of the specific failed component, send the defective part in, and wait 2 weeks for the replacement. The ability to call someone and have them replace the defective part the next day does not exist.

In all, there is no benefit to buying a barebones laptop. Just make a list of the features you want in a laptop, and shop around for an OEM that offers those features at a price you want, with a warranty that suits your needs.

[proxops-pete]

The only decent "laptop barebones" I've heard of is by Asus...

[simsim44]

The only decent "laptop barebones" I've heard of is by Asus...

I'm intrested, keep talking Pete.

[kent1146]

I'm intrested, keep talking Pete.

www.stipc.com
www.agearnotebooks.com

But seriously, there is ZERO advantage to building your own vs. customized OEM.

[simsim44]

Kent, do you game with your laptop?
and thanks for the links

[kent1146]

Absolutely I game with this laptop. That's why I got it.

[simsim44]

looks like a nice setup, how is it with the latest games?

[kent1146]

Well, the strength of the M1330 is that it is an extremely portable laptop that also happens to be able to run a few games. It's small, lightweight, has a GREAT screen (when you pick the LED backlight), great keyboard, great design, nice touch-sensitive buttons for media controls, slot loading DVD burner, HDMI out, remote control, 2 headphone output jacks, etc. The 8400GS that's in it can run games, but nowhere nearly as well as a desktop machine or a more powerful gaming laptop. The ideal buyer of an M1330 is someone who wants the latest in laptop technology, moves around quite a bit either as a travelling professional or a student, wants a lightweight and portable laptop, and wants the ability to play some games on the road.

I can run games like WoW at max detail, 20fps-30fps. Games like Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty 4, The Witcher, Bioshock, can be run at minimum to medium detail at native 1280x800 res anywhere between 20fps - 50fps depending on the game. Certainly not the best gaming performance, but still pretty darned good for something that fits in a 4.3lb 13.3" package.

So, if you're looking for a gaming laptop that is more "gaming" (power) than "laptop" (portable), then the XPS M1330 is not for you. I'd advise you to look at the Dell Vostros, Dell XPS M1530 (hotsex), or Dell XPS M1730. If you're looking for a gaming laptop that is a laptop (portable) that can also game on the side, then there is no better choice than the XPS M1330 right now.

[simsim44]

Thank you, that was informative.
Tim

[proxops-pete]

Yeah... it makes more sense to build your own desktop but with laptops, it's hard to beat the manufacturer's prices... esp. when you consider warranties and such...