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BuildOrBuy News
images/bullet2.gifDell Laptop Upgrade
Building Laptops - A Centrino Notebook Spec

Over 10 years ago, we started Discussing this issue of Building Laptops ever since the 486 'Lunch Box' PC days. While still possible, the practicality was less plausible. Building a Laptop is not the same as Building a Desktop PC due to the high level of integration required. Today, the practical is a reality while the greatest obstacle remains the affordability issue - Why Build a Laptop when you can Buy a Laptop? Why not?

Hence, our new Laptop Build Specs working in conjunction with our preferred supplier, www.AxionTech.com. Axion will be happy to take these Specs, customize to your liking, and Build your Laptop for you to your liking for an additional fee. Doing so, one misses the point of this exercise - Gaining the personal Knowledge and Experience. On a one time basis of one Laptop, one User, the actual Build process takes 20 minutes.

As indicated by our Specs, a Centrino Laptop Build requires five separately purchased components: The Laptop Shell, CPU, RAM, HD & Wireless Mini PCI card (currently 802.11 b/g). Changes occurring as of this writing include a new Pentium M CPU core with 2 MB Cache and a new faster Wireless Spec. In making Component choices we first should consider usage - What will this Centrino Laptop be used for? Mobility or Desktop replacement? We recommend Mobility. With that idea in mind, the best Price / Performance Ratio of Bang For The Buck to consider include the following...

  1. www.AxionTech.com/halpc/centrino: Specs, Product Component availability & Instructions on How to Build your own Centrino Notebook.  
  2. Laptop Excel Spreadsheet Specs: (4-10-04)
  3. GIGABYTE - Notebook - Products:
    1. GigaByte Laptop Shell - N501: Shipping!
    2. GigaByte Laptop Shell - N601: Not yet Shipping!
  4. Intel.com - Mobile Computing Information for Developers: Centrino Mobile Technology
    1. Intel.com - Mobile CPU spec - Centrino:
    2. Intel.com - Pentium M Processor Product Information
    3. Intel.com - 855 Chipset Family: Intel Mobile Chipset
    4. Intel.com - PRO-Wireless Network Connection Product Information: Intel 2200BG Wireless mini PCI card Spec.
  5. Giga-Byte N501 upgrades from Crucial.com: PC2100 - 200 pin SODIMM RAM.
  6. www.hitachigst.com - Travelstar 7K60 - E7K60: Performance - 60 GB, 7200 RPM, 8 MB cache.

 

Sources for RTR (Ready To Run) Laptop / Notebook Purchase:

Benefits: Service and Insurance. Laptops DO break and disappear when unattended. And this all adds up. Choices. Either way, whether you Build or Buy A Laptop, know your Options before making a Purchasing Decision.

  1. www.Dell.com: Notebooks - Inspiron (Consumer) or Latitude (Business) or Dell Precision Mobile Workstations.
  2. www.HPshopping.com:
  3. www.pc.ibm.com/us/thinkpad:
  4. www.SpartanCo.com:
  5. www.ToshibaDirect.com:
  6. www.Go-L.com: Interesting Technology. Loaded and expensive.

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