Summary :
Nowadays, many people would like to build their own laptops to meet their personalized needs. Do you want to build your own laptop, too? If so, do you know how to build a laptop? In this post, MiniTool will tell you benefits of building a laptop and show you how to do that. Best free cad software for linux.
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Is It Worth Building Your Own Laptop?
Here's How To Build Your Own Apple-1 Replica From Scratch Video By Zayed Rehman November 12th, 2014 Apple-1 was the computer Steve Wozniak built in Steve Jobs' garage, and while it was a true innovation of its time – selling for around $666 – the computer is now an item that only interests fervent Apple fans and collectors only. Built-in privacy features help protect your information and keep your Mac secure. An updated start page helps you easily and quickly save, find, and share your favorite sites. And Siri suggestions surface bookmarks, links from your reading list, iCloud Tabs, links you receive in Messages, and more. DIY Kit Lets You Build Your Own Apple I, No Soldering Required By Avram Piltch 10 January 2020 The SmartyKit comes with everything you need to make a working replica of the first Apple computer.
A lot of times you buy preconfigured OEM laptops directly from stores or manufacturer websites. These laptops are built in bulk with specifications fit for a variety of uses and applications, and you can start using it immediately when you get home or after the next package delivery truck arrives.
But these laptops may not meet personalized needs, especially for gamers and professional users. In addition, custom laptop computers have high cost effectiveness. Of course, the premise is that you build it yourself.
At the same price, the performance of the custom computers far exceeds the brand computers, because you can choose computer accessories according to your needs and don't need to spend money on components you didn't really want. Therefore, it's worth building a laptop.
You can build your own laptop computers through the following ways:
1. Laptop Customization Service
Some PC brands like Lenovo and Dell provide customization service. They allow you to choose components like processors, displays, hard drives, and so on. Then, they build the computer according to your specification.
I don't recommend this method if your budget is limited. This method is not cost-effective. But if you don't know how to build a laptop at all, this method is also OK.
2. Building a Laptop by Yourself
If you want to get a high-performance laptop with a relatively low cost, you should choose this method. If you don't know how to build a laptop, I will show you how to do that in the following content. Just keep reading to learn how to build your own laptop.
How to Build Your Own Laptop
To build your own laptop, you just need to do two jobs: choosing components and assembling them into one PC. First, I'll talk about how to choose laptop components.
How to Choose Laptop Components
To build your own laptop, you should buy a barebones laptop, a processor, a RAM, a network card, hard drives, etc. In this part, I will show you how to choose proper components.
But before grabbing the parts for your laptop, you should decide what the laptop's main purpose will be. Most people build laptops for playing high-end games. In this case, you need to build your laptop with high-end specifications, but that will be directly proportional to the cost at the end.
If you just need a portable laptop for browsing, email checking, and word processing, building a laptop is not necessary, because basic integrated laptops can meet your needs. You can buy an Ultrabook from any store.
1. Barebones Laptop
A barebones laptop is a half-assembled personal computer with a laptop shell, power supply, motherboard, camera, keyboard, cooling system, etc. Users can decide which component (CPU, memory, storage devices, etc.) to buy and install, according to their own needs and budget.
A barebones laptop is usually produced by Original Design Manufacturers (ODM) like Quanta, Compal, Wistron, Inventec, Pegatron, ECS, FIC, ARIMA, Mitac, Clevo, MSI, etc. These ODM companies produce PCs for some brands (OEM) like Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, Mac, etc. Then, these products will be sold to users as OEM products.
Here are some examples of the relationship between ODM and brands (OEM):
- Quanta: Dell, HP, Lenovo, Hasee, Apple, Thunderobot, etc.
- Compal: HP, Toshiba, Lenovo, Dell, etc.
- Wistron: Acer, Lenovo, Dell, HP, etc.
- Clevo: Hasee, Terrans Force, Thunderobot, Sager, etc.
- MSI: MSI, HIPAA, RaBook, etc.
It can be said that the quality of the barebones computer and the brand machine is almost the same. Then, you may want to where to buy these barebones laptops. I recommend you to buy these products on Alibaba, eBay, R&J Tech, or ODM vendor's official websites.
To choose a proper barebones laptop, you should pay attention to the following aspects: whether the CPU and the graphics card are replaceable, the maximum number and capacity of memory it supports, the number of hard disk interfaces, the types of hard disk it supports, the screen interface, etc.
If the barebones laptop has enough interfaces or its hardware is replaceable, you have the opportunity to increase its performance again, just by spending money on the replacement of partial hardware. For machines whose interfaces are few or hardware is soldered, you can only replace the entire machine.
Besides, some users may also pay attention to its cooling system or its external features like external multi-screen interconnection, external graphics card, virtual reality, etc.
2. CPU
The CPU is a semiconductor integrated circuit chip that is mainly used to interpret computer instructions and process data in computer software. It is one of the main devices of a computer.
When you plan to buy a CPU, you should pay attention to the following aspects:
- Brands: Intel and AMD occupy most of the PC CPU market. For personal computers, Intel's most common CPU series are Core, Pentium, and Celeron (their performance decreases in turn in the same generation); AMD's most common series are Ryzen, AMD FX, APU, Athlon and Sempron (similarly, their performance is weakened in turn).
- Cores: Cores are separate processing units in CPU and each of them reads and executes program instructions, just like a separate processor. Current CPUs have at least dual cores and a CPU with more than 4 cores is recommended. If you use your PC to do graphic design, video editing, image rendering, etc. a CPU with more cores is better.
- Clock rate: The clock rate refers to the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses, which is usually used as an indicator of the processor's speed. If you use your PC to do 3D modeling, play client games, etc. a CPU with higher clock frequency is better.
Build A Macbook Pro
This post introduces 3 CPU and 3 GPU benchmark programs to you. Most of them are freeware.
3. RAM
Memory is the bridge between external memory and CPU. All programs in the computer run in memory, so the performance of memory has a great impact on the computer and it also determines whether the operation of the computer is stable.
When you plan to buy a RAM, you should pay attention to the following aspects:
- Generation: There are four generations of memory, namely DDR1, DDR2, DDR3, and the latest DDR4. Generally speaking, the higher the generation number, the stronger the overall performance. Currently, the mainstream memory on the market is DDR4.
- Capacity: If you play games on PC, 8GB memory is at least. If you use PC for 3D modeling and rendering, 16G is best. Click Windows 10 RAM Requirements: How Much RAM Does Windows 10 Need to know more.
- RAM frequency: Generally, the higher the frequency, the better the performance of the RAM. But the CPU may have a limit on the memory frequency. If so, you should choose the RAM with highest frequency within the range.
4. Hard Drive
When you plan to buy a hard drive, you should pay attention to the following aspects:
- Storage medium: There are mainly two types of local storage you can choose from for the laptop you're building: SSD or HDD. HDDs are incredibly slow and only suitable as a secondary backup drive to a primary storage device. On the other hand, SSDs are very fast and reliable. It's recommended to use them as primary drives.
- Interface: The hard drives have many interfaces. Some HDDs and SSDs are sold in a 2.5-inch SATA format. However, for SSDs, SATA interface will limit their speed, so a lot of SSDs are sold in M.2 PCIe format. Click 2 SSD vs. SATA SSD to know more.
- Capacity: In most cases, 500 GB hard drive is needed at least. Click What Size of Hard Drive Do I Need for My Laptop to know more.
5. Graphics Card
Sometimes, graphics cards are soldered on motherboard or integrated in CPU or chipset. In these cases, you can't replace and upgrade graphics cards. When you buy the barebones laptop, you should check whether the GPU is soldered or not. If it is soldered, you should check there is an extra GPU socket in which you can insert another GPU.
When you plan to buy a GPU, you should pay attention to the following aspects:
How To Build Your Own Macbook Pro Case
- Graphics chips: There are two types of graphics chips: ATI (ATI was acquired by AMD) and NVIDIA. AMD graphics cards perform better in picture rendering, while NVIDIA cards perform better in game fluency.
- Brands: Common graphics card brands are Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Sapphire, Dylan, etc.
- Architecture: It refers to the technology the GPU uses. The newer the architecture, the better the GPU.
- Stream processor: The number of stream processors directly affects graphics performance. In the same generation of graphics cards, the greater the number of stream processors, the stronger the graphics card's ability to draw and the faster it will be.
- Frequency: The higher the GPU frequency, the stronger the performance, the greater the heat, and the higher the power consumption. On the other hand, the lower the frequency, the weaker the performance, and the smaller the heat.
- Video memory: Large video memory is useful, but it is not so important. If the architecture is not good enough, no matter how large the video memory is, the GPU is useless.
Assembling the Laptop
After getting components ready, you can assemble them to build a complete laptop. Please refer to the following steps:
Step 1: Turn over the shell so that the bottom is facing up. Then, use a screwdriver to remove the baffle in the CPU section. Pull up the lever on the right side of the CPU socket to the vertical position, install the CPU, and then return the lever to its original position.
Step 2: Install the RAM and the wireless network card. You just need to align them obliquely with the slots and then push gently in. You can install the GPU with the same way if you have bought that. Please after you install the network card, you need to connect the cable.
Step 3: Install hard drives. I have written a post about how to install a second hard drive. You can read it to get detailed steps. But before you install hard drives, you should consider how to install OS, taking Windows as an example. There are two options for you:
- After assembling the computer, create a Windows installation media and then use it to install Windows. In this case, the Windows is fresh and you should install all apps you want.
- Clone disk. This method is suitable for the following situation: you have a computer before and there are lots of apps and files you want; you don't want to reinstall them or transfer them because it's time-consuming. This method can help you install Windows and transfer files at the same time.
Build Your Own Macbook
If you want to use the second method, you just need to click the button below to buy MiniTool Partition Wizard and use its Clone Disk method.
No matter which method you use (A or B), you can the detailed steps from this post: How to Install Windows 10 on a New Hard Drive (with Pictures).
Step 4: Remount the cover and boot into your computer.
Bottom Line
Has this post helped you in building a laptop? Do you have problem in installing Windows? If you have any difficulty, please leave a comment below or email us at [email protected]. We will reply to you as soon as possible.
Build Your Own Laptop FAQ
Matt Cone April 26, 2007 TutorialsMacDeveloper
Mac OS X is built on Darwin – a Unix-like, open source operating system developed by Apple and built on FreeBSD. This means that Mac users have access to free built-in server applications, like the Apache web server. With Apache and the DynDNS service, you can turn your Mac into a powerful web server. Anyone will be able to access the website stored on your Mac!
The best part is that you can host a website on your Mac for free. There are no hosting fees to pay, and your website will be available any time your Mac is turned on and connected to the Internet. Dvd cover art software. We'll show you how to do it!
Turn on Personal Web Sharing
The first step to web-serving nirvana is turning on your Mac's web serving application. Apple hid the Apache web server in an inconspicuous place in Mac OS X, and they called it Personal Web Sharing. But make no mistake about it – this little service included with every Mac is powered by some serious software. Apache powers the Internet, and now it's going to power the website hosted on your Mac.
Here's how to turn it on:
From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
Click Sharing, and then click the Services tab.
Select Personal Web Sharing, and then click the Start button.
Personal Web Sharing will turn on. (This could take a minute or two.) After it turns on, note your computer's IP address and URL at the bottom of the Sharing Preferences window. You'll need this later when you test your website.
Now that your Mac is accessible to anyone on the internet – including hackers and other evil-doers – you're going to need to protect it. Click the Firewall tab and make sure your Mac's firewall is turned on. Also make sure that the checkbox next to Personal Web Sharing is selected. This will allow people to access your website through your Mac's firewall.
Remember those IP addresses and URLs we asked you to save? Type those into your web browser to test your web server. (You can also type 'localhost' – this tells your Mac to look for its own website.) If your web server is working, you'll see one of the web pages below.
Close the System Preferences. You've successfully turned on your Mac's web server.
Create Your Website
Obviously, you'll need a website to truly use your Mac as a web server. If you already have one stored on your Mac, you can start hosting it immediately. Here's how:
You have a couple choices when it comes to hosting your website. Every user with an account on your Mac can host his or her own website. There's also a parent directory for the web server – you'll probably want to use this directory. (We'll be working with this parent directory for the duration of this tutorial.) Save your files into one of the following directories:
- Parent Directory: Library > WebServer > Documents
- User Directory: User's Home Directory > Sites
You will need to add at least one file to one of the directories: index.html. This is your homepage!
Test out your website. Depending on which directory you used, you'll need to modify and use one of the following URLs to see your website:
- Parent Directory:
http://youripaddresshere/
(orhttp://localhost/
) - User Directory:
http://youripaddresshere/~usernameWhen
you're satisfied with your website, you're finished.
- Parent Directory:
Make Your Website Accessible to the World
Now your Mac is hosting your website, but if you're on a local network, it's still inaccessible to the rest of the world. The same safeguards that prevent weirdoes from accessing your computer also prevent you from sharing your website. Not to worry! There's a great service called DynDNS that bypasses all of these trivial annoyances and makes your website available to everyone. DynDNS automatically tracks your Mac and maps your IP address to a domain name. That way, your website will always be available, even if you move your Mac to another location and change IP addresses. Here's how to use DynDNS:
Register for an account on the DynDNS website. It's free!
Confirm your new DynDNS by clicking on the link they email you. Log in and click the Add Host Services link, and then click the Add Dynamic DNS Host link.
Enter a hostname and select a domain for your website. This third-level domain name is how the world will access your website, so pick carefully! Don't worry too much about the IP Address right now – DynDNS automatically detects that, and it may or may not be correct. We'll worry about that later.
Download the DynDNS Updater application. Double-click the application and click Install to install it.
You'll be prompted for your administrator password. Enter it, and then wait for DynDNS Updater to install. When it's finished, click OK.
In DynDNS Updater, select Edit Users from the File menu. Enter your username and password. Adding a description is optional. Make sure the Use Secure Connection (SSL) checkbox is selected – you want to protect your password!
In the DynDNS Updater Users window, click the Start Daemon button. If the status of your account says Ok, your website is available at your DynDNS URL. That's it – you're finished!
Oh, #$%&!!! (Important Notes on Using DynDNS)
This whole web server thing with DynDNS is really, really friggin' cool. But before you get carried away with it, you should have a look at these tips and warnings.
- Not Suitable for Production Servers: DynDNS offers a fee-based Recursive DNS service that allows you to map your domain name (i.e.:
macinstruct.com
) to your home computer. This service is not designed for high-traffic websites, and our tutorial presupposes that you will be using DynDNS for small stuff. Please don't use this as a substitute for a full-fledged web server. - Watch Out for Your ISP: Depending on which company you use for Internet connectivity, hosting a live website can be immediate grounds for suspension or termination of your account. Be sure to carefully read your user agreement before using DynDNS.
- Could be Hazardous to Your Mac's Health: Using DynDNS does, at the very least, expose your Mac's IP address. That could be bad news if the wrong people get ahold of it! Plus, running a web server and the always-on DynDNS daemon is processor intensive. Be prepared to take a performance hit. And there's some more bad news for people with Intel processors: There's no Universal version of DynDNS Updater.
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