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Thread ID: 65874 2006-02-03 00:47:00 DIY Laptops?! Sick Puppy (6959) Press F1
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426542 2006-02-03 00:47:00 Was looking for Asus laptop specs (no attempts on my life now, I know I'm going on about them now! :) ), and I came across this US site:

www.directron.com

You get the barebone laptop and install your desired spec CPU, RAM, hard drive and wi-fi card, but it seems a step up from having to buy a laptop with most but not all of the stuff you want- for instance, the HDD on most Asus laptops are 40GB @ 4200rpm, while I would prefer 60GB+ at 5400rpm+...

Any thoughts on this? I mean, could this be done in NZ, or would it be more trouble than it's worth?
Sick Puppy (6959)
426543 2006-02-03 01:06:00 One of the Australian magazines reviewed one of these a while ago. It was heavy, bulky, and very expensive.

Surely there are enough models around so that one will suit you. ;)
Graham L (2)
426544 2006-02-03 02:24:00 yeah, I remember reading about it in a forum thread a week or so ago when I was looking, but what I mean is that Asus themselves were selling all the componentry themselves- you buy what you need and then put it together yourself (or get someone else to do it for you! ;) ).

I like the Asus gear, but the idea of picking what I want, and then supersizing it with their chosen components is rather nice- I would get a bigger, faster revving hard drive and more RAM!

I didn't mean buying a DIY laptop so to speak- sorry for the misunderstanding! :blush:
Sick Puppy (6959)
426545 2006-02-03 02:34:00 Is this an official ASUS deal? I can see problems with guarantees . . . anyone who has taken a laptop apart will know how tricky it can be . Going the other way would be just as "interesting" . :D (An Apple iBook I worked on needed three different sorts of screwdriver, and an Allen key . The calibrated thumbnail to separate the plastic mouldings was extra) .

A scheme like the (Dell ?) one where you specify the parts and your computer is assembled accordingly would be a much better one .

"Build your own" cars are rare, athough there are probably many who would like them . Heathkit electronic kits became too expensive . Packing all the parts and providing instructions cost more than just building and testing the whole thing in a factory .
Graham L (2)
426546 2006-02-07 04:08:00 From what I gathered from the above link, the guy runs a computer sales/ repair shop, and he was invited by Asus to visit their US factory, and put a laptop together- appeared to be a centrino setup, with wi-fi etc (from what I was reading that is- couldn't look at the pics and tell one from the other if you put a gun to my head! :D ) .

I've also seen references to this kind of laptop for sale in Oz websites . . . I figured that Asus in teh US were offering a similar service to Dell here . . .
Sick Puppy (6959)
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