laptop: pre-built or custom build

[madcatmk3]

I'm going to get a laptop soo (we will finnaly be aloowed then in 9th grade) and I was wondering weather to go with alienware's auroa 7700m (with AMD destop proccesors) or to just built my own. What do you guys think which is a better decison (my parents are paying for it this time).

[Gizmo]

As with many things, it really depends on what your goals are.

If all you need is a laptop, and cost if of paramount concern, then it is pretty hard to beat the prebuilt jobs. However, since you are looking at an AlienWare unit, I'm guessing cost is not your overriding concern.

As I understand it, there are actually only about 8 or so laptop makers in the world. Everybody else just repackages these same basic products.

In my case, I bought an Asus M3000-N for my wife about 18 months ago. It was a bare-bones lappy that I then bought RAM, CPU, HD, and other options for. When I was done, I had about $1200 in the unit, and a comparably configured option from Dell or HP or one of the other outfits would have cost me about $1500-$1600.

[madcatmk3]

thats not such a huge fee I'm just wondering waether it would be better built then I could do. And I know that I can get the same case an alienware uses I'm just wondering where you buy all the parts and how thier different to assemble then usal. I'm also hoping for an AMD based sytem.

[Áedán]

What are you looking for in a laptop?

[madcatmk3]

light (doesn't have to be to light) and easy to type with as well as AMD based. Also I need good batery life as it
s going to have to survive my 8 hr school day

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by madcatmk3

light (doesn't have to be to light) and easy to type with as well as AMD based. Also I need good batery life as it
s going to have to survive my 8 hr school day

If you want 8 hour battery life, you're looking at something Pentium-M based. I don't believe any AMD-based lappy can currently touch that.

[Exile69]

Turion 64?

[madcatmk3]

I've never seen a tuorn I huess pentium M is fine.

[Exile69]

You what? The only thing I got out of that is you've never seen a Turion 64, and I'm inferring that means you're willing to remain completely ignorant of any benefits it might give you, and you said you wanted AMD but there seems to be a fragment of, "a Pentium M will be fine". Please clarify.

[madcatmk3]

never mind the 7700m it only gets an hour of battery life

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by Exile69

Turion 64?

Ya know, I clear forgot about the Turion. I don't have any idea how it stacks up against the Pentium-M.

[madcatmk3]

Originally Posted by Exile69

You what? The only thing I got out of that is you've never seen a Turion 64, and I'm inferring that means you're willing to remain completely ignorant of any benefits it might give you, and you said you wanted AMD but there seems to be a fragment of, "a Pentium M will be fine". Please clarify.

I would prefer AMD and I meant I've never seen a turon and are therefor open.
"Nothings a bad idea till you've tried it once."
and I also want a really good lookijng case that way it's like a walking add for me and my computers. I'm looking at comparisons now I didn't realise how good the intel M was.
also found out intels realising a Sonoma prossor soon.

[madcatmk3]

http://www.laptoplogic.com/resources...p?id=17&page=4

[Gizmo]

Thanks for the link madcat. That was very illuminating.

[madcatmk3]

is it hard to build a laptop though being so compact? I can;t even find a turion chip for sale.

[Gizmo]

You don't really 'build' a laptop in the same sense that you 'build' a desktop.

With a laptop, you get a pretty much already assembled unit, and just add your own CPU, RAM, HD, DVD/CDR/CDRW.

It's not like you can go out an buy a case one place, a mobo another, an LCD from a third, and put them all together. With laptops, so many design compromises have to be made that each design is pretty much unique and there isn't much way to standardize, other than on some basic things like I outlined above.

So no, it isn't that difficult to do.

[Exile69]

www.newegg.com has everything but the barebone kit itself.