economical laptop

[dave at microway.com (David Backeberg)]

Also, watch craigslist. Sometimes people put things up for way less than 
they're worth, and you'll get to touch before you buy.

On Wednesday 07 July 2004 11:31, Keller, Tim wrote:
> David's right.
>
> Laptops are the opposite of user serviceable electronics.  Everything is
> custom and proprietary...
>
> Also, what is your price range?
> I just saw a 900mhz P3 laptop on overstock.com for $689.
>
> Granted it's not a >2ghz machine, but for under a grand it isn't too bad of
> a deal.
>
> Tim.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Kramer [mailto:david at thekramers.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 10:59 AM
> To: discuss at blu.org
> Subject: Re: economical laptop
>
> Kalyan Vaidyanathan wrote:
> > Hi,
> >  I'm trying to figure out the most economical way to get a functional
> > laptop.
> >
> >  I've never done anything like this before, but am willing to learn.  I
> > would like to know if building one from parts is cheaper than getting a
> > regular laptop that I can upgrade over time (more RAM, bigger harddisk
> > etc.).  If building from parts, are there any recommendations of where I
> > should start from?
> >  Ideally I'd like about 60GB harddisk, 512MB ram, >2GHz processor.  The
> > key requirement is a wireless network card so that I can use the laptop
> > anywhere at home.  Software, I plan to stay with linux.  I've only
> > worked with RH9.
>
> You can't really build a laptop yourself from parts, because they all use
> their own funky shaped parts, unlike desktops.
>
> Most laptops take one of a few standard sizes of RAM and hard drive.  There
> are (IIRC) two heights of 2.5" hard drives.  When I bought my new Thinkpad,
> I
> compromized and bought an empty hard drive caddy for the ultrabay slot for
> $40.
>
> Be aware that while you may be able to buy stripped and upgrade these
> later,
>
> but you will probably be paying more in the long run.  That may be fine
> with
>
> you, but do the math.
>
> The best way to get a laptop cheap is to buy one used from someone
> upgrading
>
> or a liquidating business, or a refurb from the manufacturer.  Make sure
> you
>
> get to play with any used laptops you buy (refurbs from the manufacturer
> come
> with a warranty).
>
> Last piece of advice: if you need to do it cheaply, make sure don't buy
> more
>
> laptop than you need.  If you are looking for >2GHz, you will probably not
> find any good deals from upgraders.
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-- 
David Backeberg (dave at microway.com)
Microway Technical Support - http://www.microway.com

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