Barebones & building notebook?

Through the notebook buying threads, I determined I'm most likely going to get the Z96j. But I'd like to know more about VBI and barebones Asus. Instead of buying a configured z96j, is it possible to buy the shell and all components separately and assemble it myself? Or to buy a barebones version and separately by the "upgrades"? Is there a downside to this other than simply the inconvenience of assembly and maybe a warranty issue?

And when geared2play.com says "barebones does not include optical drive", that does not mean the computer can't support one later, right, just that the barebones unit doesn't have one at shipping?

Does VBI currently only apply to batteries, hard drives etc. or does it include graphics and audio cards? Will it in the future?

Thanks,
gilmar

 

Barbones are easy to put together. If you know what you are doing there is no downside. the graphics and sound are always built on. if you buy a barebones always buy with it the optical drive. it might be hard finding the correct drive later and you need certain mounts for it. i have built several asus barebones.

 

I built my Z92Km and it was a lot easier than I'd thought it would be. Everything's plug'n'play...err..prey.. ram, processor, hd was easy to install... the thing about buying a barebones asus notebook, is there are NO INSTRUCTIONS for installing the hard drive, wifi card, processor, ram, etc.. you basically gotta wing it.. and if I can do it on my first try, anyone can. fortunately, they DO have a diagram that points to what compartment holds what component.

As a tip, be careful when you install the processor to make sure that you get the thermal compound pad installed correctly.. there's much less to it than what you're thinking and if you've done desktops before, it's quite different from those.

Mine worked fine for the first 7 weeks, now it overheats... I'm about to send it back to ASUS I reckon.