building Laptop using a barbone

Hi everyone,

I have read in some websites (and saw it to sell in the us) that you can buy the MSI 1029 (TUrion64 plataform + ATI X700) for U$ 750, and then buy the processor, ram, hd, wifi card, cooling system....

Is it worht to do??? Anyone ever tried??? Is it hard to configure???

Really the final configuration could be:

- Turion MT - 40 - 2.2 ghz
- ATI X700 - 128mb
- 1280x800 - WXGA
- 1GB DDR400
- 100 GB - 5400rpm
- DVD-RW / double layer
- WIFi + bluetooth

I think for my own research in google it would cost around U$ 1250 (with MT36, didnt find MT 40 to sell yet), wich i think is preaty good....:budget:

Really for me it would be a great deal (would save U$ 450 exactly) as i would save in import tax in my country, cause i want to buy this in my next trip to US.

Thanks,

 

Yeap, it can work that way. Usually, the savings are minimal - but not always. As for if its worth it, its hard to say, as if you need to warranty, something, you have to do it yourself. Putting it together isn't that hard, but of course you need to be careful.

Also, make sure you add in shipping, unless you pick it up yourself.

 

some stuff may be best to have a reseller do. i bought a z70va today, yes the mem and hd im doing myself but i woundnt want to mess with cpu or wifi alone

 

MAybe ceiph, but i took a loook in the manual of MSI wich is available on the internet and it looks pretty simple... Lots of pictures, for every step.

About the save: i would have to pay a tax of 50% over U$ 500, so everything over that i pay 50% more. If i buy things separeted my fathewr could bring it in his quota of 500, so i wouldnt have to pay the tax...

PS: by the way its only 4 things you put in: CPU, RAM, HD and WIFI. Cooling system comes with the machine although you could change it (not adviseble by the company)...

 

If you have trouble finding the MT-40, try Newegg.com and Monarchcomputer.com. Both sell the MT-40 for around 270 + shipping.

 

Thanks MGS, very helpful.

 

You can do it...but if you have a problem...check the warranty options. On many components, it might be significantly less than the one year warranty you'd normally expect from most resellers(on complete laptops). And if something does go wrong under warranty, you've got multiple places to deal with for the various parts...and even if not, you'll be responsible for verifying which part specifically is defective, rather than just having the vendor/warranty provider determine it for you.

You may have the technical know-how...but do you have the time to deal with the possible aggravation?

Also...if you're buying in the U.S. during a trip here...do you have someone you can ship the parts to? I'm betting you're pricing out the parts online from places that you'd have to order them from. So unless you'll be here for an extended period of time, figure you'd need to order them ahead of time and have them all shipped. Laptop parts like that aren't stocked at that many shops, typically. But perhaps you've considered that.