Barebones assembly questions

I am considering getting a P750ZM or P770ZM. Since I already have SSD/HDD, and I can buy desktop cpu's at about half retail price, I'm also looking into getting a barebones kit from RJ Tech. I've never built a barebones laptop before, but I've been building desktops for ~20 years.

• Assuming proper care is taken when inserting components (cpu/gpu/ram/etc), is it any more difficult than doing a cpu/gpu repaste? I have my NP8170 I can repaste to make sure I am familiar with the process.
• Are barebones units sold with with the proper heatsinks for the chassis?
• If I bought a barebones with a GPU pre-installed, what would I need to complete it? Would adding CPU, HDD/SDD, RAM, wireless card, and thermal paste be sufficient? (This assumes the barebones chassis is sold with the correct heatsinks and AC adapter). I'm paranoid that I'd be forgetting something, since I've never done a laptop before.

 

You should be fine building the laptop if you're comfortable doing desktops. Its really the same procedure but on a different chassis style.

Since you plan on buying from RJ Tech it would be bet to contact them directly to see what is included. Once you find that out we can chime in on what else is needed.

 

I purchased my P750ZM as a barebones unit from RJTech. It came with the GPU and heatsink preinstalled but you must remove the heatsink to install the CPU. The heatsink was also "pre-pasted" with a piece of plastic over the paste so you will need to clean that off if you are putting on a different paste. It took about 45 minutes for me to put my machine together after I received it. The hardest part was getting the keyboard to sit level everywhere after installing the ram and wifi card. There are small plastic tabs around the keyboard, take care not to break any of them when removing it.

As far as pros/cons go on the barebones route, keep in mind that the warranty is only one year from RJTech, and you must pay for shipping to them. This is the case even if it arrives DOA. They also have a 15% restocking fee if you want a refund for any reason. The biggest reason to get a barebones system is if you already own most of the components you want to install. You also can pick and choose components which is nice if you prefer a specific memory/SSD brand.

One last note, if you order from RJTech and get any extra things like the Wifi card, have them verify what they are shipping before they send it out. Mine went out with the Killer Wifi card instead of the Intel Wifi that I had ordered, so I ended up having to pay shipping to send the Killer card back to them and went about a week and a half without any Wifi card in the meantime. If you are curious, the Killer card did work, but it doesn't have any drivers under Linux yet so I had to have them swap it for the Intel card.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

I am still sorting if I want to go this route. The recent sale on "-S" models is making the choice tough as it negates the savings I'd get from my cheap CPU purchase price. As I don't actually have the cpu yet, and my current SSD is small enough that I would want a bigger one eventually, it kind of puts me on the fence in terms of cost. At this point it's between the "DIY satisfaction factor" vs warranty/return-polices.

 

RJTech does offer an extended warranty. It seems to be third party. Leaf Service Pro.

 

If it's the same price, grab the warranty support

 

The warranty is less bothersome to me than the return/DOA polices. 1 year + the option to extended is pretty much on par with any of the resellers. I'd need to be sure to have all of my other components ready to go before ordering.

 

I went ahead and order through XoticPC. I repasted my NP170HM this weekend, and removed/re-inserted the cpu/gpu. Knowing I *could* build a barebones fulfilled most of the "DIY satisfaction" I needed. Then the numbers didn't add up to much savings after accounting for the sale on the "-S" version of the NP9772. When you add in the excellent service I got from XoticPC on my last purchase, there really was little motivation to go barebones.

 

I hope you enjoy your new machine

 

Glad you got it figured out.
When you get the itch to DIY again maybe go for a desktop since you'll have a notebook that will last quite a while.