How to Build Your Own Laptops - Complete Guide

Can I Build My Own Laptop?

For professionals and gamers who use computers, going to a store or manufacturer’s website to buy a laptop may not be an ideal choice. Because these computers may not meet their needs. Can you make your own laptop?

At the same price, if you choose to build your own laptops, its performance can greatly exceed the performance of the purchased laptop. Because you don't need to spend money to buy some unnecessary computer accessories, you can also match useful computer accessories according to your needs. So, you can build a laptop by yourself.

How to Build a Laptop by Yourself

There are two ways to build your own laptops:

1. Laptop customization service

You can contact professional computer personnel or the computer seller, they can provide you with professional laptop customization services. But this kind of service requires a relatively high cost. If your customized computer is used for work, the price is about $312-468. But if your customized computer is used for professional technical work (3D MAX, 3D modeling, etc.), or for playing games, the price may be $1092-1404, or even higher.

If you don’t know how to make your own laptop at all, and you have enough budget, then this approach is okay. But if you have a limited budget, I do not recommend this uneconomical approach.

2. Build your own laptops

If you want to match the kits of your laptop and get a high-performance laptop at a relatively low cost, you can try to assemble a laptop by yourself. If you don't know how to do this, the following content will give you a complete guide.

To build a laptop, you need to complete three tasks:

• Choose the kits of the laptop
• Build your own laptop
• Install computer operating system

Choose the Kits of the Laptop

First you need to buy a barebones laptop. And then what you need to buy is the internal components of the laptop, including CPU (Central processing unit), RAM, hard drive, graphics card, keyboard, LCD screen, heat pipe, fan, network card. Here are some of the considerations for choosing core components.

Note✍: A barebone laptop refers to a laptop with only a motherboard and a laptop shell, and the interfaces of the internal kits above are reserved on the motherboard, which are purchased by the user. It is usually produced by Original Design Manufacturers (ODM). These ODM companies produce PCs for some brands like Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, Mac, etc.

CPU (Central processing unit)

The CPU is one of the main equipment of the computer. Please pay attention to whether the CPU matches the motherboard when purchasing. Then determine which CPU to choose to provide the best speed, cooling, and power consumption. When you buy a CPU, you should pay attention to the following 3 points:

¤ Type: Make sure you buy a laptop CPU, not a desktop CPU.
¤ Manufacturer: Recommend Intel or AMD. In terms of performance, Intel will lead AMD a lot, but in terms of productivity, content creation, and price, AMD will have a great advantage.
¤ Cores: It is recommended to choose a CPU with 4 cores or more. If your computer is used for CAD design, image rendering, etc., a multi-core CPU will be better.

RAM (Random-access memory)

Laptop computers need memory sticks to run, and the specifications are different from desktop computers. It is recommended to purchase SO-DIMM memory sticks that match the motherboard. When you purchase memory sticks, you should be aware of the following 2 points:

✩ Generation: There are four generations of memory, namely DDR, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4, and each generation is not compatible. The first three generations have been eliminated, and the performance of the latest generation of DDR4 memory is higher than that of any generation.
✩ Capacity: If your laptop is used for work, then 8GB of RAM is enough. If used for playing games, 3D modeling, rendering, etc., it is recommended to use more than 16GB of memory.

Hard Drive

Laptop computers usually use 2.5-inch hard drives. You can choose a standard 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM mechanical hard drive, or choose an SSD with no moving parts.

Solid-state drives (SSD) usually have faster operating speeds, and the interface can be NVMe. NVMe can run more than 7 times faster than SATA, and uses a smaller M.2 form factor interface. If you need to walk around with your laptop, it is recommended that you use an SSD, because it is not easily damaged by external factors.

When you purchase a hard drive, you should pay attention to the following 3 points:

¤  Type: There are mainly 2 types: SSD and HDD. It is recommended to buy SSDs, they run very fast and reliable. It is also recommended to use them as the primary hard drives.
¤  Interface: It is recommended to use SSD with M.2 PCIE interface.
¤  Capacity: It is recommended to choose a 500GB-1.5TB hard drive.

Tip✍: There are two types of M.2 interface, namely M.2 PCIE and M.2 SATA. The way to distinguish between the two is to look at the number of gaps in the gold finger. M.2 PCIE has only one notch, M.2 SATA has two notches. In addition, there are three sizes and lengths of gold fingers: 2240, 2260, and 2280. Please choose the size and length according to your laptop.

Graphics Card (GPU)

Some graphics cards will be soldered directly to the motherboard. At this time, you should check whether there is an additional GPU slot to insert a new GPU. When you purchase a GPU, you should pay attention to the following 4 points:

✩ Graphics chips: NVIDIA graphics cards are better in terms of game fluency, while AMD graphics cards are better in terms of screen rendering. You can choose according to your needs.
✩ Architecture: It refers to the technology the GPU uses. Just buy the latest version of GPU on the market.
✩ Stream processor: It directly affects graphics performance. The more stream processors, the stronger the graphics capability of the graphics card, and the smoother the graphics card.
✩  Video memory: It is also called the frame buffer, which is generally called the memory of the graphics card. If your laptop is for office use, choose 4G video memory; or if your laptop is for technical work, or you want to build your own gaming laptop, it is recommended to choose 8G video memory.

Build Your Own Laptops

Preparations for assembling a laptop:
▶ You need to prepare a set of precision screwdrivers, preferably magnetic. Because laptops have very small screws, magnetic screwdrivers are easy to operate.
▶ You will also need to prepare an anti-static wristband. Electrostatic discharge can quickly damage computer kits, and the anti-static wristband can effectively remove the static electricity generated by the human body and prevent damage to computer components.

1. Place the laptop face up, remove the back bezel with a screwdriver, and gently remove the computer's battery.

2. Install the CPU. Raise the lever next to the CPU slot to a vertical position, align the A and B positions on the CPU with the slots and gently press down the lever.

3. Install the heat pipe. First align the heat pipe to the CPU and put it down, cover the heat sink (on the heat pipe) on the CPU, and fix it with screws.

4. Install the fan. Connect the fan power supply to the motherboard power interface. Then put the fan into the groove and fasten it with screws.

5. Install the RAM. Insert the memory stick into the card slot at an angle of about 40 degrees, and then gently press it down. If you have a second memory stick, use the same method.

6. Install the wireless network card. Just like installing a memory module, insert it into the card slot diagonally, press it down gently. Then fix it with screws and connect to the internet cable.

7. Install hard drives. First install the hard drive and the bracket together. Then install the bracket with the hard drive in the hard drive compartment and fix it with screws.

8. Install the keyboard and display screen. Place the laptop face up, connect the keyboard ribbon cable to the motherboard. Then, put the keyboard into the keyboard slot and press it lightly. The same is true for the display screen. Connect the ribbon cable to the motherboard and use tape to fix the display on the shell and use screws to reinforce it.

9. Finally, install the battery back to its original position, and fix the casing with screws to complete the assembly of the laptop.

Install Computer Operating System

Before running the computer and installing the operating system, please make sure that the battery of your laptop has been charged. The last step is to install the operating system for the laptop. There are two methods for you to choose:

Install a Brand New Operating System

If you need to install a brand new operating system, it is recommended that you download Media Creation Tool from the official website, and then use this tool to install the OS.

Note✍: This method can provide you with a wide range of programs and hardware compatibility, but it is expensive to purchase a system license. According to the announcement on Microsoft's official website, the price of each version of Windows 10 is roughly $139 for Home Edition, $199.99 for Professional Edition, $309 for Enterprise Edition, $219 for Education Edition.

Backup and Restore Windows System

If you have another computer, you can use AOMEI Backupper Standard to back up the system of another computer and restore the system backup to your newly assembled laptop hard drive. It is a free backup software for running under all Windows.

✮ You can complete system backups, disk backups, file backups, partition backups with simple clicks.
✮ If you have a certain need for backups, you can also schedule backup at different intervals before the backup.
✮ At the same time, you can also select the destination of the backup as a local disk, an external device (USB, HDD, SSD, etc.), a cloud disk, NAS or a network shared folder.
✮ In addition, the software also provides you with different backup methods, including full backup, incremental and differential backup.

Before you perform system backup and restore, you need to complete the following operations:

▶ Download and install AOMEI Backupper Standard on another computer.
▶ Prepare a disk to store the system image. Use the dedicated hard disk data cable to connect the disk to another computer. Please choose different types of data cables according to the hard disk interface, such as PCIE, SATA, IDE, SCSI.
▶ Create bootable media on another computer.

Backup for Windows System

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper on the other computer. Choose Backup on the left side of the menu, and then choose System Backup.

Step 2. At this time, the software will automatically select your system disk. Then select the hard disk where you want to store the system backup and click Start Backup.

Tips✍: Before the backup, you can set the three options in the lower left corner according to your needs.
✬ Options: It provides you with the function of compressing or splitting the backup. If there is a need, you can also set up email notification to serve you. You can also encrypt your backup here (available in AOMEI Backupper Professional).
✬ Schedule: You can schedule backups based on daily, weekly, and monthly intervals to ensure that all data is backed up regularly.
✬ Scheme: 3 backup methods are provided: Full Backup, Incremental Backup, and Differential Backup. You can manually set the backup interval in incremental and differential backup. When they reach the interval you set, a full backup will be performed automatically. In addition, in the advanced version, there is a function to automatically clean up backups.

Step 3. During the backup process, the settings in the lower left corner also provide you with special functions. You can set the computer to Shut down/Restart/Hibernate/Sleep after the backup is completed. If you have this requirement, you can check this option and click OK. Once the backup is finally complete, click Finish.

Restore for Windows System

Step 1. Connect the hard drive with Windows system image backup and the bootable media you created before to the assembled laptop. Then boot from bootable media.

Step 2. Then you will enter the interface of AOMEI Backupper. Select Restore on the left side of the menu, and then click Select Image File. Then select This PC to find where the backup is located, and click Open.

Step 3. Select Restore the system backup, and check Restore system to other location and click Next.

Step 4. Select your laptop's hard drive as the target disk and click Next. 

Step 5. Browse the operation you are about to perform in the interface. Check Universal Restore option to ensure secure boot after restoring system to different computer (available in advanced version). Finally, click Start Restore.

Tip✍: 
SSD Alignment: If the hard drive you want to restore is an SSD, it is strongly recommended that you check this option to improve the read and write performance of the hard drive.

To Sum Up

As you can see from the guide in this article, you can build your own laptops. As the kits for assembling laptops are all purchased according to their own needs, in terms of performance, laptops assembled by yourself can also surpass the purchased laptops to a large extent.

For installing systems, I recommend that you use AOMEI Backupper Standard to back up your Windows system from another PC before restoring it to your laptop. The advantage of this is that you can have a Windows system without spending money.

Also, you can use this software to regularly perform backup tasks for your OS. When there is a problem with your Windows system, such as Windows 11 taskbar not working after update, you can directly use the backup to restore your Windows system and solve the problem of computer failure, which is much more convenient than reinstalling the system. Therefore, it is not difficult to make your own laptop.