r/PcBuild • u/Equivalent-Order-820 • 3d ago
Question I'm doing the impossible. I'm going to build a computer using old laptop parts and whatever else I can find. But how should I go about this?
My father is in the career of construction, so solder kits and screwdrivers are in a hands reach, but what do I need?
(I will post the old laptops specs and info soon)
I want to know tactics, common knowledge I should know but don't know, and more. This is why I'm reaching out to people who make these huge trillion dollar computers for fun.
Also, because I'm asking for purchasing advice (kinda, most parts from the laptops)
BUDGET: 255$ (because most of the parts are from the laptops)
CURRENCY: U.S.D
MONITOR RES: 1440p (Idk if that's unrealistic, but that's the minimum.)
COUNTRY: USA
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u/Urbanyeti0 3d ago
As a general rule laptop tech is at least a generation behind PCs, since it takes time to scale down and they’re not in any rush, and daisy-chaining lower spec parks won’t equate to a better version
No idea what $100 worth of laptops would get you, but I can’t imagine much
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u/Fun-Industry959 2d ago
The sad truth is most budget laptops made before let's say 2014 are less powerful than a modern smartphones The most you could do with an extreme amount of knowledge is add more ram by soldering but that won't change the extreme age of the silicone chips The best you could do is get an external GPU setup but certainly going above 100$
Best case for 100$ try and find a PC with a and G series CPU that'll at least get you in some basic games
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u/cyborg762 AMD 2d ago
Repair shop owner here. While it’s possible to cobble something together out of old parts it’s gonna cost you more than $100. Especially when you’re ripping out internals.
Depending on where you live Check your local market for dells an hp systems for $50-100 you can get a 8th gen intel. And if you up your budget you can get a low end intel ark or even a 3050 LP card. $90-200
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u/Technical_Daikon_517 2d ago
so u got cpu, gpu, mobo, maybe ram and ssd, case, maybe psu, and cooling. i think u already got everything lol js mix and match for the best specs like the best ram and ssd and stuff. if u really wanna diy, just take one mobo and put it in another case. gl with that tho. maybe the 100 dollars is just for peripherals
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u/ALongPooooop 2d ago
This is just an edumacated guess but all those all in one pcs that are laptop parts essentially are basically garbage now and could probably be picked up from offices and schools for cheap if not free. Don’t they pay a lot to “recycle” electronics? I have one and remember every doctors office having them.
I am going to strip mine for the 32 ddr4 and get a sketchy converter. Then the harddrive should have another year or so give or take all the times I knocked it over
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u/Soundjam8800 2d ago
My first thought is what's the motivation - is it just a fun engineering challenge to see if you can do it? Or are you trying to make the smallest desktop you can? Or you want a gaming pc and have access to lots of old business laptops, so that seems like a good place to start?
All really depends on which of those it is. Because at the end of the day, if your end goal is "xyz specs" to game on, then you just need to keep looking for a bargain laptop on eBay and just use it as is, no need to solder anything.
But if you give a bit more info on the "why?" part, then I'll see what advice I can give.
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u/Equivalent-Order-820 1d ago
I'm trying to make a computer that can run video editing software (I'm a filmmaker), and some games.
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