[Fyodor]

There look to be some pretty decent deals on ebay for laptops with broken screens, that have working innards. These seem to be much cheaper than buying dedicated SFF desktop parts . I'm contemplating buying something like an i5-3210m and sticking it into a small computer case.


Has anyone done this recently? Can anyone direct me to resources on how this might be done? Are there any brands of laptops for which the physical connections work better? Are there any computer services that would do this for me for say $100?


Thanks

Fyodor

 

[captain_video]

If the only thing wrong with the laptop is the screen then you can simply replace the screen and have yourself a nice working laptop. They're not all that expensive or difficult to replace. I replaced one on a netbook last year and it was relatively simple. There are lots of youtube videos and tutorials available for replacing a laptop screen.


The motherboard in a laptop cannot be installed directly into a PC case. They are not standard boards but rather proprietary designs for a particular model of laptop. All of the peripherals are scattered all over the innards of the case and really aren't designed to be installed in a standard PC case. You'd be better off leaving everything in the laptop case as is.

 

[Fyodor]

I don't need a laptop. I want something small to use as an HTPC and for whatever reason the small form factor kits are more expensive than comparably powered laptops when you add everything up.


I hadn't considered the issue with peripheral location and ports, so maybe it makes sense to keep the laptop case. I'd prefer something aesthetically friendlier though.

 

[StardogChampion]

mini-ITX HTPC with C1037U processor for under $200: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1509282/what-is-the-cheapest-possible-htpc#post_24157006

 

[EricN]

If you are doing an apples-to-apples comparison of laptop vs SFF kit, also factor in the value of a UPS. Laptop HTPCs come with one built in.

 

[StardogChampion]

Camouflage it. Take the whole laptop, as is, and stick it in a custom PC case. Of course, you'll have to build the case but you'd need to do that anyway since the laptop parts won't fit in any desktop format. Who knows you might be able to smash a small enough laptop into a ATX or micro-ATX HTPC case.

 

[Fyodor]



Quote:
Originally Posted by StardogChampion  /t/1517492/repurposing-laptop-innards-for-small-form-factor-pc#post_24348724


mini-ITX HTPC with C1037U processor for under $200: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1509282/what-is-the-cheapest-possible-htpc#post_24157006

Except it has very limited storage and no windows. Compare to something like this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-VivoBook-S200E-11-6-Netbook-AS-IS-Missing-Digitizer-/181285562977?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item2a35762a61

 

[Fyodor]



Quote:
Originally Posted by StardogChampion  /t/1517492/repurposing-laptop-innards-for-small-form-factor-pc#post_24349110


Camouflage it. Take the whole laptop, as is, and stick it in a custom PC case. Of course, you'll have to build the case but you'd need to do that anyway since the laptop parts won't fit in any desktop format. Who knows you might be able to smash a small enough laptop into a ATX or micro-ATX HTPC case.

This may be the way to go. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[wpbpete]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Fyodor  /t/1517492/repurposing-laptop-innards-for-small-form-factor-pc#post_24348101


There look to be some pretty decent deals on ebay for laptops with broken screens, that have working innards. These seem to be much cheaper than buying dedicated SFF desktop parts . I'm contemplating buying something like an i5-3210m and sticking it into a small computer case.


Has anyone done this recently? Can anyone direct me to resources on how this might be done? Are there any brands of laptops for which the physical connections work better? Are there any computer services that would do this for me for say $100?


Thanks

Fyodor

Assuming everything works and the size is acceptable, by adjusting the power settings, you could use the broken laptop itself. I have two broken ones tucked away behind my kids tv's. Once a month I shoot them with compressed air to quiet them down and their good to go.

 

[Aluminum]

Food for thought, this board is pretty cheap and neat . Dual intel lan, CF card and pci-e (not msata though) and there might be similar boards in that price range.

You can't see it in the auction pictures but it has hdmi . I stumbled across this in another forum while specing out more pfsense boxes.


You are likely stuck with sandy bridge on it due to bios version and general lack of non-BGA ivy bridge laptop cpus.


The good news is cpu prices on fleabay are low:

for super penny pinchers, 1.6~2.4ghz dual core sandy bridge celeron/pentium $5-15


35W 2.5/3.2T dual core sandy w/ HD3000 $50~70 (this is cheapest vPro and AES-NI capable model for anyone building a firewall)


45W 2.2/3.3T or 2.3/3.4T quad core sandy w/ HD3000 $150~180