I need a good laptop for upgrading

[patrick9]

I wan't a laptop emty case, w/nothing. Or a base platform that can take a lot of upgrades. Processor, and graphic card and so on. What should I look at before I start the building process. This will be mostly for gaming. I have no interest in buying new.

 

[icbluscrn]

thats tough , i would look for a alien case on ebay,you will have to look for notebook screenss. I saw a empty gateway case a couple of weeks ago. otherwise finding a "base" will not be easy. a base dell 9200-9400 are upgradeable but the problem is only certian graphics cards will fit each model. You can find a refurb for around $500.
asus high end notebooks are good for uprades to but they dont start cheap.
Good Luck

 

[ches111]

Answer:

They really do not exist. Most of the Notebook manufacturers have what is called Planned Obsolescence. Even the ones that claim to be upgradeable use proprietary components that are only intended for a specific device. This is because of the form factor.

When you look at it they are all non-standard. No standards for keyboard height/width MB height/width and so on… About the only thing standard on notebooks is Memory (sometimes) and HDD.

A couple years ago there were a couple of companies that promised upgrade paths for notebooks and those upgrades usually ended up being vaporware.

The only real upgrade path is via a newer notebook.

 

[Ice-Tea]

The only non-proprietary notebook graphics card standard is currently MXM. I run a site about it, http://www.mxm-upgrade.com

There's also a lost of all known MXM notebooks here.

Enjoy!