构建自己的 PC(Building your own PC)很容易，但是甚至可以构建自己的笔记本电脑吗？令人惊讶的是，答案是“是”，但这完全取决于您如何定义“构建”笔记本电脑。有许多不同的方法可以精确地获得您想要的笔记本电脑。
为什么很难(Hard)制造您的笔记本电脑(Laptop)？
台式 PC 世界的最大优势之一是一切都基于开放标准。因此， CPU(CPUs)、显卡(graphics cards)、主板和其他组件都以标准方式组装在一起。
这种方法的问题在于它浪费空间并且效率不高。当您将塔式计算机放在办公桌上时，这并不重要，但是当您必须随身携带计算机时，它需要紧凑。虽然笔记本电脑的技术在基本层面上仍然与台式电脑相同，但实际的设计和外形却不同。
关于如何设计和制造笔记本电脑的标准很少（如果有的话）。笔记本电脑充满了定制硬件，这些硬件是永久焊接的。这就是为什么通过购买一组组件然后自己将它们组装在一起来构建笔记本电脑的想法没有多大意义。不过，这并不意味着您无法获得想要的笔记本电脑。
升级现有笔记本电脑
您可以升级大多数笔记本电脑的RAM和硬盘驱动器，但您无法更改其中大多数的核心组件。如果您缺乏转售零件的知识和设备，至少不会。
如果您想了解有关升级笔记本电脑的更多信息，请查看您可以升级旧笔记本电脑吗？值得吗？(Can You Upgrade an Old Laptop, and Is It Worth It?)
挑选一台新笔记本电脑
如果您要在线订购一台新笔记本电脑，为什么不购买您想要的组件呢？通常有精选的预建笔记本电脑型号，涵盖最流行的配置。尽管您可能认为您的需求是独一无二的，但在某个地方的架子上可能已经有一台预装的笔记本电脑，其中包含您需要的东西。
这种方法的优点是您可以快速拿到笔记本电脑，因为实际组装已经完成。这是在线订购笔记本电脑而不是去商店购买笔记本电脑的一个很好的理由，因为实体店可能只有最主流的配置。
订购定制笔记本电脑
对于大多数人来说，构建自己的笔记本电脑意味着订购定制的笔记本电脑。与货架上的预制笔记本电脑不同，定制笔记本电脑是未安装最终组件的不完整笔记本电脑。
您经常会在制造商的网站上看到“定制和购买”笔记本电脑的选项。这表明有人会在该笔记本电脑框架的可能性范围内按照您的规格组装笔记本电脑。
此选项的主要缺点是您必须等待几周才能到笔记本电脑。毕竟，一个真实的人必须把所有东西放在一起，测试它，然后把它寄给你。您还将为工厂定制的特权支付更多费用。但是话又说回来，如果有完美的预建机器，您就不必一开始就走上构建笔记本电脑的路线！
购买准系统笔记本电脑
准系统笔记本电脑是一个有趣的选择，类似于“构建”笔记本电脑的想法。当您购买一台笔记本电脑时，您实际上得到的笔记本电脑缺少CPU、GPU、RAM、存储，有时甚至缺少Wi-Fi模块和键盘等组件。这些笔记本电脑也没有操作系统，所以你必须决定你想要哪一个。
准系统笔记本电脑通常使用标准台式机CPU(CPUs)并提供台式机CPU插槽。但是，您安装的CPU的最大(CPU)TDP（热设计功率(Thermal Design Power)）会有限制。对于该特定准系统笔记本电脑的电源和冷却解决方案而言，任何更高的东西都将是太多了。
在GPU选择方面，大多数准系统笔记本电脑都使用MXM移动GPU标准。您可以在我们的笔记本电脑升级(laptop upgrade)文章中了解有关MXM的更多信息。(MXM)准系统笔记本电脑的大多数其他组件应该是标准的。但是，如果您还需要键盘、网络摄像头或其他紧密集成的部件，则可能只能从准系统笔记本电脑制造商处获得。
使用笔记本电脑外壳
有一类笔记本电脑根本不包含任何类型的计算机。它通常只是一个翻盖外壳、屏幕、鼠标、键盘和其他基本外围设备。
这个想法是使用另一个设备作为笔记本电脑的“大脑”。例如，三星的Dex功能让您只需将手机连接到 USB-C 扩展坞和外围设备即可访问完整的桌面环境。与 Dex 兼容的笔记本电脑仅将所有这些组件放在笔记本电脑外壳中。这意味着您不必随身携带两个设备；您只有一台计算机，可根据需要用作智能手机或笔记本电脑。
还有一些笔记本电脑外壳可以与Raspberry Pi等设备一起工作到笔记本电脑中。示例包括CrowPi2和Elecrow。由于这些微型教育电脑板非常小，它们可以与为它们设计的各种笔记本电脑外壳一起工作。
购买模块化笔记本电脑系统
构建笔记本电脑的终极梦想是拥有完整的模块化。不(GPU)喜欢你的GPU(Don)？换掉(Swap)吧 需要更多端口？没问题！这不仅可以让您构建您想要的笔记本电脑，还意味着您可以调整笔记本电脑以适应不同的用例。也许当你出差时，你会投入更多的电池电量，并移除你现在不需要的强大的GPU 。
到目前为止，只有一家公司真正尝试过制造这种设备。Framework创建了一个生态系统，该生态系统声称可以提供桌面系统的所有可升级性和灵活性，同时又不损害笔记本电脑如此受欢迎的原因。
框架是一种新产品，尚不清楚是否有其他公司会效仿。不过，他们确实承诺，例如，您将来可以用更新的型号替换当前的主板和CPU，而无需购买全新的笔记本电脑。
当然，正如您可能已经猜到的那样，模块化笔记本电脑仍然存在问题，因为它们仍然是专有的。直到有一个跨不同笔记本电脑品牌的开放标准出现的那一天，构建自己的笔记本电脑永远不会与构建台式电脑完全一样。
How To Build Your Own Laptop
Building your own PC is easy, but is it even possible to build your own laptop? Surprisingly, the answer is “yes,” but it all depends on how you define “building” a laptop. There are many different ways to get precisely the laptop you want.
Why Is It Hard To Build Your Laptop?
One of the greatest strengths in the desktop PC world is that everything is based on open standards. So CPUs, graphics cards, motherboards, and other components are all built to fit together in standard ways.
The problem with this approach is that it wastes space and isn’t very efficient. That doesn’t matter when you’re plopping a tower case computer on your desk, but when you have to carry around a computer with you, it needs to be compact. While the technology in a laptop is still the same as in a desktop computer at a fundamental level, the actual design and form factors aren’t.
There are few (if any) standards on how to design and build laptops. Laptops are replete with custom hardware, which is permanently soldered in. That’s why the idea of building a laptop by buying a set of components and then putting it all together yourself doesn’t make a lot of sense. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t get the laptop you want.
Upgrading an Existing Laptop
You can upgrade most laptop RAM and hard drives, but you can’t change the core components of most of them. At least not if you lack the knowledge and equipment to resolder parts.
If you want to know more about upgrading laptops, check out Can You Upgrade an Old Laptop, and Is It Worth It?
Speccing Out a New Laptop
If you’re ordering a new laptop online, why not get the components you want? There’s often a fine selection of pre-built laptop models covering the most popular configurations. Though you might think your needs are unique, there’s probably a pre-built laptop with precisely what you need already on a shelf somewhere.
The advantage of this approach is that you’ll get your laptop quickly since the actual assembly is already done. This is one good reason to order laptops online rather than visiting a shop since a brick-and-mortar shop will likely only have the most mainstream configurations.
Ordering a Custom Laptop
For most people, building your own laptop means ordering a custom laptop. Unlike pre-built laptops on the shelf and ready to ship, custom laptops are incomplete laptops that don’t have their final components installed.
You’ll often see an option to “customize and buy” laptops on the manufacturer’s website. This indicates that someone will assemble the laptop to your specifications within the possibilities of that laptop frame.
The main downside of this option is that you’ll have to wait a few weeks before your laptop arrives. After all, an actual person has to put it all together, test it and send it on its way to you. You’re also going to pay a little more for the privilege of factory customization. But then again, if the perfect prebuilt machine were out there, you wouldn’t have to go down the route of building your laptop in the first place!
Buying a Barebones Laptop
Barebones laptops are an interesting option close to the idea of “building” your laptop. When you buy one, you essentially get a laptop that’s missing a CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, and sometimes even components such as the Wi-Fi module and keyboard. These laptops also come with no operating system, so you’ll have to decide which one you want.
Barebones laptops often use standard desktop CPUs and offer a desktop CPU socket. However, there will be limits to the maximum TDP (Thermal Design Power) of the CPU you install. Anything higher will be too much for the power and cooling solution of that particular barebones laptop.
In terms of GPU selection, most barebones laptops use the MXM mobile GPU standard. You can read more about MXM in our laptop upgrade article. Most other components for barebones laptops should be standard. However, if you also need a keyboard, webcam, or another tightly integrated part, it will likely only be available from the barebones laptop maker.
Using a Laptop Shell
There’s a particular class of laptop computers that don’t contain any sort of computer at all. It’s usually just a clamshell case, screen, mouse, keyboard, and other basic peripherals.
The idea is to use another device as the “brains” of the laptop. For example, Samsung’s Dex feature gives you access to a complete desktop environment simply by connecting the phone to a USB-C dock and peripherals. A Dex-compatible laptop brings merely all those components together in a laptop shell. This means you don’t have to carry two devices around; you have just one computer that you either use as a smartphone or as a laptop as the need arises.
There are also laptop shells that can work with devices such as the Raspberry Pi into a laptop. Examples include the CrowPi2 and Elecrow. Since these tiny educational computer boards are so small, they can work with various laptop shells designed for them.
Buy a Modular Laptop System
The ultimate dream of building a laptop is to have complete modularity. Don’t like your GPU? Swap it out. Need more ports? No problem! Not only does this allow you to build the laptop you want, but it also means you can adapt the laptop to fit different use cases. Perhaps when you go on a business trip, you’ll put in more battery power and remove the powerful GPU you don’t need right now.
So far, only one company has made a genuine attempt at creating such a device. Framework has created an ecosystem that claims to offer all the upgradability and flexibility of desktop systems while not compromising what makes laptops so popular.
Framework is a new offering, and it’s not clear if any other companies will follow suit. Still, they do promise that you can, for example, replace your current motherboard and CPU with a newer model in the future without buying a whole new laptop.
Of course, as you may have surmised, there’s still a problem with modular laptops since they are still proprietary. Until the day that there’s an open standard that spans across different laptop brands, building your own laptop will never be quite the same as building a desktop PC.
