Building a Whitebox Notebook PC

viro · Post by **viro** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 2:24 pm

great!
thx for the info and the guide, i will use it to my advantage ;)

i'll be waiting for part III!

shades_of_blue · Post by **shades_of_blue** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 5:46 am

The Asus M6N IS available with an ATI mobility 9700, whoever told you it is not, does not know what he's talking about. My work place sells them, but they mainly sell the standard 9600 full screen version. Those who are interested in this book should know that there is four variations of it.

You can check out the variations on Asus's official site, here's a link.

http://usa.asus.com/products/notebook/m ... erview.htm

FWIW I've assembled several M6Ns and I have to say it one of the best notebooks I have ever used. The utility drivers are a PITA to install, but once they're out of the way this book rocks. In fact I'm ordering one right now, for myself.

BTW anyone who wants to take a peek at my workplaces homepage, it’s http://www.cobaltcomputers.com/

Darth Raider · Post by **Darth Raider** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 6:44 pm

There are alot more places you can order an M6N, some have barebone options and most have the ATI 9700 version:

powernotebooks.com (rebadged as the Powerpro C3:17)
proportable.com (work directly with Asus)
rjtech.com
essencompu.com
agearnotebooks.com
alpahpcstore.com ($879 for a barebone!!)
discountlaptops.com (rebadged as the Chembook 2060)

Post by **Apoptosis** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 8:35 am

Stuck some of those that you posted on the original thread! Many thanks for pointing out some new sources! Welcome to the forum & great first post ;)

shades_of_blue · Post by **shades_of_blue** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 1:27 pm

Just a little update, for those who are interested in this notebook. Yesterday I had to create a new OEM install image for this book and I found that if you install the 'Power4Gear' utility program last you will have no problems installing any of the utility drivers.

sugarbeasties · Post by **sugarbeasties** » Fri Jul 23, 2004 6:15 am

I just wanted to say these articles are really great and I can't wait for number three. I have been shopping for months for the perfect college laptop and I eliminated most brands (dell, compaq, hp, gateway...) because I am a snobby nerd :D It pretty much came down to Toshiba or Sony, and Sony lacked a lot of features I wanted (they certainly weren't lacking the pricetag though!) I found a Toshiba laptop I thought was perfect but it was a bit more than I wanted to pay. I've been toying with the idea of building my own and finally decided in the last few hours to bite the bullet and go for it... and it is completely the fault of this series of articles! I hope I am not getting myself in over my head.

I'm sure I'll think of a dozen more questions before I get to the final product, but I have just a few warm up ones for now :D [For reference I am planning to use the M6BNE and the 1.7ghz Dothan P-M.]

What do you think of arctic silver? Is it better to use that or will the included thermal pad be sufficient?

Also... from the pictures of the case, it looks like there is a ledge that intersects the cd-rom drive. Is there a special face plate I can attach to the drive I install to keep it flush with the rest of the case?

Thanks to anyone who wants to tackle my questions... it's my first time building a system from scratch

A176 · Post by **A176** » Sat Jul 24, 2004 10:17 pm

I personally don't see this "ledge" you speak of? Generally, you'll find ASUS "compatible" cdrw/dvd/etc modules for the whitebooks at the same retailer. I don't know if these are ASUS "approved", or are specially designed for the whitebooks, but they're there anyways.

There is also the bay that is included (as seen in the article).

I would assume these make the drives fit the whole design schme...?

ps: hi 1st post

pps: How about some high res shots from the articles?

ppps: Canadian M6N's found here: http://www.computers-canada.com/display ... ]=&omore=0

sugarbeasties · Post by **sugarbeasties** » Sun Jul 25, 2004 4:54 am

here is a closer picture of the area i am concerned about:

see the silver/white line? it appears to cross the cd door, and it also appears that there may be a level change on either side of it. i can't really tell.

i am not sure about the chasis bought by the article author, but my chasis did not come with an optical drive. if you are interested, this is where i purchased it:

http://store.alphapcstore.com/asm6asincemo.html

the site offers the option of adding parts but i was able to get the parts i wanted elsewhere for a better price so i bought the case only.

i purchased the toshiba optical drive the author linked, from newegg. i am not concerned about the drive fitting in the bay, just the face of the drive being flush with the side. the only reason i ask is that i was considering a slot loading drive, but i was worried that if there was a piece to attach to the face, that it might only be compatible with the traditional tray drives.

hope that information helps you better understand me :D

shades_of_blue · Post by **shades_of_blue** » Tue Jul 27, 2004 6:01 am

The Asus m6n series uses a Toshiba optical drive. IF you got a drive with yours, you'll have the mounting brackets to fit another drive in it's place, however your eject button may not work properly or at all. Not every slimline optical drive has the eject button connections at the same point. for example, i know mitsumi does not match the toshiba one. your best bet is another toshiba drive or a samsung as they apparently partnered up with toshiba for the drives asus uses and contact asus diffect about obtaining a mounting kit for your optical drive.

sugarbeasties · Post by **sugarbeasties** » Wed Jul 28, 2004 4:33 pm

I just wanted to add that I found another retailer who carries the Asus whitebox notebook ($882).

ComputerHQ

BklynKid · Post by **BklynKid** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 5:08 pm

GOD DAMNIT! Nobody fuckin mentioned there were 2 screws in the back for the keyboard. Now I bent the damn thing pretty bad trying to egt the damn thing off. Finally I called Asus and they told me about the screws.

This thing better not be broken...

wscol · Post by **wscol** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 6:12 pm

Hey BklynKid, your not the only one who bent the keyboard because somebody forgot to mention the 2 screws in the back. I had to order a replacement keyboard for my M6N notebook. It would be nice if ASUS provided a detailed layout of the internals.

rspektor · Post by **rspektor** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 8:11 pm

is there some way to upgrade the radeon 9700 to 128mb?

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 11:46 pm

nope... not at the current time...

kronus · Post by **kronus** » Thu Aug 05, 2004 11:21 pm

There is no bluetooth option except dongle/pccard. Acer solders something on the mobo for BT. Dell also. See here for some interesting chipset info, last paragraph "Centrino will offer an option for a Bluetooth controller plugged into the internal USB 2.0 connector of Centrino’s southbridge chip, the ICH4-M. Getting Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chips to run side-by-side is no easy task, given that both are 2.4-GHz radio transceivers prone to interfering with one another. Intel has worked with several third-party developers to help solve this problem as part of its Wireless Coexistence Solution."
I really want BT, this case could have been PERFECT!

I was wrong about the carrier coming with the whitebox asus itself, I got to look inside a box today and kind of see what was in there and I didn't see the custom optical drive faceplate/carrier module that goes with the M6. My question is WHERE DOES THIS COME FROM, WHAT BOX IS IT IN?

It would be great if Apoptosis could shed some light on the optical drive thing, I was thinking of popping in a panny slot loader;) Will this work?NOW I'M THINKING NO, NOT WITHOUT THE CARRIER AND A DREMEL.

kronus · Post by **kronus** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 4:54 am

I thought up a solution to the no bluetooth problem. Disassemble a BT USB dongle and hardwire it to one of the USB mobo connectors. Hide the BT chip inside the laptop. The only problem is how to turn it on and off? Any ideas? Once I get mine and see if this is feasible(I know some forums with some pretty dedicated people :twisted: ) it will be easier.

With a little (electrical) work it should be possible...maybe...gulp...or it will blow up your mobo. But I really hate non integrated "solutions" :D

Crazy rating: 6.5/10

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Fri Aug 06, 2004 9:14 am

just insert a small switch on the power (5v) line from the usb. Then when your in windows you just left click and stop the device, then flip the switch turning it off all the way and when your ready to use it again turn it back on, and windows should see it as being connected.

sedul · Post by **sedul** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 8:54 pm

it says on the asus website that if you assemble yourself and your not an authorized technician, it would void the 1 year basic warranty on non factory configured laptops.

But i'm not too sure of how all the warranty works. Does anybody have any idea ? i'm in Canada, so my options are limited, but looking on the websites like alphapcstore, it seems lik you can just buy the barebone and those guys will authorize you the warranty , and u can fit in ur own parts that u get from ebay or soemthing

thanks,

ZenOps · Post by **ZenOps** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 12:26 pm

Just finished off putting together a Pentium M 725 Dothan and M6000BNE here.

It has the Radeon 9700 with 64MB inside. Its charging up right now, *crossing my fingers*

I'd like to thank Legit reviews for doing such a good job of explaining how these are put together. I probably would have not attempted to do so unless I had found this guide.

Yeah... I almost missed the two keyboard screws too. I also took a good 5 minutes trying to figure out that the plastic piece over the CPU just pull pops off after you remove the two screws that hold it down.

bobbybrown · Post by **bobbybrown** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 9:40 pm

Hi everyone,

I am thinking of assembling my own whitebox as well. Thinking of using the M6N (15' XGA) as the chasis, and looking at Dothan 1.7, 1 stick corsair pc2700 512mb ram, Fujitsu 4800rpm 80gig HD, panasonic slot-loading CDRW/DVD combo drive, and Intel Pro 2200 wireless g/b with no os installed (going to transfer from old notebook and convert that into a linux surfing machine). The best price I can come up with is 799 for the chasis from alphapcstore.com and 661 for the rest of the parts from newegg.

Anyone care to share their shopping list?

Legit Reviews

Building a Whitebox Notebook PC

DIY Virgin

the ledge... or not

2 screws on back

So you want integrated bluetooth eh?

warranty

Anyone care to share their purchase list?