Quakecon 2005 "Build your own notebook"

Post by **Apoptosis** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 5:39 pm

If you guys came out to the workshop I'd like to thank you for coming. Please remember to sign up on the forums and once I get all the details on the notebook and processors Legit Reviews is giving out we will make a post and send out an e-mail to our members.

Here are a few quick pictures! We are off to dinner! Enjoy & if you missed it today we will do it tomorrow (minus a hard drive). If anyone brings me back the Intel Demo drive that was stolen from the event I will personally give you an Intel Pentium M 760 at the hotel.

The end of the 100 person line.. Security is in the green jackets and had to turn away hundreds of people...

People in the room:

People waiting for it to start:

I just won a Pentium M???

Soliex · Post by **Soliex** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:57 pm

Use the Elderly, children can operate more electronics than my grandfather can, Put him on there to show how easy it is and you will buy me over

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 7:00 pm

Its funny, thats the same video we used for the workshop at the Winter CPL in Dallas last year...... most everyone there was had their mouths open the whole time in shock.

anyway, so how was the workshop? Did anyone learn anything? did everyone have a good time?
Damn i wish i could have gone this year.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 7:45 pm

The hard drive was recovered and the situation was taken care of. I am sorry that everyone else at the workshop was drug into all the drama. It only takes one person to ruin a good thing!!!

The workshop went well and the next one will be better and will have security at the door. ;)

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 8:28 pm

Unfreakinbelievable........you do something nice for people, teach them some skills, give away a bunch of stuff, and some guy has the nerve to steal from you......at least it was only one person.
Looks like it was lots of fun, and hopefully will bring in a bunch of new members

-mogwai · Post by **-mogwai** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 8:33 pm

who stole what?!

losers... what the hell is wrong with people? i think that guy thought it was quake-"CON"... not quakecon

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:03 am

I second you capper. I wish I could have gone myself....damn, damn, damn

; if it weren't for me losing my job recently, and getting into one that pays nothing, I would have seriously asked for more info and put my name on the list. Oh well, always next year? Yeah, the free swag is awesome, but I would have gone just for the info and experience I could have gotten from this.

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:06 am

kill, you know the reason Intel had Nate put this on was his 3 part article about building your own laptop right? If you haven't, you should really check it out.....tehn, if you want to build one or get some help, all you have to do is ask.....and everyone here will be more than willing to help out.

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:12 am

Ohhhhh, that's what he was able to get sponsored by Intel over? I've read the article, and I've found it immensely informative, and it even makes me want to try after I build my desktop. I guess I was referring more to the experience of going to Quakecon. I know you guys are willing to help if I was to build a laptop, and I give you all my thanks in advance, because all you guy's advice given thus far is great and has helped me out of sticky situations

LVCapo · Post by **LVCapo** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:21 am

Nate made a mighty good impression on Intel, among others with his lappy articles. Same with the memory companies when he cranked out some really good "inside" knowledge about memory, I'd argue that he knows more about memory than anyone on sites like this.

-mogwai · Post by **-mogwai** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 9:21 am

capper5016 wrote:I'd argue that he knows more about memory than anyone on sites like this.

that goes without saying

[s2i]HystericPoison · Post by **[s2i]HystericPoison** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 4:27 pm

i made it to day 2, it was a great presentation. now im really interested in starting a notebook project. are there links to articles or whitebook kits that you guys can offer?

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 4:50 pm

Building A Whitebox Notebook: Part 1
Building a Whitebox Notebook: Part 2
Building A Whitebox Notebook: Part 3

These should start you out

grimlet · Post by **grimlet** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 6:47 pm

Good job Nate i really enjoyed the session. Even thought you gave me the spill 3 hours befor. It was great I am now getting the cash lined up to build me a lappy. But after the show and the things that were stated in the session i mgith do better to wait for Jan or feb to build on the Dual core m or can i not talk abut that here? I was the 99 person in line the second day if it helps you to put a face with the name

. Do you think it might be smarter to wait?

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 9:28 am

Nope I remember exactly who you are and it was good talking with you before the show. Yonah (the dual core Pentium M ) is due out in early Q1 2006... meaning Jan or Feb.

If you can wait 6-7 months for a notebook then by all means wait, but if you wanted to get one now then I'd say go for it. Also the price is still unknown on Yonah... So, it could cost much more for a Yonah processor than a current Dothan Pentium M.

If you have the cash on hand now and want to tinker with something then build now. If you want to wait for dual core and save up a couple hundred more for the build then I'd wait. It all comes down to money and how long you are willing to wait.

kdugger · Post by **kdugger** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 9:49 am

Terrific presentation Nate.

I am looking into building my own and I'm wondering if anyone knows of a source for a ATI Mobility X-based (600-700-800) whitebox. I've found plenty of sources for other solutions that are less attractive. I like the idea of being able to download drivers directly from ATI for updates.

Other than that, are there any resellers that sell ATI Mobility cards direct to consumers? And, are there any compatibity issues with sourcing the card separately?

Thanks for the work,

Keith

mongol05 · Post by **mongol05** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 2:47 pm

Nate,

Great presentation. I was wondering where you found the price for the ASUS whitebox you had listed in your presentation? I think I want to use the Pentium M I won (woo!) to build a laptop similar to that one, except with only 512 mb ram and just dvd-rom. My other thought would be to find a whitebox with a smaller, widescreen ultrabright with either ATI or nVidia graphics (doesn't matter to me, whichever one is the best performance for the price, while still not too costly)

Any ideas?

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 3:10 pm

mongol05 -

Welcome to the forums and congratulations on winning the processor. Did you get the 760 or 770??

I found all the following prices via Froogle and shopping.legitreviews.com

Processor - Free
ASUS Z71V Chassis - $724 - Axcent Micro
CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive - $90 - ABS Computer Technologies
2 x 256mb Kingston SO-DIMM's - KVR533D2S4/256 - $76- MWave

Since you got a free CPU you would need the above parts $890 and then a hard drive ($115ish). Hopefully you have a Windows XP cd sitting around to use. Total cost would be just over one grand which is a steal.

Add in a good hard drive and you will have a sweet system! If you have an idea what sized monitor you'd want in a smaller notebook let me know and I will think about other good notebooks that would have ATI or nVidia graphics.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 3:22 pm

kdugger wrote: I am looking into building my own and I'm wondering if anyone knows of a source for a ATI Mobility X-based (600-700-800) whitebox. I've found plenty of sources for other solutions that are less attractive. I like the idea of being able to download drivers directly from ATI for updates.

Other than that, are there any resellers that sell ATI Mobility cards direct to consumers? And, are there any compatibity issues with sourcing the card separately?

AOpen, MSI, and ASUS currently do not offer any X600-X800 mobile processors in their whitebox notebooks. The AOpen 1559J and ASUS Z71V are currently the most available notebooks that have PCI-Express graphics and both use 6600's. Remember that nVidia said they would offer mobile driver support in 90 days, so keep your fingers crossed. I will look for an ATI whitebook that has greater than 9700 Pro graphics.

kdugger · Post by **kdugger** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 4:14 pm

Apoptosis wrote: AOpen, MSI, and ASUS currently do not offer any X600-X800 mobile processors in their whitebox notebooks. The AOpen 1559J and ASUS Z71V are currently the most available notebooks that have PCI-Express graphics and both use 6600's. Remember that nVidia said they would offer mobile driver support in 90 days, so keep your fingers crossed. I will look for an ATI whitebook that has greater than 9700 Pro graphics.

I guess the key for me is driver support and (if nVidia is correct in the forecast) 90 days isn't too terrible. It would be great if ASUS opted to put the W2V into the whitebox category for the DIYer.

Thanks for the info...