Build your own computer

Is there such a way to build my own computer such as what people do for PCs? Like i wouldn't mind having a huge hard drive, better CPU, more RAM, better video card, etc than what is in my MBP. It's just that i have had many hardware problems so far with mine, and all within 3 months of having it. So the future doesn't look too promising.

If you want to build a PC, then by all means, go ahead. There are lots of guides available to help you out.

Now if you want to build your own Mac, that's a whole different story. While you can physically build your own computer and install OS X, it's against Apple's EULA, and thus, we cannot discuss it here at Mac-Forums. The other option is the user-upgradeable Mac available, the Mac Pro.

Is there a company that lets you build your own Windows laptop that throughly?
Because Apple controls so much of the computing process, they are able to provide you with the best computing experience. They make OS X work with their computers which makes everything more stable.
If you were to build your own Mac, it would be less stable. It is also against the license agreement to install OS X on a computer not made by Apple.
It's really not a good idea no matter how you look at it.

I suggest you look into upgrading your Mac with hardware from OWC.

http://www.macsales.com/

Making your own Mac is possible. But good luck. I work for Apple and I know that people have tried and failed to build their own Mac. Granted, the parts are available. You can scrap old Macs. But this brings up the question to me: WHY?

You cant build any Mac more powerful then what is released. Sure you will spend $2500 on a 24'' iMac 2.8 Ghz but if you try to build your own you will spend double that and not have Apples support. There is no point.

I also use PC's and never buy a pre-made one. I build mine from the ground up. I like having warranties on each part I have...

If you want to build your own PC, I would recommend installing a GNU/Linux distro.

A self-built PC with a good looking GNU/Linux distro with some fancy Beryl/Compiz stuff is awesome... and much fun to build

mknabster said:

Is there such a way to build my own computer such as what people do for PCs? Like i wouldn't mind having a huge hard drive, better CPU, more RAM, better video card, etc than what is in my MBP. It's just that i have had many hardware problems so far with mine, and all within 3 months of having it. So the future doesn't look too promising.

Click to expand...

I can grok. I'm on my 2nd MacBook this year. I love the platform, but had issues with my first one.

TopDog said:

If you want to build your own PC, I would recommend installing a GNU/Linux distro.

A self-built PC with a good looking GNU/Linux distro with some fancy Beryl/Compiz stuff is awesome... and much fun to build

Click to expand...

Yep! I have done just that recently. I was delving back into some older technology. So far, I have built two:

1/ A *dual core* Pentium Pro 200 machine. I loaded Windows NT and Arch Linux 2007 onto it. For a 200 MHz machine (or 400 MHz, if you sum the two CPUs), it is darn snappy. I did this one just for fun and nostalgia. I loved my old 200 MHz Micron machine when it was in it's prime, and decided to recreate it, but only better... hence the dual CPUs. Loading Linux was a real bonus too.

2/ After that experience, I decided to build a nearly current machine, but still a few years behind the bleeding edge, to keep costs low. I built a 3.06 GHz Pentium IV HT machine with 1 GB of PC 1066 RDRAM (RAMBUS stuff - F-A-S-T), 240 GB of hard drive, the fastest AGP video card that was made (nVidia GeForce 7800GS), ZIP-250, CD-RW, DVD-RW, 10/100 NIC and lots of other little goodies. I loaded Windows ME and openSUSE 10.3 on it. openSUSE 10.3 is simply amazing. The best Linux distro I have ever used, bar none.

The best thing about these two machines is that as the system architect, I was able to design them from the ground up as "quiet computers". Every part has been selected with careful consideration of its noise profile. The net result is that the Pentium Pro 200 machine is essentially silent. The 2.06 GHz machine is nearly as quiet, although you can hear a gentle swoosh from the graphics card fan (I didn't replace the stock cooler that came with it).

Lots of fun, and I really enjoyed tinkering with it. In the end however, here I am, cranking away on my Mac. It is hard to beat the total experience that Apple puts together, even when you can control every element of the solution yourself.

Lol mac57!

I remember my homebuilt. I designed it for pure number crunching pleasure. It was an AMD 64 bit machine that ran both Linux and Windows, and it was great. What a machine it was.

Well, it was great until it started crashing, fully independent of OS. I switched hard drives, network cards, graphics cards trying to isolate why it was crashing. I was down to looking at problems with the motherboard and the case (because of internal wiring). I don't know how many hours I spent troubleshooting it, but eventually I just dumped it after having it for two years. I'd reached my limit on how much time and money I was willing to spend trying to fix it. I replaced it with a Dell XPS-400 which has run flawlessly now for nearly two years. My point is that homebuilts can have their own issues with quality and stability.

mathogre said:

I can grok. I'm on my 2nd MacBook this year. I love the platform, but had issues with my first one.

Click to expand...

See that's what happened to me, i'm on my 2nd MBP too. My first one's video card dies within 2 weeks of having it, then with the replacement, the Superdrive died within 2 months, so i'm just praying that nothing happens to this one now.

I built my own pc a few years back now, i kept having problems with the processor, i started out with a duron 1600, then that changed to a athlon xp 2200 then i upgrade that again to a sempron 2600.

I wouldnt have another amd processor again, i have to say i prefer intel C2D

I guess I have been lucky so far. No issues with either machine. I have also fully rebuilt an older 486DX4/100 and an original Micron Magnum Pro 200 as well. These two machines are also working flawlessly. I won't attribute it to skill. Every part in every computer has an MTBF. They *will* fail. All computers will fail eventually. It is just a matter of time. As I said, I have been lucky so far.

MO, it sounds like you lived my biggest fear in building these machines. If the motherboard gets into trouble, there it little you can do about it. I am not an electronics technician. I can't troubleshoot these things at the electrical level. Even if I could, most of the components are surface mount - VERY difficult to replace once they fail.

You did the right thing I am sure. I hope you "harvested" all the useful peripherals before junking it though (hard drives, CD drives, etc.).

mac57 said:

You did the right thing I am sure. I hope you "harvested" all the useful peripherals before junking it though (hard drives, CD drives, etc.).

Click to expand...

Absolutely! I also used trusted "previously harvested" peripherals for some of my troubleshooting. ^_^