After seeing some posts here and on reddit, I figured why not?
Not a ton of progress to report yet, other than documentation/ research.
I know that at the end of this experiment, the BOM at the end will be more than DIY or pre-built. But I view it as a contribution to a company I’m more than happy to support, and the experience in building something up from parts alone is more than worth it to me.
I’m going with 80% new parts: I’m providing of my own is storage, and wifi, to increase my chances of success!
Needless to say, I’m really excited/ nervous for build day! I know I’m going to be itching to assemble things as soon as I have the hinges and top cover, but I’m going to wait as there doesn’t seem to be a comprehensive top/ bottom cover replacement guide.
Nothing major to report this week, just more anxious waiting to order more parts! Top Cover Fasteners have arrived, as well as Hinges.
I’ll be ordering the Bezel this week and maybe a battery. Unfortunately it’ll be at least a few more weeks until I’ll have anything to actually document assembling.
Mainboard availability for 11th Gen i5 has been hit and miss. At the price point for the 12th gen, I feel it would be best to go for the upgrade kit if I go that route.
I believe i will be doing this on my own (sorta) so thanks for the BOM
Recently the outlet had mystery boxes for sale, which i was lucky enough to pick up two of them (wish i would have picked up 1-2 more. Then I saw last night that the small boxes were in stock so i picked up a couple of those as well. That set me back
The large box yielded top/bottom covers, a couple keyboards, lcd/digitizer and a 13th and 11th gen boards that seem to boot at any rate. I would imagine the small boxes won’t be nearly as interesting? but then again i figured the $29 box wouldn’t include so much of the kits, like webcam module attached etc.
I bought most of what extras i think ill need after opening the large box too while i was at it so i got a battery, hinges, speakers etc… I already have spare usb-c modular port spares and i should have memory. if i get something usable ill consider anything more than live linux usb boot.
Sweet.
I got one of the final shipped 16s before it was made stocked in store and it is really super fun with the input deck! But i’m huge into making/programming keyboards though, it is a fun machine for tinkering like that.
I got the second shipment (parts i knew i would need) and started assembly.
I guess ALL of my spare memory is ddr5, not 4 so thats $30 or so ill have to get but i do have a 128GB nvme drive plus i forgot i had the storage expansion module so i have options for that.
The initial go took me 90 minutes from opening boxes and try to figure things out. The end result is obviously i cant testelectrically/actual functions, but it all fits together more or less, with a bulge on the closest edge where the input and bottom tray are closest when you are using it and dont come exactly straight in. ( i forgot to get a bezel i guess oops, maybe small boxes will have one, I guarantee that is a huge mess that wouldnt fit inside the bezel right now.
I will have to redo a lot, i think i need to start work on the top , do hinges and then bottom attachment? I think and focus on routing the wires as you mentioned.
I don’t think i used any screws from the top cover set, as the 4 were already in the top cover and the antenna module and webcam was already installed on my BoC, but very thankful i got the other screw sets. (I would like to say it is slightly disappointing the guides don’t mention specific screws to use in like a hidden ‘more details’ button or something (i get that most of it is swap out a part and not build from scratch, so its not exactly expected. the separation in the kits is fine for me) it only had me scratching my head a couple times for not long at all.
i would say for future people i am probably rebuilding and starting from parts as lcd/top cover/hinge install for a fully open hinge. Move to bottom shell hinges, focus on clean wiring. Install mainboard, speakers, battery. Wifi I used hockey tape to help keep the wires tight and in place before installing the module (although probably something more electrically sound like klapton tape for permanent fix)
I’ve had to install a number of antennas over the years and I sort of do it blind if im not near my soldering station and mag glasses, i find i can feel better than see. I get the wire head centered on the pad of my finger and get it sorta close, wiggle it around until you can sort of feel the lip of each piece within docking groove, and then i slip the spudger with my other hand on the top of the dock and sort of rock it in position.
Then obviously do the input cover and slap on the bezel and anything else i forgot before the input cover.
I just stripped it down because i noticed my top cover was bulging. I had a second one in the box, which looked to be an earlier design, so no huge deal.
This time i put hinges, top lid, lcd first and it was way easier. This cannot be understated in my opinion.
