Guest bifnewman Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Don't flame me for posting this. I got flamed for posting something similar to this on NBR like 2 years ago.... I was thinking about this idea since I was having problems with my M17x. This is all if I get a refund from my latest BIOS problem. If I can get Flextronics or another manufacturer to produce me a motherboard with HM67 Sandy Bridge Chipset and a custom port splitter for Dual MXM 3.0b slots, do you guys think I should go for this? I am still working out stuff in AutoCAD but I am going to see if I can fit it all in a 15.6" chassis. It would be awesome if I can fit atleast 2 12.5mm hdd's in there. I will also look for an IPS display but worse case scenario, I will go for the 95% gammut one that XoticPC gives out. Tell me what you guys think. I was thinking Titanium or Aluminum for the chassis. What about the keyboard? Does anyone know how the process works with the BIOS? I am talking about if Intel provides a barebone BIOS or if you have to write the entire thing from scratch. I have no experience with writing a BIOS. If Flextronics helps me, they will probably provide me with some sort of BIOS to get the board up and running. I will probably have to write in overclocking features and stuff though. It would be cool if I could just adjust multipliers within the BIOS. I was also thinking of writing some sort of PCI Express Hot-plug driver so that the graphics could be switched on the fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder StamatisX Posted June 24, 2011 Founder Share Posted June 24, 2011 I am not sure this is possible to be honest, the company that will manufacture your motherboard will have to provide you with the appropriate BIOS, of course you will have to make adjustments to that or at least request for specific ones to be made for you but I doubt anyone will bother just for a single laptop. Unless you plan to order in very large quantities or use an existing motherboard I don't think this is possible and even if it is the cost will be insanely high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbabt007 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 bif we don't flame in here, this forums are made and run by very intelligent and mature people(not trying to flame NBR) As a member of TI I always welcome interesting discussion topics especially if the push the envelope. Now As Stam said it would be very difficult for a manufacturer just to make you a custom board. Companies that do that probably want a 10 thousand units order to even consider it because they cost and overhead. Your best bet would be to find a company that makes prototype motherboards(if such company exist) And talk to them, but not sure how successful would it be being that you will only need one board, unless of course you decide to open your own Exotic notebook boutique.Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Yeah, that seemed like an NBR thing. A lot of them are very fanboy-ish and stubborn. A prototype is ideal since if it works out great, then I can take it further and maybe even make a company to produce them if its good. I just want to make something that nobody else offers. I would love to open my own notebook boutique... That seems pretty far down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iloveb00bs Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 wow thats a cool idea, even if its possible your looking at a very expensive lappy. hopefully i'll hit the lotto this week and we can start the tech inferno brand boutique laptops. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Michael Posted June 24, 2011 Founder Share Posted June 24, 2011 T|I own laptop, that's a great dream! @bifnewman - i know @Aikimox was checking this issue for www.fortnax.com (his company), he might be able to shed some light on that topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 (edited) @Michael - What do you mean? His company is trying to produce their own laptops? I'll pm him.Argh... Damn confidential information. lol. Anyways, is there an existing motherboard that I can use? Defeats the purpose doesn't it? Might as well go with that laptop if I use it's motherboard. How expensive would it be to manufacture the laptop motherboard? Edited June 24, 2011 by bifnewman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svl7 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 This would be absolutely fantastic, especially with the specs you have in your mind, but it's not gonna be cheap, not at all. And it requires a lot of time and even more skills. Would you design the PCB yourself? A big problem is that you usually don't get access to all the necessary datasheets and standards (e.g. MXM to name on). It costs quite some money to get access to all the necessary data. (The only specs that I know got leaked somehow and can be found on the web are the PCI-e ) If you know some people in the right place and access to professional software and tools it could work, but it sounds a lot easier than it is (unfortunately) and like mentioned before, a mobo prototype costs an insanely amount of money... a highly integrated multi-layer PCB prototype isn't something that can just be made quickly, and it needs a lot of testing afterwards (which requires some highly sensitive gear). But I probably don't need to tell you this, lol. Anyway, you'll definitely need some other skilled people who're interested in this and want to participate in such a project... and as I said, you somehow need access to documentations and tools... which unfortunately isn't very easy to get. Good connections are very important for this... Such a system would be simply ass-kicking, but it's a very long, expensive way, and only for one single piece I can't really see it happen. A much easier way would be to take an existing mobo and simply make a cool chassis, but this doesn't make a lot of sense of course since the design of the chassis gets limited by the existing mobo... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Well I wanted to make a prototype for personal use and then I would show it off and try to attract some investors to help pay the expenses for an actual company. I may have some connections through my dad and his work. If it costs me $10,000 just for one prototype than that is insane. I guess its much cheaper when they mass produce them. If I do choose an existing motherboard, what do you guys recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Hate to say it, because this sounds awesome, but I think $10,000 would be a very conservative estimate of the costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iloveb00bs Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 building a custom made laptop is expensive, but the look on peoples faces when you tell them the specs is priceless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder StamatisX Posted June 25, 2011 Founder Share Posted June 25, 2011 @bifnewman I doubt Dell spent only $10K for lets say building the prototype of M18x (just think of the people needed and the time they've spent) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Alright, well lets talk about what is realistic. What motherboard should I use for a custom laptop. Do laptop BIOS need a device ID for the screen or something? I know the screen will connect to the inverter and the inverter connects to the motherboard through the LVDS port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 (edited) Now I'm thinking. What about modding an existing Clevo board? Like taking the 8170 mobo or the 8150 motherboard and soldering on another MXM slot if the pins are there and modding the BIOS to support it. It would probably require some sort of NF200-like mod to power it since the chipset doesn't support dual-GPU's... should be able to find a work around though. Just as I was beginning to lose hope in this potential project, I have found light... Tell me what you guys think. Are there additional pins on the NP8150/NP8170 motherboard?@StamatisX - Good point... Edited June 25, 2011 by bifnewman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Hey guys,Check out the Kingston HyperX 2133mhz thread below this, it says something about a motherboard called the ASRock HD65-MXM and it takes the i7 2920xm. I wonder what this is?Also, check out these P150HM motherboard schematics.http://notebookschematic.com/?tag=clevo-p150hm-service-manualjust check out the block diagram on that website. pretty interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 (edited) Anyone know where to find X7200 motherboards? I'll talk to some resellers and see if they are willing to distribute.EDIT: Just emailed XoticPC. I really like them. I am thinking of hacking up my own chassis for an X7200 motherboard. This way, I can defeat the flaws of the X7200 (except the battery, not much I can do about that really.) I was thinking about adding a backlit keyboard (maybe one from the Alienware systems, but would I need to have BIOS support for that. I remember talking to a very experienced person about using an Alienware keyboard and he told me that I would need BIOS support...). I may be able to mod the motherboard so it fits in a 15.6" chassis. HDMI-in would be nice if I can just find the solution.... If I can figure out if the p150hm or p170hm motherboard has the extra pins for another MXM slot then I can go for that and try to re-enable the iGPU for some battery life. If someone can help me figure out if the P150HM or P170HM has these pins on the motherboard, I would be very greatful. The i7 970 six-core sounds very nice though. Especially for compiling and video encoding (Sandy Bridge beats everything at this though.) Edited June 25, 2011 by bifnewman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svl7 Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I somehow doubt that there will be enough space on the mobo for a second MXM module... but if you could somehow connect a second MXM module with the mobo you could probably adjust the case for it... You still need room for the cooling. I think a 15 inch system with two GPUs is only possible if there's no ODD, as this should give you enough additional room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I somehow doubt that there will be enough space on the mobo for a second MXM module... but if you could somehow connect a second MXM module with the mobo you could probably adjust the case for it... You still need room for the cooling. I think a 15 inch system with two GPUs is only possible if there's no ODD, as this should give you enough additional room.I would be making my own chassis from scratch, not modifying the current one. Definitely not taking the old keyboard unless I have to. I really need to do some AutoCAD work on this so I can work out some dimensions. I have measurements for the screen and the MXM cards and have already created them in AutoCAD. Now I just need to create everything else. I wish I could find a pic of the P150HM motherboard or the X7200 motherboard out of the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svl7 Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Before you start designing the chassis you'll need to find a mobo that fits your needs. I recently saw a picture of a Clevo mobo prototype with two MXM slots and a socket for a desktop CPU... but it's huuuuge, guess it's for an 18 inch system. Adding something additional to a mobo more or less impossible, unless the PCB is already designed for the additional components (without having them on it). Reasons for this are for example the power/voltage supply circuits and the parts involved in them. Usually they're rated for just about the max power that the board can draw. You can't just push additional 100W through them. Besides this there's the problem with the bus, the controller, firmware etc... and of course all the highly integrated conducting paths (multi layer PCB) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Before you start designing the chassis you'll need to find a mobo that fits your needs. I recently saw a picture of a Clevo mobo prototype with two MXM slots and a socket for a desktop CPU... but it's huuuuge, guess it's for an 18 inch system.[ATTACH=CONFIG]1340[/ATTACH] Adding something additional to a mobo more or less impossible, unless the PCB is already designed for the additional components (without having them on it). Reasons for this are for example the power/voltage supply circuits and the parts involved in them. Usually they're rated for just about the max power that the board can draw. You can't just push additional 100W through them. Besides this there's the problem with the bus, the controller, firmware etc... and of course all the highly integrated conducting paths (multi layer PCB) Yeah too complicated. I'm probably keeping this thing since I haven't had the problem that I was getting. These were some good ideas though. A new case and keyboard for the X7200 would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I'm being silly. I love this laptop but it may be the last Dell I ever get. I will be keeping this for awhile. After looking around on other people's experiences (I've seen some bad cases of keyboard flex on the M18x), it made me realize that this notebook is really awesome. BTW, has anyone bought a good car adapter that will run this baby. I bought a "200w continuous/400w peak" car adapter at Walmart and it can't even charge my brother's 85w MacBook Pro. I'm taking it back lol. I'm getting a 350w one online incase someone finds a way to get a better PSU for the M17x and I decide to get 6970m's. BTW, with the 580m's about to come out, anyone going to try them with their R2? hah. Should prove to be very interesting. We are only pushing the power limit of this thing, the cooling system is amazing, besides, the 580m is expected to be more power efficient than the 485m which was more efficient than 6970m (atleast at idle, not sure about loads). This laptop has had a very long lifetime and is still (somewhat) hanging in for one of the best all-around laptops (with the combination of the screen, power, and looks, this thing is incredible). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Just got a quote on the Clevo X7200 motherboard from RJTECH.com for $480. Not returnable and only 90 day warranty. The 485M's have taken a $200 price cut. So lets say this:Motherboard - $4802x485M SLI - $1100i7 970 ebay - ~$41012GB DDR3 - idk where to find triple channel laptop ram.Blu-Ray Burner - Already own. (Slot-loaded)AUO B173HW01 V5 Matte 17.3" 1080p screen - $169Custom Made Case - IDK...RAM is $200 max.So lets say the case costs me $400 for example.That comes out to $2759. I could go for the X7200 from babyhemi with that money. It is a good bit cheaper though since mine comes with the 970 instead of the 960 ($330 upgrade), B173HW01 V5 screen ($169 upgrade), 12gb ram, slot-loaded blu-ray burner. I could probably make a good case w/ $400 but I really need make sure that it can cool the components well. BTW, I included the keyboard with the case, I will have to buy a nice one that I can use which is compatible with the motherboard. IDK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svl7 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Hmm, where did you find the 485m for $550? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) Hmm, where did you find the 485m for $550?Well I've heard its taken a $200 price cut. I just subtracted that from the $750. I'll ask babyhemi for a price on a SLI kit.Update: babyhemi said that he gets the new prices tomorrow afternoon for the 485M SLI kit. Edited June 28, 2011 by bifnewman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bifnewman Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 580m's are $750/card including the heatsink. They probably aren't available individually yet since the resellers are probably trying to sell them in the notebooks first and they probably don't have a huge supply yet. w/ 580m's it would come out to be $3159. OriginPC sells the X7200 with the HDMI-input port. interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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