'I'm still amazed that it all came together and actually works': YouTuber spends 14 months building a glorious gaming laptop from desktop parts

HardwareGaming Laptops’I’m still amazed that it all came together and actually works': YouTuber spends 14 months building a glorious gaming laptop from desktop partsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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My DIY gaming laptop (w/ desktop parts) is FINALLY done! Full Reveal - YouTubeWatch On

My DIY gaming laptop (w/ desktop parts) is FINALLY done! Full Reveal - YouTube

You ever look at yourgaming laptopand think, “Damn, I wish I’d built this thing myself over the course of the last 14 months?” Me either—but where would we be without those willing to boldly go where others won’t?

YouTuberSocket Sciencespent over a year making an entirely bespoke DIY gaming laptop (viaHackaday), and not only does it seem to actually run games pretty well, it also looks rather dashing. This seems to be as much a surprise to Socket Science as to me, because they say they’re “still amazed that it all came together and actually works”.

In explaining why they decided to undertake this task, Socket Science points out a somewhat open secret about gaming laptop GPUs: they’re not as good as the desktop graphics cards of the same name.

A laptopRTX 4080isn’t as powerful as a desktop one. In fact, a laptop RTX 4080 uses the same AD104 GPU as a desktopRTX 4070 Ti. Throw in mobile power limitations and you have a not insignificantly worse chip.

To state the obvious, building a laptop is nothing like building a PC. Building a PC is easy: Just order the parts and fit them all together with loads of space to spare. Not so with a laptop. Parts need to be packed together tightly with densely packed cooling and laid out very strategically. It’s usually not a job for home enthusiasts.

(Image credit: Socket Science on YouTube)

Components inside Socket Science’s DIY gaming laptop

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Finally, the LCD is taken out of the portable monitor and set up in a bespoke 3D printed lid, and the keyboard and touchpad is fitted into the base of the case. None of this is even mentioning the mottled copper finish.

Just writing my very simplified version made me feel a little overwhelmed—I can see why it took Socket Science 14 months. Worth it, though? I’ll stick to spending a little extra on a laptop with a seemingly misnomered chip, myself, but I’m glad I’ve now witnessed a veritable gaming laptop being built in DIY fashion without having to raise a finger.

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