Laptop without a preinstalled OS

Closed Thread
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Tai Kok Tsui
    Posts
    144

    Laptop without a preinstalled OS

    Am looking to get myself a new netbook or lightweight laptop in the next few months which I will mainly be using on the go. Previously what I have done for laptops like this is take an old one of my own, wipe it and replace with a custom OS (either a Linux build or a stripped down version of XP) which obviously helps to speed up the computer enough for what I need it for.

    However I now find myself in the position where I have no usable old laptops to turn to (actually a lie but the one I do have would require me to replace the keyboard and the screen for it, I think that one is destined for home server use).

    Does anyone know of a place where I can buy a reasonable cheap spec laptop that is lightweight and has reasonable battery but does not come with Windows or MacOS installed and has a price saving as a result. I would imagine it would be easy enough to go to Golden Computer Center or one of the others and get them to build a desktop with some decent cheap components from scratch, however I am loathed to do the same thing with a laptop as they are much tricky to build (well not tricky to build but build in a way that doesn't overheat or have battery issues or a fan that could keep a narcoleptic awake).

    I am aware I could try finding a second hand one and just wipe and install the new OS on that but I prefer to know the background of a laptop a little better before I buy it, hence why I used my own old ones previously.


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    2,161

    Stamp or Centrafield are the two major DIY laptop vendors here, I wouldn't expect any savings at all. Importing a bulk production laptop from the US would be cheaper.