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Aopen 2-Spindle 1557GL SXGA+ Barebone Centrino Notebook Refurb $553

T

tunnel

Member
I came across this Laptop at Newegg but can not find any more info on it. It seems like a great deal for only $553 and $1 FedEx shipping, but does not really say what it comes with. I am not to familiar with barebone laptops.



Link



Rob
 
barebone notebooks are like buying small form factor PCs. It depends, but you usually need to supply your own cpu, hd, memory and OS.
 
I purchased one of the Newegg Aopen 1557 notebooks, the one i received was like new in box, Looked like it was returned or maybe had a problem and was repaired and sold as refurbished. I had to rma the keyboard to Aopen because it came with a French/Canadian version, also has the 9600 64mb Radeon not the 9700 128mb that the new 1557's are equipped with. Still is a very good deal, but you will need a Centrino cpu, optical drive, harddrive, PC2700 memory and the wireless mini pci card to finish the laptop. There are no instructions on putting it together but was quite easy to assemble all the parts.

I've had it up and running for about 2 months now and it performs well, battery life is 4 to 5 hours
 
Originally posted by: Garster
I purchased one of the Newegg Aopen 1557 notebooks, the one i received was like new in box, Looked like it was returned or maybe had a problem and was repaired and sold as refurbished. I had to rma the keyboard to Aopen because it came with a French/Canadian version, also has the 9600 64mb Radeon not the 9700 128mb that the new 1557's are equipped with. Still is a very good deal, but you will need a Centrino cpu, optical drive, harddrive, PC2700 memory and the wireless mini pci card to finish the laptop. There are no instructions on putting it together but was quite easy to assemble all the parts.

I've had it up and running for about 2 months now and it performs well, battery life is 4 to 5 hours
Click to expand...

10
 
Originally posted by: Garster
I purchased one of the Newegg Aopen 1557 notebooks, the one i received was like new in box, Looked like it was returned or maybe had a problem and was repaired and sold as refurbished. I had to rma the keyboard to Aopen because it came with a French/Canadian version, also has the 9600 64mb Radeon not the 9700 128mb that the new 1557's are equipped with. Still is a very good deal, but you will need a Centrino cpu, optical drive, harddrive, PC2700 memory and the wireless mini pci card to finish the laptop. There are no instructions on putting it together but was quite easy to assemble all the parts.

I've had it up and running for about 2 months now and it performs well, battery life is 4 to 5 hours
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info... In light of that, it no longer seems so hot to me. Can you even buy OEM mobile pentiums and heatsinks?
 
Originally posted by: crimson117
Can you even buy OEM mobile pentiums and heatsinks?
Click to expand...
Of course. Though, in the case provided, the processor is actually of the retail (rather than OEM) variety. Much better warranty.

The HSF assembly is most likely included with the barebones unit itself, as dimensions and orientation vary typically among individual manufacturers.
 
Thanks for the information...I'll have to look into what the individual parts would cost compared to purchasing the same "type" of laptop already made.

Rob
 
take into consideration that it will be just as easy to upgrade in th future barring the video chip which is permanent
 
Actually a 1.3 or 1.4 Centrino (Banais) 1mb cache cpu has been selling on ebay in $60 to $80 range lately. Also the cooler comes with the laptop, and it is quite the hightech looking little unit. The link below has quite a few pics of the inside of the laptop and the assembly of it.


1557
 
They put this up on monday night. I purchased the Aopen 1557GL XGA one for $480, so it was gone before you guys saw that one. I was about to get this SXGA one, but I was trying to get it cheaper than $800. It should be here tomorrow. I'm hoping my comes just as good as Garster's and with a surprise radeon mr9700 in there instead of the 9600. These barebone laptops are even smaller than the usual ones you see from Dell. My bro's ECS G551 is 1" thick, 5.5 - 6 lbs, 1.7 ghz pentium M, 30gb hdd, 512mb pc2700, radeon mr9000 64mb, intel 2200bg, dvd/cd burner combo internal drive, and 4 hr battery.

Assembling should be very easy. The most expensive part other than the laptop barebone itself is the pentium M cpu. Those things go very expensive for the retail box versions. The best place to get a pentium M is off eBay. My bro got his 1.7 ghz pentium M off ebay for $80 "buy it now" because one guy was selling all his laptop cpu/ram components really cheap. Also got a 1.3 ghz pentium M off ebay for $50 before that, was claimed to be a sold as is, "working pull from Dell, boots as Pentium M 1.3". That cpu works, but for some reason it won't go past battery saving speed of 600mhz. Could be just problem with my bros laptop bios, so I'm gonna pop in the 1.3 in my new Aopen laptop. Harddrive is not that expensive, such as a samsung 5400rpm 40gb 2.5" can be had for $80. Ram is also cheaper off ebay. My bro got 2 sticks of 256mb pc2700 sodimm for $25 ea (one samsung original, other pny spectek). Wireless Mini PCI card is also a nice price, right now you can get the intel 2200bg mini pci off buy.com for $31.

My proposed build (assuming this refurbished barebone works is)

1.3 ghz Banias - already have
1557GL 15" xga - $480 + $40 ca tax
samsung 5400rpm 8mb 2.5" - $85
2x512mb pc2700 sodimm - $40 - 50 ea off ebay
intel 2200bg mini pci - $35

Total ~ $750

For $750, i would be lucky to get a celeron notebook or averatec athlon xp notebook, and that would still be after rebates.
 
You will still have to add the optical drive as they do not come with them from Newegg. That will set you back about $100 as well.

Also you get no support from Aopen on these unless you are a business. And even then it is iffy. I had a keyboard problem with one of these units and Aopen would not touch it until I faxed them a copy of my business license. Then they told me that Newegg is not authorized to sell these units, so I ended up returning it.
 
Also you get no support from Aopen on these unless you are a business. And even then it is iffy. I had a keyboard problem with one of these units and Aopen would not touch it until I faxed them a copy of my business license. Then they told me that Newegg is not authorized to sell these units, so I ended up returning it.
Click to expand...

I RMA'ed a keyboard with Aopen with no problem from one of these laptops purchased from Newegg, took about a week to get the right one
 
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