DIY Laptop Kit or Assembled? How to Choose
The same modular laptop arrives as a box of parts or as a tested machine. What a DIY laptop kit saves, what it asks of you, and who should pick which.
In short: Choose the DIY kit if you want to save the $79 assembly fee, are happy to spend about an hour with a small screwdriver, and will install your own operating system. Choose assembled if you want the laptop tested and ready to use the day it arrives.
Every laptop in our builder can arrive two ways: assembled and tested by us, or as a DIY kit with each part in its own box. The parts are identical. What changes is who puts them together, who installs the operating system, and what the box contains when it reaches you.
What you get with each
| Assembled | DIY kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Parts plus $79 for assembly | Parts only |
| Who assembles it | We do | You do |
| Operating system | Installed and updated, if you chose one | None installed |
| Testing | Burn-in test of the whole machine | Each part checked against your order |
| Time to first boot | Minutes after unboxing | About an hour, longer the first time |
The price difference is exactly the assembly line in the builder. Switch "How it arrives" between the two options and watch the total change; nothing else in your build moves.
What assembly involves
A modular laptop is designed to be opened, so assembly is closer to building a set of furniture than to soldering anything. In order, you will:
- Fit the memory modules into their slots on the mainboard.
- Seat the storage drive in its M.2 slot and fix it with its screw.
- Connect the display and keyboard deck to the chassis, if they ship separately.
- Slide the expansion cards into the bays on the sides.
- Close the laptop, connect the charger and install an operating system from a USB stick.
None of it needs special skill, but it does need patience and a clean, well-lit table. Our assembly guide walks through each step and the mistakes people make the first time.
Who should choose the kit
- You want to understand your machine. Putting it together once means you know exactly how to open it again when you want more memory or a bigger drive.
- You install your own operating system anyway. If you were going to wipe our install and put your own Linux distribution on it, the assembled option buys you less.
- You would rather keep the assembly fee. $79 is a real saving on a laptop you can build in an evening.
Who should choose assembled
- You need it working on day one. An assembled laptop has already been powered on, burned in and updated.
- You do not want to handle bare components. Memory and drives are robust, but a dropped screw inside a chassis is annoying, and a bent connector is worse.
- You want one warranty for the whole machine. An assembled laptop carries our 12 month warranty as a unit. A kit's parts each carry their maker's warranty, and damage caused while assembling is not a defect.
What we check before a kit ships
A kit is not just a pile of boxes. Each part is checked against your order and the compatibility rules the builder uses, so the memory type matches the mainboard, the screen matches the chassis size and the charger is big enough for your configuration. If a part in your kit does not fit, that is our mistake to fix, not yours.
Can I switch later?
Yes, as long as the order has not shipped. Contact us with your order ID and we will tell you the difference to pay or refund. After delivery, the parts are yours to rearrange however you like; that is the point of a modular laptop.
Paying for either
Both options go through the same checkout. Pick a coin, send the exact amount within 2 hours and follow the order page as it moves from sourcing to packing (for a kit) or building (for an assembled laptop). The Bitcoin guide covers the payment in detail, and the presets show both prices for every configuration.