Introduction
White box is a term used in the computer industry to mean computers that are built from parts by any non-tier one manufacturer. Dell, Sony, Gateway, HP and Apple are all tier one manufacturers. They have their computers branded with their logos and built from parts they have designed just for their systems. Other companies don't have the luxury of being able to afford custom built components and therefor build computers from general components offered on the market. In the early days of computers, all cases were white and since the tier two companies didn't have their logos printed on the plain cases, they were called white boxes.
While white box computers have been very common for desktop computers for many years, notebooks have been a very different story. Only in the past few years have a number of component manufacturers been building notebook chassis that can be used to construct a completed system from additional parts. These have been offered to the tier two companies for a while, but now these companies are also starting to sell these white box notebook chassis to consumers that are willing to put together their own computer from parts.
The White Box Notebook Chassis
The key to a white box notebook is the chassis. While a desktop system is not defined by the case, a notebook is. The chassis is more like buying a bare bones desktop kit and a monitor. A chassis includes the case, keyboard, pointer, motherboard, and display. This will have a huge determination of what remaining parts can be installed. In order to complete the system, a processor, memory, hard drive, optical drive and software must all be installed into the system. This is far fewer items that one needs to get to put together a desktop system.
Previously, choices were very limited by the manufacturers as to what type of white box chassis were available. Typically a basic thin and light notebook system was available and usually only used the Intel chipset and processors. Today the variety of chassis available to consumers is much larger. This includes ultraportable and desktop replacement sized notebooks as well as support for AMD's mobile processors. This provides consumer with a much wider range of choices for building their own notebook computer.
Advantage of White Box Notebooks
One of the biggest advantages to a white box notebook is the flexibility of component choices. Users have more say in what parts go into the notebook even when compared to the customization offered by companies such as Dell. This means that the user can get a system tailored exactly to what they want to the system to do.
Another advantage to a white box notebook is its upgradability. Most notebooks sold by the major companies are sealed such that only a few parts such as memory can be upgraded. With a white box notebook, the majority of the parts are easily accessible because it has to be in order for the components to be installed in the first place. This allows users to upgrade optical drives and processors without having to go through a manufacturer or buying a new system,
Disadvantages of White Box Notebooks
The first and foremost problem with a white box notebook has to do with warranties. When a complete notebook is purchased from a tier one manufacturer, it comes complete with a warranty for service for any parts that reside in it. White box notebooks are much more complicated. If the system was put together by a store, they may offer a warranty, but they are more than likely to require that each part be warrantied from the manufacturer. This can make things complicated if a part breaks and needs repair.
Another thing that many white box notebooks lack is software. It is up to the purchaser generally to supply all the software. This may not be a problem, but many tier one manufacturers include software bundles that can save a lot of money.
Should You Build a White Box Notebook?
White box notebooks are definitely a much more viable option than they were even a year or two ago. For the majority of users, a white box notebook is likely to cause more issue for them than if they were to buy a major name notebook. The people who benefit the most from the white box notebook are those looking for specific features in a notebook that no major manufacturer supports or those who are already quite familiar with computer hardware such as desktop computers.
Another thing to remember is that even with the expanded options in the base notebook chassis, there are still a lot of limitations to users for parts. This is most evident with the graphics processors. Most white box chassis use integrated graphics that limit the 3D capabilities of them. Software support can also be difficult depending upon the source for the components.
