Earlier this season we brought you an article on building your own workstation. While not for the terminally clumsy, putting together the handful of parts that make up a modern computer has gotten easier and easier. And we still get to save a lot of money in the process.

But building your own laptop, for all intents and purposes, has never really been a thing (none of the best graphic design laptops are built in this way, for example). Why? Because the miniaturisation required to create a modern laptop necessitated a lot of custom design so the parts were rarely “industry standard” as desktop components (such as the best computers for graphic design) have long been.

So follow along in this short tutorial as I build my very first laptop, the Framework 16” model. This unit normally sells in its assembled form for $1,699US with Windows 11 installed from the Framework website. The DIY version gives us a rather significant $300 discount as it sells for $1,399. But keep in mind that is without any operating system included. A great option if you plan on installing some flavour of Linux, which is free. Or if you can transfer an existing seat of Windows from another computer. It’s less of a savings if you then need to buy a new license for Windows 11 at $139US. But heck, it’s still a $160+ savings for about an hour of work.

Now plug the mid plate cable back in. Again, a gentle touch aligning it properly, and it should go right in.

Installing all of these elements is as easy as gently sliding the parts under a small lip (one at the top for keyboard elements, and another lower down for the trackpad items). When you release the item a magnet pulls it down and holds it in place. I specifically didn’t say “locks” them in place because the whole configuration can be popped up and reconfigured whenever you wish. But once placed, I did find it hard than expected to lift up again. This is probably good, and keeps it more structurally intact.