OCZ has become one of the few companies to hop on the DIY notebook train with its OCZ DIY Gaming Notebook. Though the company famous for its gaming gear has yet to announce a release date or price for the barebones laptop, the specs are fairly decent. Included in the DIY kit one gets a notebook with a 15.4″ WXGA display, 512 MB GeForce 8600 GT, a DVD burner, integrated HD audio, and a motherboard that utilizes the Intel PM965 chipset. The portable computer also features a touchpad, fingerprint scanner, 2 MP webcam, keyboard, and 9-cell battery.

Unfortunately, there is no mention of included wireless or bluetooth. At this time, OCZ has only announced Windows Vista and Windows XP support for the device. Those looking for peace of mind, however, will be pleased. The OCZ Gaming Notebook comes with a 1 year warranty that covers the notebook as well as the LCD and battery. DIY computer builders must add their own CPU, hard drive, and RAM. This is no problem, as the machine will take a Merom or Penyrn Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4 GB RAM, and up to a 7200 RPM SATA 320 GB hard drive. Those with cash to burn can substitute the hard drive for up to a 128 GB SSD.

Though OCZ is not the first to develop a DIY notebook, their DIY Gaming Notebook marks a major milestone in custom laptop building. For years desktop users have been able to build their own machines with parts off the shelf, but this never been the case for notebook owners. Being able to customize a notebook with specific parts, even if it’s just the CPU, hard drive, and memory, gives the consumer greater freedom of choice, something that benefits everyone in the end.

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