Janktop IV Is a DIY Laptop with Desktop Components

The PC-building scene is still alive and well, thanks to decades of standardization and the wide availability of parts. But the same isn't true for the laptops and that is unfortunate. Because of their form factor, it is difficult for manufacturers to make laptops "modular" in the same way as desktops. Hackaday.io user slightlylessstripeysnake wanted to change that and so they built a DIY laptop with desktop components called Janktop IV.

Take one look at Janktop IV and you'll see that it doesn't have the sleek form factor of a MacBook. In fact, it is quite chunky. But it is far more portable than a conventional gaming PC, which makes it ideal for LAN parties (are those still a thing?) and gaming in a cramped dorm room. Unlike most laptops — even gaming laptops — that have low-power processors and weak onboard graphics, Janktop IV uses "real" desktop parts. That means it can utilize the same high-performance components as a gaming PC. It even features soft line watercooling.

Janktop IV's chassis is a combination of laser-cut acrylic and 3D-printed plastic. Like a normal laptop, it is a clamshell design with a folding LCD screen. The keyboard is also a flat laptop-style model. At this time, Janktop IV contains a mini-ITX motherboard, an AMD Ryzen R5 2600x CPU, 2x 8GB 3000MHz Vengeance LPX DDR4 RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1060 3GB graphics card. But slightlylessstripeysnake plans to upgrade that to an AMD Ryzen R9 5950x CPU, 32GB of RAM, and a Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card.

The only downside to Janktop IV, aside from its considerable bulk, is that it doesn't contain a battery. There wasn't enough room to incorporate a battery large enough to power this power-hungry laptop for more than a few minutes and slightlylessstripeysnake didn't want to make the chassis any bigger than it already is. But as long as a power outlet is nearby, this is great for gaming on the go.