Can I Turn My Old Laptop Into a Custom PC and Learn Hardware That Way?

If your main goal is learning general PC building, a cheap working desktop from a thrift store, local listing, recycling center, or similar source would be a better starting point. You could take it apart, identify the standard components, rebuild it, and eventually replace parts. A small Mini-ITX desktop would also give you a compact system that remains much easier to customize and upgrade.

You can absolutely disassemble and reassemble the laptop, and that’s useful experience for laptop repair. However, it won’t teach you much about building a standard desktop because laptop hardware uses custom layouts, proprietary connectors, and nonstandard mounting. You might be able to upgrade the storage and possibly the RAM, but many laptops have soldered memory and CPUs.

There’s nothing about your background that would prevent you from trying this. Your experience troubleshooting mechanical and industrial equipment should help. Just treat the laptop as a teardown and repair exercise rather than a gradual desktop upgrade platform, document cable locations, use proper anti-static precautions, and avoid forcing connectors or powering it on while components are exposed.

A custom case is possible, but you’d essentially still have the same laptop motherboard and components in a different enclosure. The case would need to account for the exact mounting points, cooling system, display connections, keyboard, battery, and power circuitry. It could be a fun fabrication project, but it would be a lot of work for little practical benefit.