This I LIKE -Modular laptop

[Saracen999]

Interesting video from Linus

A completely modular laptop.

Okay, technically, the CPU isn't modular (because, according to Linus and I have no reason to doubt him) laptop processors are only made on solder-on versions) but the motherboard is replaceable, so you can still upgrade.

This video was fascinating. Linus quite rightly asks why all laptops aren't made this way, and I entirely agree with his answer - existing companies just don't want to.

I can only think, right off the top of my head, of two reservations. Firstly, no Ryzen option. Yet. Secondly, at the moment, the only keyboard layout seems to be US-only. Thirdly (yeah, I know I said two, but I thought of another one) this is a fairly major purchase for me and a brand, new company without a stable financial record behind them makes me nervous about company longevity.

But build quality seemed very impressive, and upgradability sure as hell was, providing they survive.

And the modular design didn't seem to add either to the fragility to the unit, or (surprisingly) to the cost. It still looks pretty good to me, and so does the complete unit. All laptops ought to be built on this principle and if they ship to the UK, I'd be very, VERY tempted, despite those three issues.

[kompukare]

There used to be plenty of socketed laptop CPUs.
My ThinkPad T540p might have been one the last to not be PGA though.

EDIT: looks like Haswell MB was the Intel ones:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._generation)_2
(Search for "Socket G" from the end, Haswell MB with Socket G31 is the most recent one).

[[GSV]Trig]

I’ve looked at these, could be interesting, depends on proper pricing though..

[Rob_B]

I've watched a few videos of this and see almost nothing but praise, similar things have been tried but the 'feels' the most likely to succeed.

I tried to look at the site but it wasn't letting me configure anything so I couldn't check the prices vs similar spec'd machines. Watch this space I guess!

[[GSV]Trig]

I managed to get on and spec a machine up, bit Apple like in the way you can buy a cheaper spec and then add bits yourself cheaper than they want to charge you to pre-upgrade.

[Saracen999]

I've watched a few videos of this and see almost nothing but praise, similar things have been tried but the 'feels' the most likely to succeed.

I tried to look at the site but it wasn't letting me configure anything so I couldn't check the prices vs similar spec'd machines. Watch this space I guess!

Hmmm. Strange, because it let me spec a system, right the way through to checkout,though I quit out at that point. I wasn't studying prices (in US$) all that closely but it didn't strike me as especially expensive, for the class of spec, though nor is it a budget system. Or at least the spec I went for wasn't. It was sort-of MS Surface Pro or Dell XPS type pricing,not the £329 high street budget stuff.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The thing is technically many laptops were semi-modular for years....to help with configuring various specifications tiers in the model lineup. So you had socketed CPUs,internal card slots,RAM slots,HDD slots,MXM GPUs,etc but most of these were hard to source by the end users.

[DanceswithUnix]

So, the motherboard is designed to be used outside the laptop case?

I can see a NUC like version being very popular, specially if it sounds like you can just 3D print one.

No sign of a discrete GPU though, that is always a problem with laptops. Even with MXM cards you can't generally upgrade the GPU due to cooling issues.

Nice product though.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

So, the motherboard is designed to be used outside the laptop case?

I can see a NUC like version being very popular, specially if it sounds like you can just 3D print one.

No sign of a discrete GPU though, that is always a problem with laptops. Even with MXM cards you can't generally upgrade the GPU due to cooling issues.

Nice product though.

The MXM modules could have been made to be user upgradeable systems(as many re-use the same laptop chassis over a few generations),but most companies never bothered and used it to make it easier to configure their own systems internally.

[kompukare]

Yes, CAT is correct. First they took all the upgradability away and now one small player wants to bring it back, and we are all getting a bit too excited. I like their concept, but that shouldn't distract from the whole rest of the industry going down the Apple route of throwaway widgets.

Have to say I only ever came across one machine with an MXM card it wasn't pleasant: Was an AiO which someone asked me to look at once it broke. The MXM card was a fairly useless 8400GS which was bumbgate'd. Went looking for another card to fit and the only thing that was available was baked 8400GS. Decided that was way too risky, so we ended up taking the guts of the machine (Intel Quad, RAM, HDD) and putting it a new machine. What I find really bad about the MXM design, at least on that machine, was that despite the motherboard having an Intel GMA950 (or whatever) onboard, when the MXM card was not installed it wouldn't use that. Unsure whether the OEM or Nvidia's spec was to blame for that (but Nvidia were already to blame for the solder defect anyhow).

As for dGPUs and laptops: I am considering ditching my T540p and looking for another used business-class one but this time with Thunderbolt. eGPU boxes always sounded like a cool idea.

I managed to get on and spec a machine up, bit Apple like in the way you can buy a cheaper spec and then add bits yourself cheaper than they want to charge you to pre-upgrade.

Apple? Well, that might have been the case once (for a while at least) but now they only use proprietary parts which are soldered or glued in, precisely to stop this. Infinite greed is how you become a $trillion company.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Yes, CAT is correct. First they took all the upgradability away and now one small player wants to bring it back, and we are all getting a bit too excited. I like their concept, but that shouldn't distract from the whole rest of the industry going down the Apple route of throwaway widgets.

Have to say I only ever came across one machine with an MXM card it wasn't pleasant: Was an AiO which someone asked me to look at once it broke. The MXM card was a fairly useless 8400GS which was bumbgate'd. Went looking for another card to fit and the only thing that was available was baked 8400GS. Decided that was way too risky, so we ended up taking the guts of the machine (Intel Quad, RAM, HDD) and putting it a new machine. What I find really bad about the MXM design, at least on that machine, was that despite the motherboard having an Intel GMA950 (or whatever) onboard, when the MXM card was not installed it wouldn't use that. Unsure whether the OEM or Nvidia's spec was to blame for that (but Nvidia were already to blame for the solder defect anyhow).

As for dGPUs and laptops: I am considering ditching my T540p and looking for another used business-class one but this time with Thunderbolt. eGPU boxes always sounded like a cool idea.



Apple? Well, that might have been the case once (for a while at least) but now they only use proprietary parts which are soldered or glued in, precisely to stop this. Infinite greed is how you become a $trillion company.

Yep,and now you are seeing MS doing the same. Just make arbitrary decisions on what hardware is supported,so you can throw away more perfectly fine hardware. Then they make all the noise about caring about the environment whilst all the e-waste gets dumped in poorer countries.

Maybe these companies need to be taxed for their massive contributions towards expanding toxic landfill sites!

[Zhaoman]

Agree that even just 10 years ago a lot of laptops had replaceable batteries, RAM, Wifi cards etc as standard. Were they a bit bulkier and uglier than the ultra-thin laptops of today? Yes but I don't mind that sacrifice personally. For me, a replaceable battery should be an absolute minimum when it comes to portable devices but so many products lack this basic requirement these days. I like the look of the Framework and I like the idea of the flexible add-in cards so I hope they are still going strong when I come to buy my next laptop. Hopefully they are a success and other laptop manufacturers start putting these basic features back into their products.

[Spud1]

I like the idea and given a few years to refine the product, it may turn into something I would consider buying.

Their #1 issue at the moment I think is size - if you put aside Linus's excitement for a moment, the current gen is actually quite thick compared to equivalent laptops in the same price/performance range - 2-3mm more than the competition doesn't sound a lot, but in practice is more than you'd think. This will be a necessity right now when using more off-the-shelf and socketable components, and also some of the tricks they use to make it modular.

That's not to say this isn't an impressive device and a good step towards more repairable less e-wastey laptops, which is all a good thing - but for me, this isn't quite ready yet.

one to watch with interest though!

[DanceswithUnix]

The MXM modules could have been made to be user upgradeable systems(as many re-use the same laptop chassis over a few generations),but most companies never bothered and used it to make it easier to configure their own systems internally.

Yep, I'm sure these people could make a gaming or workstation laptop with upgradeable graphics. Just needs a standard cavity with PCIe, power and airflow well defined. Somewhere to bolt a heatpipe coming out of the GPU would probably be needed. Tricky, but I'm sure it is possible.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Yep, I'm sure these people could make a gaming or workstation laptop with upgradeable graphics. Just needs a standard cavity with PCIe, power and airflow well defined. Somewhere to bolt a heatpipe coming out of the GPU would probably be needed. Tricky, but I'm sure it is possible.

They could have just made it a self contained plug-in module with the cooling integrated into it. But there is more money in people ditching perfectly fine laptops apparently!

[DanceswithUnix]

They could have just made it a self contained plug-in module with the cooling integrated into it. But there is more money in people ditching perfectly fine laptops apparently!

Looking at desktop GPUs, the vast majority of the volume they use is heatsinks and fans. Perhaps if they went back to something the size of the old optical drive bays on older laptops.