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The idea of the modular CPU / GPU on this is appealing if only for the idea that your GPU could be upgraded yearly instead of having to shell out for an entire

by bochoh 7y ago

The idea of the modular CPU / GPU on this is appealing if only for the idea that your GPU could be upgraded yearly instead of having to shell out for an entire machine. https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/283336-alienwares-latest-laptop-comes-with-upgradeable-cpu-gpu-options https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/283336-alienwares-latest-...

toast0 7y ago
The idea is nice, but basically zero of these laptop ideas have turned into a worthwhile execution. Intel sockets offer at most one upgrade cycle, and of late require a firmware update for that, so really the upgrade potential is from a low end chip to a high end chip in the same architecture, but the socketed systems often cost a lot more than a soldered system. The GPU modules are also subject to the continued viability of the form factor. Recent trends for reduced GPU power consumption make this more likely to hold up, but still kind of iffy. Something with real potential for upgrades would be a standardized motherboard size, including z-height, and cooler positioning; then you could swap in a new board and reuse the chasis/display. Of course, you would need to standardize the type and position of display connections and connectors for keyboard and pointing device and battery and what not. I don't think the manufacturers would gain much though --- if it was useful to them for this to be standard across models and model years, we would see some of them with an internal standard instead of every model being similar but not the same on the inside.
gwbas1c 7y ago
> GPU could be upgraded yearly That only works if there's no improvements other than pure speed. In reality, the bus and socket improve too. For example, if your GPU socket is new, and your GPU is an early generation, a die shrink due to transistor shrink might be pin compatible but faster. Otherwise, the next generation of GPU is probably going to require a different socket and/or bus, ect, ect, that it's uneconomic to support merely exchanging the GPU.

by bochoh 7y ago

toast0 7y ago

The idea is nice, but basically zero of these laptop ideas have turned into a worthwhile execution. Intel sockets offer at most one upgrade cycle, and of late require a firmware update for that, so really the upgrade potential is from a low end chip to a high end chip in the same architecture, but the socketed systems often cost a lot more than a soldered system. The GPU modules are also subject to the continued viability of the form factor. Recent trends for reduced GPU power consumption make this more likely to hold up, but still kind of iffy. Something with real potential for upgrades would be a standardized motherboard size, including z-height, and cooler positioning; then you could swap in a new board and reuse the chasis/display. Of course, you would need to standardize the type and position of display connections and connectors for keyboard and pointing device and battery and what not. I don't think the manufacturers would gain much though --- if it was useful to them for this to be standard across models and model years, we would see some of them with an internal standard instead of every model being similar but not the same on the inside.

gwbas1c 7y ago

> GPU could be upgraded yearly That only works if there's no improvements other than pure speed. In reality, the bus and socket improve too. For example, if your GPU socket is new, and your GPU is an early generation, a die shrink due to transistor shrink might be pin compatible but faster. Otherwise, the next generation of GPU is probably going to require a different socket and/or bus, ect, ect, that it's uneconomic to support merely exchanging the GPU.