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Also theoretically a standardized mainboard design that will allow you to upgrade the CPU + chipset at some point down the road, but of course this is contingen

Also theoretically a standardized mainboard design that will allow you to upgrade the CPU + chipset at some point down the road, but of course this is contingent on Framework following through.

jandrese 6y ago
Something like "ATX for laptops" is long overdue IMHO. Specify the exact dimensions of the board, mounting holes, power hookup, location of the CPU (for cooling configuration), video connector spec, even a side panel that fits into a cutout on the case. You could separate the screen and keyboard purchase from the motherboard purchase. And honestly, I have a lot of old laptops with perfectly usable screens and keyboards that are gathering dust because the CPU is hopelessly obsolete. Had they been built like this I could have significantly cut back on e-waste and saved money on the upgrade. You could even have enterprising people building thin clients or dumb terminals out of them. Having a unified spec would enable a lot of niche products. Imagine a Raspberry Pi board that you stuff the Pi into that has the right hookups for a standard laptop case for example. There would be a whole industry for cheapo SBCs that you can stuff in a used laptop case to make an ultra-cheap web browsing machine.
- kitsunesoba 6y ago
  > And honestly, I have a lot of old laptops with perfectly usable screens and keyboards that are gathering dust because the CPU is hopelessly obsolete. Yep. I have a ~2008 15.4" Dell laptop with a 1920x1200 screen that's pretty decent even by modern standards and tons of ports that'd be a perfectly serviceable (if a bit bulky) if it could be outfitted with a modern 15-30W TDP CPU to cut down on heat and boost battery life to something more reasonable.
nrp 6y ago
That is right! We're committed to offering upgrade mainboards. We follow CPU roadmaps closely and keep in contact with the companies you would expect to be necessary for that.

Also theoretically a standardized mainboard design that will allow you to upgrade the CPU + chipset at some point down the road, but of course this is contingent on Framework following through.

jandrese 6y ago

Something like "ATX for laptops" is long overdue IMHO. Specify the exact dimensions of the board, mounting holes, power hookup, location of the CPU (for cooling configuration), video connector spec, even a side panel that fits into a cutout on the case. You could separate the screen and keyboard purchase from the motherboard purchase. And honestly, I have a lot of old laptops with perfectly usable screens and keyboards that are gathering dust because the CPU is hopelessly obsolete. Had they been built like this I could have significantly cut back on e-waste and saved money on the upgrade. You could even have enterprising people building thin clients or dumb terminals out of them. Having a unified spec would enable a lot of niche products. Imagine a Raspberry Pi board that you stuff the Pi into that has the right hookups for a standard laptop case for example. There would be a whole industry for cheapo SBCs that you can stuff in a used laptop case to make an ultra-cheap web browsing machine.

kitsunesoba 6y ago
> And honestly, I have a lot of old laptops with perfectly usable screens and keyboards that are gathering dust because the CPU is hopelessly obsolete. Yep. I have a ~2008 15.4" Dell laptop with a 1920x1200 screen that's pretty decent even by modern standards and tons of ports that'd be a perfectly serviceable (if a bit bulky) if it could be outfitted with a modern 15-30W TDP CPU to cut down on heat and boost battery life to something more reasonable.

nrp 6y ago

That is right! We're committed to offering upgrade mainboards. We follow CPU roadmaps closely and keep in contact with the companies you would expect to be necessary for that.