I am waiting for my Framework 13 11th gen intel motherboard to come in and was wondering if I can boot it without its official keyboard.
I have a plan to use the widely used 3d printable mainboard case with the attachment of a battery and speakers on the back of said case. With this I’m going to have a 14in portable monitor that will connect via usb c for power and display and I have my own ram and m.2 drive.
It hasn’t come in yet, but was hoping I wouldn’t have to buy the keyboard along with it? I do have a usb c keyboard I could use for it if needed.
Edit: I will also have a WIFI card and antennas for it
Short answer is yes.
The mainboard can boot without any of the rest of the laptop around it. That being said, the power supply is hit or miss unless you’re using the stock one as there is a period in the boot up sequence that it will re-negotiate with other power supplies and if it takes just a little too long it will fail (Reboot and try again endlessly).
As far as turning the device on, there is a hardware power button on every mainboard, and when you do coax it to life, there is a “standalone” mode in the UEFI that will stop looking for the external battery, keyboard, screen, etc.. Additionally, the standard “Boot when attached to power” is an option.
An additional item of note, is that the 11th gen (thanks intel) has a flaw that it will drain the CMOS battery, so if you’re not using it regularly, it will drain and forget all settings, and need to “start fresh” again.
Edit: Additional information
Great this is exactly what I wanted to know, thank you for the help!