@Iann_C Notice that the 2€ splitter from AliExpress only has data on 1 of the 2 ports.
The other is power.
You will not be able to use 2 things on the same port. and probably not even charge the laptop with it.
It will however possibly let you connect a microphone, or camera, or other data device to one port, and charge your phone or something from the other.
People buy a 2000€ laptop but the usb c adapter has to cost 2€?
I wouldnt trust that thing, or most other products from aliexpress for whats worth, to not totally kill my laptop within days.
Do you trust these devices to have endured stress testing and have a good quality control in production?
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Just be careful with these splitters, if they manage to work and the laptop can get its 20V from the power supply, the other port is also at 20V on VBUS (which will kill most things instantly).
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Even if it’s just USB2, it’s quite helpful to connect the mouse and some low speed extra thing (E.g. a HDD) onto the same port of the laptop.
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I would be interested in double USB c and USB a if possible knowing the limitations. People can better determine and spec it out without needing to carry USB hubs.
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Are you saying two USB-C ports (or two USB-A) on one expansion card, or one USB-C and one USB-A on the same card? I’m okay with either if not both!
Also, welcome to the community!
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Sadly there is basically no room inside the expansion connector, and it is deemed impossible.
Fortunately, with the 6-slot Framework 16 announced, this is no longer going to be a significant issue.
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I was under the impression it was possible, but unfortunately the USB-C port(s) wouldn’t be able to charge the laptop with, but you could still physically build it? Eh, doesn’t matter. I’ve never run out of room and a hub for the use cases of many plug-in devices is fine with me.
Ain’t that the truth though. Very interested in how this goes, and if the AMD version will have USB4 on more than two ports by then. Likely not though, knowing the current architecture. But there’s always the future full of upgrades!
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At least two of them are given 2 lanes of PCIe instead of 4.
I wont mind a few “USB/only” ports. The slot can be keyed in such a way that only USB (and audio jack) cards can be inserted.
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Because the reality is that very few (or basically under no circumstances) do a person actually need all the ports to be Thunderbolt. If you have 5 PCIe cards plugged into 5 different bays, maybe get a desktop PC instead.
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While this do limit the position of port placement, I do not think it is a deal breaker since you can still get to have options (e.g., two on left and one on right with Thunderbolt connectivity for displays/charging), rest are regular USBs. You get to have more ports this way, and you get to reduce board complexity.
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This is fair, though even with reduction of complexity, one of the big fun draws for Framework is being able to charge from all of their ports. Otherwise, only two Thunderbolt ports is totally fine, I just think it’ll be cool to have more in the future. Only think I can think about using more than 2 is wanting high-speed transfer from two flash drives while having an eGPU plugged in. My use case, even if I were to have an eGPU, would still be fine with lowered transfer speeds… because it would not be often that that would be happening, and the speed is already fine for small files.
Otherwise, realistically, I don’t think more than two is necessary to push for. It’s nice to have it, but eh. For AMD boards, its really not a bad thing to only have two USB4 / 4 PCIe lanes, etc. I wouldn’t mind it either 
In any case, the SIX ports on the new FW16 is going to be pretty damn good along with all the other features it has. I’m excited to see them, and I’m toying with getting a second laptop already 
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Flash Drives operate on USB 3.2 or whatsnot. They don’t run on Thunderbolt.
We can still keep charging from both side. And also.
“USB-C 3.2 with Display Port Alt Mode and USB Power Delivery”
is a thing. You can still charge and do display out and have fast USB on the port. Just not Thunderbolt. This will work if the device do not support Thunderbolt (e.g., graphics card-attached USB-C on gaming laptops, Pentium netbooks)
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Yeah I guess that does it then. Power really can come from any port you like. Either way, FW is still pushing and blazing a new path that I hope gets the mainstream notice it deserves. No other company/product has this much variability choice afaik. Imagine two Macbook owners trying to charge from any port or replace their unused USB port for a headphone jack…
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For some reason it won’t let me reply to you King_Inf3rno. I would like cards with two USB a or two USB c. Mainly because most devices like keyboard’s, mice, and peripherals are USB a. So for my use I would need a hub. I have a keyboard and mouse plugged in, USB mic and power. I can’t wait for the 16 in model though but still feel having just USB cards with dual ports would be nice.
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I was a little confused with the UI at first too, but if you highlight the text in my message you wish to reply to, a small “Quote” option box will appear. Clicking it will start a reply draft with the reply already automatically embedded.
I thought this would be nice as well, but looking at the dimensions of the cards, two USB-A ports would be rather close. Any two given peripherals you’d want to plug in would likely need slimmed connection ports, and not the rubber that usually encases the USB plug metal (i.e. those little thumb drives that the plug is also the body of the device) since they would likely get in the way of each other. Moreover, there is almost no extra room for a second controller inside especially with a second USB-C port (let alone a second USB-A), so data bandwidth would be split between the ports.
Honestly, this is your best bet. One of those really nice hubs like this one with an internal NVMe enclosure, HDMI, USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.1 Gen 2, etc would really do great.
If your workstation setup is using all 4 but you want to reduce port usage, I would look into one of those KB/mouse combos that only use one wireless dongle. The FW isn’t totally designed for full desktop usage, and the onboard mic is decent for portability, but if the USB mic is a necessity for you, then yes a hub is necessary.
If the hub is annoying even at a stationary desk, that FW16 coming later this year is probably going to be your best bet for a more rounded desktop workstation for you! It truly does look like a beast!
Even so, ports are blazing fast as it is, so a good external hub at a desktop configuration is fine in my book, but YMMV. 16" certainly is nice as well if the onboard monitor is your main/only monitor at the desk.
(Sorry for the novel!)
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This is great. Thanks!
I agree, it isn’t something I could do, but I am more worried about A, to be honest. That way a keyboard and mouse could be plugged into one.
I just brought out my TB4 Dock for my laptop again and trying to get that to work through my KVM wasn’t fun but I have it working now. So if I am traveling and need something, I have a little travel USB C dock with like 3 additional A ports, ethernet, and like SD card if needed.
I can never go away from my Moonlander Mk1 now. The ergonomic keyboard is the best thing ever, but it doesn’t have a mouse combo with it.
This right here. I can’t do the 13 in. I think the 16 should be great for me and I have been telling all my friends. I am trying to offload a Razer Blade Pro with a 3070 so that I can try to pick up the 16 once it releases.
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That is a nutty keyboard, sir. I have never tried one of these types of ergonomic KB’s, and I am skeptic enough to not buy one just to test it. I gotta find one I can demo for a couple hours and see if it works for me. That one looks really nice!
Definitely tell your friends! That ol’ Razer probably is gonna be great in someone you know’s hands, see if you can get someone to swipe it off of you for a good price. As for your FW13, keep it. Its a great little portable ultrabook for on-the-go stuff, and if the FW16 is what you typically go with even for flights/car trips despite its larger size, the FW13 can still be used as a nice little home server! You can even gut it and stick the board in the newly announced Cooler Master case (like I plan to do with my 1260p when my Ryzen 7 board kit arrives) and mount it behind a monitor for a nice streamlined server workstation / NAS controller
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It took like a week to get used to it, but now I can’t go back. It works great for when I need tmux because I just make a layer for it.
I saw but I don’t have one yet haha
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Yeah I thought the CM case was for the 13 in boards for those that upgrade. I meant I didn’t have a 13, but I’ll be getting a 16, I know that.
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Yeah, its the FW13 board case, with no room for the battery (but you can still attach one apparently, or use the 3D STL model on the forum here and edit it for battery room, or wait for their battery enclosure, etc). It’ll be a good stationary minimalist server PC for me!
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