Hello!
If I understand correctly, removing unnecessary plug-in cards from the unit helps to save energy.
Are there any dummy cards available to fill the unused slots?
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The USB-C cards are just pass-throughs. They shouldn’t be able to cause any power draw.
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I was just wondering about this as well, for two reasons:
- Dummy cards could be cheaper than buying USB-C cards that are not used
- To hack custom cards
My use case would be to place a Yubikey or Nitrokey inside. I usually have one plugged in to my laptop at all times, and even though they make tiny ones that hardly stick out, it would be neat to hack a dummy card and have the side of the laptop completely flush.
I remember somewhere someone shared the 3D printed kind of expansion card chassis? Maybe can 3D print those?
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When a card isn’t being used it should theoretically go into a sleep mode where it consumes negligible amounts of power.
There have been some issues over time with that, however Framework has said that with the 13th gen Intel based laptop and the latest versions of the HDMI/DisplayPort cards the issues are fixed and power draw should be no higher with cards than without. On the AMD based laptops it sounds like the main issue is USB-A cards in the slots closest to the screen.
Even if the USB-C cards consume no power and thus can be used as “dummy cards”, that’s still an unnecessary expense and electronics waste where just an empty shell is needed. A truly empty shell/card option will definitely be helpful.
I feel like a USB-C card would be less of a waste than a purely empty card, you’re creating and shipping all that plastic/metal that doesn’t actually have a purpose.
They would be great for hack projects though!
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That would be an interesting 3d printer project.
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