Given the amount of folks who would like to be able to use 4 USB-C ports without having to use all 4 expansion slots [1], and the power drain problems with some cards, I’d say it would be a good idea to remove the two slots closest to the screen and replace them with 4 fixed USB-C ports. If you space them exactly the same as the mac-books this would allow for re-use of a bunch of mac accessories.
The USB C Expansion card is a simple extension, it shouldnt add any power consumption. Also, this would be challenging, afaik, because there are no more PCIe lanes for thunderbolt.
Just curious: What do you need 4 USB C connectors for?
Edit: This is also not a great idea, since a benefit of the extension cards is, that you can replace a connector easily if it fails. If you remove the cards and add 4 ports directly, it would be a lot harder to fix those.
As @devryd said, the USB C expansion cards shouldn’t add to the power consumption at all. What you are probably really asking for is a card that converts a single thunderbolt connector to two usb-c connectors which I believe has been asked for in an expansion card and I can see making sense for a future card in the lineup.
IMO, if you need more than 4 slots then get a dock because it doesn’t make sense to have cables running all around the laptop when you can have only one going to a dock.
The whole point of a laptop like this is the flexibility/upgradability.
Personally I would buy a framework if it supported dual usb-c as I have a real need for more usb-c ports (multiple SDRs during field testing). I can easily have the need to…
bam, 4 already. Could I use 4 modules? Sure but then I can’t do anything else… Add in some USB-A for an external drive/mouse, or Ethernet for something hardwired (real concern if in a high-threat WiFI environment with deauth attacks flying)…
Is this a common use case? For most laptops I’d say no… for something like a framework?
Well if this is the Jeep Wrangler of laptops - nobody is going to complain that a Camry sucks because you can’t easily mod the suspension and take it offroad - but it’d be a valid critique of a Wrangler.
I dont see the point in changing the modularity of this laptop, there will be no extra sells from such as move. And it will kill a super feature of beeing able to evolve te laptop.
Especially 99% of the population don t have the skills and the will even to open the framework laptop; modules are the answer to this fact. The fact that you ask for modification, is one more proof that there are many use cases…that modules actually answer. In 3 years from now everyone will need a module with a SSD and HDMI + usb C …who knows why…and it will be possible. It is great keep it like this.
Just make a dual USB C module like proposed in another thread and your done.
The current solution, a 2€ adapter on aliexpress :
