As others have mentioned an adapter from the expansion bay PCIEx8 port to a regular PCIEx8 (x16 slot mechanically) desktop port would be awesome. This combined with a standard ATX or MATX power supply would make DIY or even just affordable eGPUs easier to get and make more sense without the bandwidth limitation of Thunderbolt. Getting the full performance out of a desktop card without the current limitations of eGPUs would be the best of both worlds. An adapter would also be great to have as a way to prototype or test PCIe devices externally as well as just running devices that are too niche to develop a dedicated expansion module for.
On another note, it would be very nice to see a PCIE switch developed for things like an extra battery with the ability to use both external PCIe devices or having a dGPU as well as external PCIe for things like 10gig networking.
An external adapter and a PCIe switch would go a really long way in expanding the capabilities of this laptop beyond anything else on the market.
@Philam
Asus did releases the flow series with xg mobile which I had one with the flow x13. The pcie port is good in terms of performance but switching it on/off through the utility software is a nightmare if u need to do it multiple times a day. Though i could technically update from 3070/3080 to 6980xt and 4090 for the same laptop, and parts are widely available from asusparts.eu to normal customers, which I was able to easily replace the blown speaker on my own.
However with XMG, they probably didnt design the watet cooling bit its all down to availability from Clevo (previous Alianware manufactor that provides oem models to brands like Sager, XMG, OriginPC, but mostly Asian oems like Hasee, thunderobot,machenike & mechrevo). Clevo usually doesnt provide much flexibility, and logically wont be motivated nor have financial interest on solutions that generates less sales. The water cooling solution is sold to a few asian oems as well with a magnetic connector
Regardless I do really like the idea of framework and do plan to replace my 175w 4080 rog scar16(will sell it off and not generate ewaste) to a framework16, however i dont think there is much more that can be done from asus(bond to retain sales figure with 30%share in gaming laptops)/xmg(options are limited to whatever Clevo provides).
Looking forward to 16" model with numpad.
Have been really considering XPS 15 with OLED screen, but lack of numpad is really annoying.
After 15 years of using one daily for IP address assignment of new network devices, recording serial numbers, and excel spreadsheet entry, I just can not live without a numpad.
Thunderbolt 4 is a very useful universal connector and having 4 of them is a joy. Ability to charge from any side, Thunderbolt dock and generic USB-C Port replicators for specialty interface (RS232, RJ11, RJ45, HDMI, SD card…) has now been almost perfected.
Small expansion graphics card can be useful for video encoding. But for storage expansion, there is always Thunderbolt dock.
@Mapleleaf Magnesium can be used to make a metallic frame which is lighter than aluminum. Similar strength just susceptible to organic corrosion if not treated.
Externally I can understand, that avoids the same space constraints. Internally with the rest of the components? No, I guarantee most will want more battery vs a SATA drive. Now that 2tb NVMe drives have dropped to about the same price as SATA, there is scant reason to purchase a 2.5in SSD. I would never purchase a 2.5in HDD for bulk storage either. I haven’t found one that isn’t SMR.
@Shiroudan Precisely, so I was wondering if that was a mistake?
He seems to mention it a bit “too casually”, like that was always the case (which is not), and moreover it is not mentioned anywhere else.
Ah sorry, I didn’t read up on the conversation before responding c:
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a mistake xD, wouldn’t be the first time for Linus!
Also strange for it to be the only detail in such a detail sparse video…
I guess we can only wait, in the end it doesn’t really matter for us right now
Can the trackpad module be centered while the keyboard module is to the left (and with the numpad to the right of the keyboard)? None of the product images or animated concepts demonstrate this possibility, but it’s a configuration I would personally want to use.
Absolutely fantastic that this is in development. I am amazed at your numpad keyboard solution. It will definitely be my next computer. I hope there will be a DIY version for more fun.
Thanks a lot, very interesting on the providers. The Asus flow connection takes some time which must be a pain, but it is the proof that thunderbolt 5 is possible already. My issue with it was that they used it then to connect Notebook GPUs… (strong wattage, yes, but still).
Overall, unfortunately the laptop industry has a couple of issues right now: Apple designed its revolutionary new silicon, but didn’t share with Windows obviously (so we do NOT have unified memory, higher efficiency, higher battery life, no noise, etc.). Fine. But then NVIDIA (and also AMD a bit) went for a “power through higher wattage” strategy (soo disappointing). Gamers are now stuck with quite expensive Notebook GPUs that are not on the same level as Desktop GPUs - at all (RTX 4080 with high wattage is of course still a really powerful and great option available to be honest). But I am still remembering the Pascal times… My strategy now is to grow a beard while waiting for thunderbolt 5 ;).
I have a hope now that framework may be the solution. My personal favourite would be what TronTheMiner pointed out - a diy thunderbolt 5. So thanks to framework we would not only get upgradable graphics, but also a workaround for forcing thunderbolt 5 into existence. Then this company would have solved all the “problems” solvable.
