[HN Gopher] Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive - Connectors ___________________________________________________________________ Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive - Connectors Author : jonah-archive Score : 49 points Date : 2023-12-06 21:00 UTC (2 hours ago) (HTM) web link (frame.work) (TXT) w3m dump (frame.work) | samcat116 wrote: | I remember when I used to do laptop repairs in college (we were a | certified Apple repair center), Apple had a great training on all | the different types of internal connectors, how you should handle | them, etc. Some of them are really, really fragile. | FirmwareBurner wrote: | _> Some of them are really, really fragile._ | | When you do your own repairs especially the first time, you | find that out the hard way, and then you're more careful the | next time ;) | dthakur wrote: | Good article. Ended too early. Let's keep going. | Robelius wrote: | I appreciate seeing a hint at the history of the design changes, | but now I'm left wanting more. Seeing a cross-section view (CT | scan or CAD) that shows how the connectors are mating or secured | would probably help me visualize how these are being used. | FirmwareBurner wrote: | My biggest disapointment on the Framework 16 is that I imagined | the bay to be hot-swappable, or at least cold-swappable, like you | keep the GPU unit in the laptop while it's on your desk docked to | your monitor, and when yo head out, you swap the GPU module for a | battery module and off you go. | | At least that's what I hoped for, but no, that's not how it | works, you need some screwing and unscrewing to swap them out, it | not something that can be quickly done before you leave the | house. Sad. Maybe the next model. | organsnyder wrote: | That sounds like a better use-case for an eGPU. | FirmwareBurner wrote: | The module on the framework basically is an e-gpu except | directly on PCIE instead of thunderbolt. Why they couldn't | make it quick swappable I don't know. | jacoblambda wrote: | Hotswappable PCIE is really hard to do right, especially if | you are using a non-standard connector. You have to | guarantee that pins connect and disconnect in the right | order or you risk damaging equipment. | | And on top of that, while a connector might be perfectly | safe with cold swap (i.e. power off), you can damage the | connector if the circuit is completed and power starts | flowing but you only have partial contact. | | So it was probably preferable to just release a coldswap | versions and try dabbling with a hotswap capable chassis in | the future. | DeIlliad wrote: | Speaking from experience, there is a big performance | difference connecting your eGPU over PCIE and connecting | over Thunderbolt. Usually people just take the performance | hit with Thunderbolt because of convenience and they are | usually using overpowered desktop GPUs but there are eGPU | PCIE connectors for people who want the most performance. | | Because this is already using a mobile chip with lower | performance, Framework probably didn't want to tank | performance any more by going with the lower bandwidth | Thunderbolt option. | user_7832 wrote: | I've had lots of hopes for Framework products too - smaller | motherboards for possible tablets, a Khadas Mind-type connector | like what you're describing, a nicer 13" display like the | current 16" one, heck ideally even a Framework phone - modular | and _modern_ (unlike Fairphone; also see: small android phone | project). But I think given how young/new they are, it's fine | for them to take a little longer as long as their "core" | products are at least comparable/as good as competition (which | I think they are excluding costs). | delta_p_delta_x wrote: | > attempts from other brands at making a modular graphics system | in a notebook | | i.e. Dell. | | > the off-the-shelf FXBeam connector from Neoconix | | So _that 's_ the company that makes the Dell Graphics Form Factor | (DGFF) connectors[1], and that's why they're called _beam | connectors_ in the service manual[2] (search for it on that page; | notice how similar the connectors are to Framework 's). These | have been used in Dell Precision workstations since the Precision | 7530 and 7730 (released in 2018). | | I ought to have realised that surely Dell didn't develop this | themselves. | | > We quickly found that these connectors (on the left in the | image) could only reliably be installed once. On removing, | handling, and reinstalling, it was easy to bend or break off the | small pins. | | After working with these connectors, they require some finesse, | but they're not as fragile as the post makes them out to be. | They're essentially tiny LGA sockets. Dell's implementation put | the pins on the connectors and the contacts on the board, so the | cheaper (and more disposable) component could break more easily. | I'm not sure why Framework decided to forgo the connector and try | to join both graphics card and motherboard directly together; | this isn't addressed in the blog post. | | That being said, 'beam connectors' still aren't cheap, though; | when I asked Dell's service centre for spares, I was quoted | something like SGD20/connector. They're roughly the same price on | eBay[3]. | | [1]: https://i.imgur.com/aMal40L.jpeg | | [2]: https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en- | uk/precision-15-7560.... | | [3]: | https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313... ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2023-12-06 23:00 UTC)