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Comment by squarefoot | Hacker News Reader

"We’ve partnered with Cooler Master to create an awesome new way to re-use your Framework Laptop Mainboards: a transparent, small form factor case. This will be available this Spring for $39 USD."

This is the way.

More vendors should do that. A huge load of obsolete but perfectly working laptop mainboards could be repurposed to other uses. Need a small system to set up a service on a LAN but don't want to feed scalpers by buying their outrageously overpriced Raspberry PIs? What about reusing the board from that old EeePC many of us already have, etc?

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The product page for the case also links to a 3D printed case in the framework GitHub https://frame.work/au/en/products/cooler-master-mainboard-ca...

The $449 Intel 1340p or AMD Ryzen mainboard seems to be attractively priced against other barebones mini PCs and the Mac Mini too!

Absolutely. We really hope to see the secondary market emerge as well. As Framework Laptop owners upgrade to new Mainboards, we want to make sure those old Mainboards either get reused by the same person, or resold to another user who can make use of it as a PC.

I have old laptops that would be good enough to be a server, and low power enough that they probably should replace my current home server. Just a shame they don't have a Framework like backing for them!

I think the only thing I didn't see was larger clickpads on the 16" laptop. I'm assuming this is all modular enough that once it comes along, I can just replace the wrist pad.

For $300 you can get an i5-13400 and a board though.

You can buy this combo for $450, maybe for $400, but I don't see how you can get it for $300. The processor alone seems to go for >$240, and I don't see how you can hope to get a compatible motherboard for <$60.

It is nevertheless a laptop part, which compromises performance for battery consumption (with much lower clocks). You might not want this if you value performance to the dollar more than some wall power.

In this form factor, the use of laptop grade parts is quite common. So, if you want a small PC, then you’re already going to be comfortable with this level of performance. In this case, reuse of a framework main board is a great option.

I've setup a handful of MinusForum 5900HX boxes the past couple years, and thet've been surprisingly capable. I'm using one for my homeserver (docker, wireguard, pihole, etc) for about a year. They can definitely be OP for what they might be used for and more than enough for typical facebook, email, youtube content consumption.

Definitely happy to see Framework offering 3D models for retired boards and an upgrade path. At this pricing, probably worth consideration for a new build even. Been wanting to pull the trigger on a home lab kubernetes setup, and the RPIs I have just don't cut it. These would definitely fit the bill.

And that model is already overkill for typical office usage. MinisForum UM350 is very snappy for browsing, office software, YouTube etc. 16GB of memory and very reasonable pricing.

Oh completely agreed... One was for a friend who is using it as a backup dev box, and the other was for my MiL, whose computer broke, and I hadn't set it up as my home server yet.

Mainly stating, that a laptop cpu from the past couple gen are definitely nothing to turn a nose up at in terms of ability. The 5900HX outpaces an older i7-4790K and uses a fraction of the wall power and space. Especially, when they're headless in a closet.

> Framework Laptop Mainboards

_Main_board? I know you're not supposed to call trunk "master" anymore because of (incorrect) associations with slavery, but what's wrong with "mother"?

It is gendered, which I suppose some people take issue with?

Maybe it is regional. But Ive heard mainboard used for at least 15 years or so in Germany.

Well before the whole shift in language thats going on.

I would also say "Mainboard" has been the established German word for motherboard for a long time. I almost never hear anyone call it Motherboard anymore in German (and even less the actual German word "Hauptplatine")

Even manufacturers like MSI for example use the term "Mainboard" in German [1] but "motherboard" in English [2]

[1]: https://de.msi.com/Motherboards/ [2]: https://us.msi.com/Motherboards/

No it's not, it's quite old and I would have thought technically minded people knew that word.

Often used for appliances like washing machine and TVs.

I have a tinkerer friend who call laptop motherboards 'mainboard' to differentiate them from desktop computers where you can actually plug graphic cards and Ram.

In Norway motherboard is called hovedkort. Hoved is etymologically linked to Norse hǫfuð or English head, but in this context the correct translation is main. Kort in this context means a card as derived from a chart or piece of cardboard or paper. While the term moderkort could be constructed in Norwegian, it simply does not exist. An alternative is kretskort which means circuit board, but it doesn't really relate well to a mainboard. In any case, when dealing with Norwegian or even German developers they might wrongly misconstrue their own word for mainboard, and thus contribute to the word spreading, perhaps even where it shouldn't.

I'm not stating an opinion on this one way or the other, but the language preferred by some people now is "people who give birth" rather than "mother" because it's seen as gender-specific (i.e. there are trans men who can still give birth). I hear them use this on podcasts occasionally, and heard one where they flagged in advance that interviewees had used the word "mother".

This is a confusing one to me, honestly. The act of giving birth is so closely tied to the genetic and biological definition of one's sex I'm not sure why it would fall into the same category of terms that can be offensive based on the gender one associates with.

It's more a matter of precision than offence. Trans men who give birth aside, there are lots of mothers who didn't give birth (adoptive mothers; lesbians whose partners give birth). 'Mothers' simply isn't the same category as 'people who have given birth'.

Plus, if what you're talking about is the experience of pregnancy and giving birth, then it makes sense to focus on that, rather than on the much wider experience of motherhood.

To me, it's more confusing that some people insist on using less precise terms because they find the idea of inclusivity offensive.

The dictionary definition[1] is female parent so I'm not actually sure that the term mother would be exclusive of adoptive parents or lesbians who's partner gives birth. But looking back at it this would likely exclude trans men who give birth so I may in fact need to extract my first comment.

We're 100% in agreement on the offense issue though. I don't get why anyone is offended by what someone else prefers to be called. Take the politics out of it and that's like being offended that someone says their name is Steve when you absolutely refuse to believe they are called anything other than Bill.

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mother

It's only a "mother"board if you can plug in daughterboards like graphics, sound or other expansion cards, typically oriented orthogonally to the mother board. That doesn't fit in a laptop form factor, so the term there is usually mainboard as many of the other functionalities have been consolidated onto that one PCB.

Indeed peripherals like printers usually have "mainboards" and not motherboards.

Some vendors traditionally use different names, like apple uses "logic board"

Slight nitpick: the full phrasing Apple uses is “main logic board”, so they’re actually (somewhat) in line with the conventional phrasing other vendors use.

Personally I call it the main master mother board...

We tried daddyboards and it got too weird.

This is great. It should be the way how laptop retires.

A fanless case would be real nice, and seems theoretically doable.

I mean, can't you just use the laptop?

I see the value proposition that this has in the particular case of Framework where you update certain parts, but the vast majority of laptops cannot have any change beside the RAM (if you're lucky) and the storage (same).

So in those situations, the best PC case is the one you already have: the laptop.

But then you'd need a new case for your new computer. The CoolerMaster case answers the question "how can I make use of this board I replaced?"

This is also good for people like me who have plenty of laptop ram and SSDs we can’t do anything with. I’ll be checking out the AMD main boards!

Also, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Framework have basically given us what we’ve always wanted in a laptop. Just say thanks and buy one the next time you need a laptop.

Definitely plan to do so myself. Would be cool to see 3D case options for other laptop MBs... too many go to waste when the screens, keyboards or batteries die. IF one can just transplant to a case, at least get some new life. Though really need to see better work for battery recovery/recycling... The existing infrastructure for e-waste doesn't do a good job at all, mostly gets dumped in someone else's backyard instead of your own.

It's just another option, you can use the laptop, or repurpose that mainboard after an upgrade and keep the screen/etc.

> I mean, can't you just use the laptop?

The idea is that you have a spare mainboard laying around if you've upgraded. A cheap $40 case is a great way of putting that hardware to use.

Yes, which is why I said it makes sense for Framework but not for other constructors where you can't upgrade the board but keep the shell...

It would make a lot of sense for a lot of others as well... Screens crack, keyboard keys pop off, batteries wear out. People will generally upgrade to a new laptop at that point. Being able to repurpose the compute/ram/storage in a stand-alone case is a great option for many old laptops.

And while many may not want the hassle, there's plenty of value for a home server with an external storage drive for a lot of people.

I have a cheap laptop with a broken case and a flaky screen. Repurposing it as a desktop pc with a small case like this would be really nice.

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