Here’s a dumb idea: Put a Framework mainboard inside a PC case.
So?
- No power supply unit, the power brick goes where the PSU would be, and even a battery.
- No motherboard wires to worry about.
- Possibly enough room for more than one mainboard in a single case.
But…
- No GPU (until the 16 inch mainboard comes out).
- No motherboard interface at the back, external cables need to be awkwardly routed into the case.
- No convenient way to connect the case’s power button to the mainboard’s.
- No upgradable CPU, and you’re limited to what Framework sells.
It could be a good option for people starting out, especially since it should be cheaper than a traditional PC for the performance, or even for servers since the laptop components are more power efficient. Also, the mainboard could later be put into a Framework laptop, or existing laptops can be turned into PCs, so the use-cases are pretty extensive if you get creative with it.
If.