MNT Reform

[Neververy4]

So a rather interesting laptop popped up on my YouTube recommendations about a week ago. Something called the MNT REFORM LAPTOP. And needless to say I have my eyes on it

it'll take me a few months to get the money for it; Fall, maybe Winter 2024 before I can afford the USD$1,200 price tag But, for a new laptop that isn't a BAD price, especially what all it is

So it's a laptop designed to be user serviceable, but unlike the FRAMEWORK LAPTOP, this one is as open source as a single device can be.

Everything from the board PCB design, to the architecture, the keyboard, and even the case designs are all open source. This means you can, for free, download all the files and reconstruct it yourself. And as someone who makes custom PCB's, this sounds like a fun thing to tinker with.

It DOES have some drawbacks, it isn't an x86 platform, so no Windows or Linux-based x86 programs. However that really isn't an issue for me, I can work around that limitation.

I've already downloaded the KiCAD PCB files, as I'd like to mess around and see how easy it would be to interface a custom CPU board. I also want to pick up THE PHYSICAL MANUALS next paycheck, read through those and see what I can learn about it. You can just DOWNLOAD THE DIGITAL ONES FOR FREE, but I get screen fatigue easily from trying to read PDF's, so I'd prefer the physical copies

[michaelwave1997]

WOOOAAAAAAH thats really cool!!

sorry i dont have anything else to add i just think its really really neat

[synthcrow]

oh that looks sick, I wish my previous laptop had broke at a more opportune time so I could've considered getting something more serviceable/modular

[Neververy4]

It has taken me THIS long, over a year of saving, but I have finally purchased this laptop
€1800, or just over USD$2000
It's got a max of 6 month lead time, so I may not get it until the end of the year, but that's fine with me; I'm just glad to finally be able to buy it

[pheelthemoment]

wooo congrats!!

[Neververy4]

First off. The laptop has a roughly SIX MONTH lead time because I bought the more expensive, but MUCH more powerful, Version 3.0
I had been saving up for the 2.5 this whole time, which would have cost me around USD$1500, making it a more reasonable price for a laptop. And that one IS ready to purchase. However, Version 3.0 has more stuff with it; WiFi 6, a powerful CPU (with A. built-on storage and B. Native support for two monitors), USB-C charging, and a few other things I deemed worth the price and wait. I also got the keyboard with the Swedish layout, for the extra keys.

I've been looking on their forums since I bought it, and it's given me a LOT of inspiration on what to do with hardware mods I can not wait to finally get this thing, I've been so excited for it

There are two mods I've been seeing on there that I do want to try out, for sure: A more powerful antenna, and a LTE modem add-on. I'll need to double check, but I think that the 3.0's WiFi card has Bluetooth; if not, then I'll need to add that on there. I'm also interested in adding on a NFC Reader, as I think that's the most convenient way of transferring files from a phone to a device.

Anyways, the thing I'm most excited about is just having a portable computer again

[Neververy4]

Laptop has been loaded onto the UPS truck and is out for delivery. I am full of stress and anxiety. $2056 is a LOT of money to casually lose if something goes wrong.

Also! Quick message about the USA and Tariffs;
Reading on the official MNT Forum, people have talked about having to pay 15%, 20%, and even 30% Tariffs on electronic devices from Germany. And 15% of €1800 is a significant amount to me; 30% is downright unaffordable. THAT had me stressing out for the longest time, and with UPS being stupidly unreliable with it's tracking notifications, it left me constantly checking their website for the Import COD to show up.
. .. which ended up being $174. Less than 15% ($341). I don't know why either.

Anyways, I've paid roughly $2225 for this laptop, and I will not relax until it is safe in my hands and in my house wish me luck

[pheelthemoment]

good luck!! hope it arrives soon!!

[Neververy4]

It's taken me a bit to update. Laptop came in late in my (nightshift) day, slept way too long, and THEN had to play with my new toy

So far it*s great It's not as chunky as I expected, but it is faster than anticipated. Arm computers are known for being underpowered; so far that isn't true for this RCORE RK3588 processor. AND it has 32GB of RAM.

I will update more as I get to play with it more in the upcoming few days. For now, I'm struggling to type on this QWERTY keyboard it came with :/ hashtag ColemakForLife