Looks like AMD has committed to moving to open source firmware for their products by 2026.
Would this mean that we could see an AMD product as a SoC in the future? 
That is not the main issue. The main issue is availability of compact system-on-modules.
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I wonder if there’s an opportunity for the community to get an ODM to design a low-end AMD board with this?
TBH it’s probably easier to get someone to create a board based off the Reform motherboard (for the charging system) with a BGA and socketed RAM with some low-end Athlon Silver laptop chip onboard.
Chinese firms have full handheld systems based on these types of chips selling for as little as $400 per unit and that’s with a battery, screen, custom injection molded case etc.
One of the things that attracts me to mnts products in the first place is the fact that they’re not x86. X86 has too much baggage for a modern small computer anyway – the performance per watt isn’t better (on the low end) then arm, and since all the software I run is open source anyway id prefer arm (and hopefully riscV in the future)
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the other tricky bit is how much hotter some of the x86 stuff runs. even what you linked has a little fan in it! so then you’d also end up having to modify the case to have some kind of venting… it’s a big mess i reckon
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Certainly. I was thinking that very little modification could be made, but 2 seperate vents could be added to the rear wall of the case. This could allow and intake and an exhaust.
Honestly, I would prefer a fanless chip. AMD seems to mainly be getting wins through abundant power use, and that doesn’t translate well to passive cooling.
I think the Reform is pretty excellent as is. This would just mean more software compatibility.
Not to promote x86 but I have a neat little fanless Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3i 10 with an intel N5030 (4c 1.1/3.1GHz), 8GB memory and 128GB eMMC.
Here’s a wild idea for anyone adventurous: figure out how to adapt the Steam Deck’s motherboard and battery for use in the MNT Reform chassis.
The guts of this system are incredibly compact (only like 2x the size of a SoM), come with 16 GB RAM, and a fairly performant AMD chip, and already has battery charging onboard and all for only $399 USD. Linux support is very good, as well.
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Wasn’t sure what thread to post this in but i was browsing and came across:
(it’s intel but still consider it relevant because x86_64)
I even downloaded the kicad files and saw they had a processor footprint on the board too which was surprising to me, I’ve only seen block diagrams before when it came to intel cpus in maker boards and not honest to god schematics.
In other news Framework just launched their 16’ model with a tight partnership with AMD. All very good things.
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There’s also stuff like Intel’s N100 which clocks in at something like 6W and has okay performance. It still requires a very large heatsink despite being coolable passively.
Intel’s upcoming Meteor Lake chips seem to be heading the correct direction, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see AMD continue down the perf per watt road given its presence in handhelds recently.
Personally, while x86 provides certain advantages in software maturity, I would much rather use RISC-V were than either x86 or ARM, and I’d rather use ARM than x86. For me however, I/O and screens matter every bit as much as raw compute, so the i.MX8MQ is the best choice presently. I have been constantly checking Mastodon @mntmn and was pleased to see progress made with RK3588. The RK3588 has the PCIe lanes, display support, USB3, and much more besides.
I am not aware of any hardware that offers the same horsepower within the same TDP for the same monetary cost as the RK3588. RISC-V is awesome but I don’t think it’s “there yet.” The same could be said of OpenPower and MIPS.
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Yes, but to what specific end? Are you looking to run Windows?
I agree with previous posters that the barrier to adopting x86 is more to do with compromising the integrity of the Reform concept rather than any technical obstacle.
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A more mature software ecosystem is nothing to sneeze at. I don’t think that Windows is so much a concern, but just getting some applications necessary for work, or getting more stable and optimized drivers would be neat.
Personally, while that’s cool and all, I wouldn’t care for it. I would much rather use something along the lines of the RK3588, and then use box86 or box64 for any application that requires x86.
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This is such a good point. Active cooling brings lots of other problems, sound and dust just being two. I like that my reform is pristine inside because it doesn’t have a miniature vacuum cleaner running all the time…
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I should probably not post a photo of what I regularly have to brush off the acrylic bottom of my Reform as a lot of stuff seems to find its way through the open spaces of the keyboard down onto the bottom plate…
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I like your Reform pictures. Probably not those though!
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