Question about different MNT Reform purchasing options

[paulgrubbs]

Hello, I am close to buying an MNT Reform classic. I have a question about the specific model to buy and what makes the most sense given tariffs and shipping delays. Specifically, there are four options for buying one - three models available on Crowdsupply and one through the MNT shop - and I would like to understand the differences between them.

First, when I go to Crowdsupply to buy an MNT Reform, I see the following options (see screenshot):

The top two options seem to be the same up to the choice of trackball or trackpad. My confusion is the difference between options 1+2 and the third one. The third option - “MNT Reform with A311D Processor (Assembled, Trackball, QWERTY-US)” - is described as “[a]n upgraded and improved version of the original MNT Reform laptop”. Does this mean it is an upgraded version of options 1+2, or are they all the same at this point except for the SoM? Relatedly, if option 3 is indeed better than options 1+2, comes with more addons and has a better SoM, I am confused why it is 50$ cheaper.

The context of my question here, other than wanting to understand what I’m getting, is that the first option seemingly will ship immediately from Crowdsupply, whereas any other option will require a month or more of waiting. This is not a high-order concern - I don’t mind waiting a few weeks - but all else being the same I’d rather have the computer sooner than later.

Also am I correct in understanding that buying through Crowdsupply means I will not pay the tariff that would otherwise apply when buying German goods?

Finally, option 4 is buying directly from the MNT shop. This option is attractive because I can directly buy the MNT Reform with the new RK3588 module - which module I’d likely need to use the laptop as a daily driver - and with other addons like a Wifi card, but it is more expensive and would additionally require paying a fairly sizable tariff - on the order of hundreds of dollars.

Any help or advice on choosing between these four options, or just purchasing in general, would be appreciated. To distill a more specific question from the above: does it make more sense to buy option (1) from Crowdsupply and try to buy an RK3588 module separately, or buy option (4), incur the additional costs but be guaranteed to get the newest version that has the addons and SoM I’d want anyway?

Thanks very much.

[josch]

Hi, I don’t live in the USA and I have not bought my hardware from Crowdsupply but nobody else seems to be answering so here goes what I know from other forum threads and IRC as second-hand knowledge.

@paulgrubbs

Also am I correct in understanding that buying through Crowdsupply means I will not pay the tariff that would otherwise apply when buying German goods?

Yes. You are buying from a company from within the USA. The tariffs are applied to things you buy from those from outside the USA.

@paulgrubbs

To distill a more specific question from the above: does it make more sense to buy option (1) from Crowdsupply and try to buy an RK3588 module separately, or buy option (4), incur the additional costs but be guaranteed to get the newest version that has the addons and SoM I’d want anyway?

I cannot tell you why options 1+2 are 50 $ more expensive than option 3. But option 3 will give you a laptop that is much faster than options 1+2. I have used both platforms for 2 years each. First the imx8mq (option 1+2) and now I’m typing this on the A311D which, at least for me, is fast enough to do all the stuff that I need a computer for. The limited speed of A311D (and limited ram) compared to the RK3588 usually only comes into play for me when trying to browse “modern” websites with tons of javascript like youtube, twitch etc.

Note, that to upgrade options 1,2 or 3 with RK3588 you need more than just the firefly icore board (which you can buy anywhere). You also need the RCORE adapter board.