@Essence of Flowers - The OpenUPS is a 12v battery only, with proper charging and discharge controls. You'll need a 12-24V charger for input to it, and the PicoPSU to power the board via ATX and PCIe power as much as it's capable (within the ~5A limit).
@Essence of Flowers - The OpenUPS is a 12v battery only, with proper charging and discharge controls. You'll need a 12-24V charger for input to it, and the PicoPSU to power the board via ATX and PCIe power as much as it's capable (within the ~5A limit).
Alright, that's about what i was thinking, i had planned out a low profile PSU, probably pico but I may need to go with a larger one depending on goal and space budget, followed up with the OpenUPS + a charging board. I'm slightly considering the idea of a dGPU, its just it adds a lot of complication to the concept given it adds more to heat management, space management, and power management. The most power budget friendly one I can find is the RX 6400, and even that kinda blows the power budget out of the water to a degree, so I'd have to consider larger power supply units which only makes space management more of a nightmare.
Truthfully I'm most likely going to just settle with using an APU and not overcomplicating the build with a dGPU, but a small part of me does like the idea of a dGPU in this thing since I'm going to be traveling a lot in time and having a desktop stuck at home nonstop when i want my vidyas sucks.
Edit: on further research it seems like the 780M featured in the 8700G APU outperforms the RX 6400, so there's absolutely no point in using one. Unless i can power budget out a stronger GPU it seems like a dGPU is a waste of resources.
BTW: In terms of eDP, Asrock offers a custom side panel kit for several of their mainboards, including the B650E PG-ITX. That side panel screen is 13.3 inch, IPS, FHD, and very cheap (when available). I'm currently considering it with some kind of attachable hinge / mount that I still have to come up with for my workstation build.
Ah yeah these, this is a great spot! Quite unusual. So it's an eDP cable and display which is selected to be compatible with those ASRock eDP boards.
That's probably the first time I've come across an eDP cable with those connectors which is available off-the-shelf; those connectors being IPEX-20453-040T on the display end, which is very normal, and ACES 88441 on the motherboard end, which I've only seen on thin-ITX boards...and those ASRock eDP boards. I was looking for one for a long time, and never found one right up until I had them manufactured! Actually the display connector looks different, whatever still...
So, if that eDP cable could be used to connect to other 40-pin eDP displays, and to other motherboards, then it could be very valuable - but I can see that the eDP pinout on those named compatible boards, like the B650E PG-ITX, is very different to the pinout on the IMB-1240-WV for example, which is pretty representative of thin-ITX eDP pinouts. Not sure about the pinout of the display. So the cable wiring might also be a bit weird, and fairly specific to the combination of that display and those motherboards...
In the earliest days of this project, I tried using an LVDS cable from AliExpress to connect an IMB-1222-WV to a display, but via eDP, because this LVDS cable used the same connectors as for an eDP cable, and physically fit in the headers on both ends. But the wiring of most LVDS and eDP cables is totally different; eDP usually has a kind of 1:1 pin mapping, whereas LVDS pin mappings kind of go all over the place. I have no idea why I even bothered trying this, maybe because I couldn't be bothered to make sense of the pinouts at first? But the end result was that the eDP header on my IMB-1222-WV was permanently damaged and effectively useless, along with a nice burning smell. The moral of this ridiculous story is to always ensure your cable is properly wired to map each pin on the motherboard end to the correct pin on the display end, if you're trying to roll any of this stuff yourself...oh yeah, and another moral of another ridiculous story is to probably not bother trying to make any of these cables by hand, unless you can length-match twisted pairs with 0.1 mm precision...
Alright, that's about what i was thinking, i had planned out a low profile PSU, probably pico but I may need to go with a larger one depending on goal and space budget, followed up with the OpenUPS + a charging board. I'm slightly considering the idea of a dGPU, its just it adds a lot of complication to the concept given it adds more to heat management, space management, and power management. The most power budget friendly one I can find is the RX 6400, and even that kinda blows the power budget out of the water to a degree, so I'd have to consider larger power supply units which only makes space management more of a nightmare.
Truthfully I'm most likely going to just settle with using an APU and not overcomplicating the build with a dGPU, but a small part of me does like the idea of a dGPU in this thing since I'm going to be traveling a lot in time and having a desktop stuck at home nonstop when i want my vidyas sucks.
Edit: on further research it seems like the 780M featured in the 8700G APU outperforms the RX 6400, so there's absolutely no point in using one. Unless i can power budget out a stronger GPU it seems like a dGPU is a waste of resources.
It's a good point about the 8700G APU outperforming the RX 6400. The tradeoff between DGPU and APU is hard to get right.
An APU-focused build obviously simplifies just about everything - cost, space, power and thermal requirements...so it depends on how valuable the advantages of a DGPU are to you: not just the obvious performance, but the increased number of options, and the fact that it's easier to upgrade separately.
In thin-ITX land, there's another problem, not in theory, but in practice. There are not many thin-ITX AMD boards, like the X300TM-ITX or X600TM-ITX, and while they are impressively cheap (like way cheaper than an IMB-1240-WV for example), they lack a couple of important features - no PCI-E slot, which doesn't matter if you're committed to an APU build - but more importantly no eDP header, only LVDS, which I can say is honestly kind of horrible for anything, including games. This would be (and has been) my main challenge with an APU-focused build; how to integrate a worthwhile display, without native eDP. So you might look at eDP control boards, or some other wackiness like Socket Science did with a portable monitor. Looking at mini-ITX, you could also try that ASRock side panel kit mentioned by hrh_ginsterbusch just now, with the one AMD motherboard it supports.
It depends on your space constraints, but I certainly plan on making DGPU battery power delivery feasible for Devotion. The original OpenUPS looks like part of a larger and more generalised solution (where you would have to provide the battery cells), whereas the OpenUPS2 seems to be a smaller, but more specific integration with its own three 18650 cells.
The OpenUPS2 might be enough alone for a low-power thin-ITX system, since you could connect it directly to the internal 4-pin power, though this is assuming you could work around the classic charge-switching problem I mentioned earlier. You could also use it for a low-power mini-ITX system, but yeah you'd need something like a PicoPSU as usual. The charge-switching problem probably doesn't exist in that case, because I guess you just plug your power brick into the OpenUPS2 input, and let it handle the output to the system...could be quite neat. On reflection, I could also do that for a thin-ITX system, and the main reason I didn't is because of the user-experience mess it creates to have a board with a DC jack plugged up because you're not supposed to use it, as well as my own separate DC jack which I would have to put there.
Edit: I also need to say this somewhere, so why not here?...Motherboards draw a variable amount of power even while switched off, and this includes your normal ATX boards, as well as thin-ITX boards. For the PH12CMI, I measured this as ~1.5W from the wall. For the IMB-1222-WV, it was ~5.5W, which is really substantial, assuming my watt meter wasn't lying. This obviously isn't ideal in a general sense, but especially for a laptop scenario where you might be transporting your system, unconnected to the power brick, and having the battery sapped over time. I believe the MNT Reform had the same problem, and was able to patch most of it out, because of course they designed the boards. I planned to have a battery isolation switch somewhere reasonably accessible, partly to circumvent this. Not the best user experience having to think about that though, I know. There's probably a more sophisticated workaround to build into a circuit.
It's a good point about the 8700G APU outperforming the RX 6400. The tradeoff between DGPU and APU is hard to get right.
An APU-focused build obviously simplifies just about everything - cost, space, power and thermal requirements...so it depends on how valuable the advantages of a DGPU are to you: not just the obvious performance, but the increased number of options, and the fact that it's easier to upgrade separately.
In thin-ITX land, there's another problem, not in theory, but in practice. There are not many thin-ITX AMD boards, like the X300TM-ITX or X600TM-ITX, and while they are impressively cheap (like way cheaper than an IMB-1240-WV for example), they lack a couple of important features - no PCI-E slot, which doesn't matter if you're committed to an APU build - but more importantly no eDP header, only LVDS, which I can say is honestly kind of horrible for anything, including games. This would be (and has been) my main challenge with an APU-focused build; how to integrate a worthwhile display, without native eDP. So you might look at eDP control boards, or some other wackiness like Socket Science did with a portable monitor. Looking at mini-ITX, you could also try that ASRock side panel kit mentioned by hrh_ginsterbusch just now, with the one AMD motherboard it supports.
It depends on your space constraints, but I certainly plan on making DGPU battery power delivery feasible for Devotion. The original OpenUPS looks like part of a larger and more generalised solution (where you would have to provide the battery cells), whereas the OpenUPS2 seems to be a smaller, but more specific integration with its own three 18650 cells.
The OpenUPS2 might be enough alone for a low-power thin-ITX system, since you could connect it directly to the internal 4-pin power, though this is assuming you could work around the classic charge-switching problem I mentioned earlier. You could also use it for a low-power mini-ITX system, but yeah you'd need something like a PicoPSU as usual. The charge-switching problem probably doesn't exist in that case, because I guess you just plug your power brick into the OpenUPS2 input, and let it handle the output to the system...could be quite neat. On reflection, I could also do that for a thin-ITX system, and the main reason I didn't is because of the user-experience mess it creates to have a board with a DC jack plugged up because you're not supposed to use it, as well as my own separate DC jack which I would have to put there.
Edit: I also need to say this somewhere, so why not here?...Motherboards draw a variable amount of power even while switched off, and this includes your normal ATX boards, as well as thin-ITX boards. For the PH12CMI, I measured this as ~1.5W from the wall. For the IMB-1222-WV, it was ~5.5W, which is really substantial, assuming my watt meter wasn't lying. This obviously isn't ideal in a general sense, but especially for a laptop scenario where you might be transporting your system, unconnected to the power brick, and having the battery sapped over time. I believe the MNT Reform had the same problem, and was able to patch most of it out, because of course they designed the boards. I planned to have a battery isolation switch somewhere reasonably accessible, partly to circumvent this. Not the best user experience having to think about that though, I know. There's probably a more sophisticated workaround to build into a circuit.
Yeah my main reason for going off road into a mini-ITX board instead of sticking with thin is purely because its a market dominated by Intel. The only AMD boards are both not really what im looking for due to the lack of PCIe, but also from what I've researched the newer board, the X600TM, is near impossible to obtain, most likely vaporware. I don't actually hate Intel but I'm steering clear of them because my intent is to have Linux running on my end product and I'm told Linux primarily runs into all of its issues and quirks thanks to Intel.
Unrelated but I Just noticed the picoPSU from MiniBox actually features a 4 pin 12V input, I have no idea what possessed me to think that was output, but that actually simplifies this build a ton on the battery side. In theory I can just hook a NUC-UPS or openUPS2 into its input directly, and I could even hijack the DC jack that the PSU comes with and put that on the input end of the UPS so that I don't have to worry about buying some cheap-o charging board that may or may not fry the system. The end goal of this system is still to have dGPU support one day, I just need to identify a dGPU that will actually be a performance upgrade over the APU, whilst also not overloading the measly 160watts the picoPSU can handle.
Yeah my main reason for going off road into a mini-ITX board instead of sticking with thin is purely because its a market dominated by Intel. The only AMD boards are both not really what im looking for due to the lack of PCIe, but also from what I've researched the newer board, the X600TM, is near impossible to obtain, most likely vaporware. I don't actually hate Intel but I'm steering clear of them because my intent is to have Linux running on my end product and I'm told Linux primarily runs into all of its issues and quirks thanks to Intel.
Unrelated but I Just noticed the picoPSU from MiniBox actually features a 4 pin 12V input, I have no idea what possessed me to think that was output, but that actually simplifies this build a ton on the battery side. In theory I can just hook a NUC-UPS or openUPS2 into its input directly, and I could even hijack the DC jack that the PSU comes with and put that on the input end of the UPS so that I don't have to worry about buying some cheap-o charging board that may or may not fry the system. The end goal of this system is still to have dGPU support one day, I just need to identify a dGPU that will actually be a performance upgrade over the APU, whilst also not overloading the measly 160watts the picoPSU can handle.
Ah seems you're right about the X600TM-ITX...I'd just seen a few places saying it was available via Taobao/ParcelUp, but I haven't actually tried to buy one yet.
I can't speak with authority about Intel vs AMD on Linux, just that I have used both for some time now and I feel like I've run into mostly the same problems on both. FWIW I run Kubuntu 22.04 and I've used an AMD 5600G, Intel 10100, 10700, 13400, across boards X300TM-ITX, PH12CMI, IMB-1222-WV, IMB-1240-WV. I feel it is the destiny of a GNU/Linux user to be always troubleshooting obscure problems, though I regret nothing.
Yeah that sounds correct to me, about the wiring. Just to be redundant I will say that your PicoPSU may be able to provide up to 160W, but the UPS is another story; the NUC-UPS or OpenUPS2 giving 12V limited to 5A is 60W, which could still be okay if you disable frequency boosting - but you might consider a PicoPSU that can accept higher voltage, which you could then set an OpenUPS2 to output at, to get more watts between it and the PicoPSU; 24V @ 5A = 120W. You could still input a variable voltage like 12V to the OpenUPS2 via the DC jack you want to repurpose. e.g. basing this around the OpenUPS2 max output wattage, for a mini-ITX system:
As always I may have missed something there. There'll be efficiency losses too.
Separately I also wonder, there must be a lot of components on those UPSes that can't tolerate more than 5A! Most Li-ion cells can provide a lot more than that before becoming dangerous, though it's good for safety that they could never reach that level on those boards. And it does depend on the choice of cell, which it's possible for someone to screw up.
So, thats one AMD board and three Intel 1700 boards (H610, B660 + Z790). Its kinda random - the B650E is an upper mid-range board that would have been top-range if not for the lack of USB4 / TB4. Its layout is almost identical to the Z690 / Z790 PG-ITX; I own the Z690, too, so I can compare. While on the Intel side, the boards are all entry-level / office usage boards with very low-level VRM.
So, thats one AMD board and three Intel 1700 boards (H610, B660 + Z790). Its kinda random - the B650E is an upper mid-range board that would have been top-range if not for the lack of USB4 / TB4. Its layout is almost identical to the Z690 / Z790 PG-ITX; I own the Z690, too, so I can compare. While on the Intel side, the boards are all entry-level / office usage boards with very low-level VRM.
That AMD board is actually pretty good, the price tag is a little steep but having an eDP connector inherently is definitely a benefit since it means any LCD panels could just have a direct input rather than using a controller board.
on the note of LCD panels the 13.3 kit by ASRock doesn't seem half bad but frankly I've been looking at the stuff VSDisplay offers. They seem to have a very large amount of options to choose from and most of them have an eDP setup, although they also tend to come with controller boards for any motherboards that lack inherent eDP compatibility such as this one.
@thewizzard1 might be right about how many amps you actually need, depends on what kind of hardware you're going for. For my original prototype, I'd been designing for a peak load of ~100W, even though in practice I don't boost the CPU to let it do that...when adding a DGPU, I considered a 4060 LP to be the most powerful thing that could reasonably go in there, and still stock or possibly underclocked, but that would add around 100-160W...we'll call it around 230W total, and we'll assume we can manage the thermals of this somehow at a reasonable noise level. This is how I arrived at a 240W SlimQ GaN brick (19V), as suggested by DASBOOT earlier in the thread, and it's the same power budget that I'll have to respect for my battery pack...which the power brick will have to be able to charge while powering everything else, by the way.
I power my JW H610-PIO ThinITX with a 12500T and 4060LP from an Alienware 230w GaN charger, it was roughly 30 USD second-hand. The DIN power connector is $1-$3. I wasn't charging a battery, but it should be possible if you don't charge when under max load.
This project looks very interesting and I will keep an eye on it. If it fits in the Z-Height the slim golden flower heatsink does a very respectable job. I'd be very interested in using a Lenovo X220/T420/T520 keyboard with the pointing nub.
Might be possible to use a portable monitor for a screen/lid when going with a discrete card. Although DP to eDP adapters are very minimal, and some mostly deal with the backlight.
For the hinges, either a support bar and brace running from side-to-side or maybe move the hinges out where the corner will provide support. Although if you are fastening the frame to the lid it might be fine with a minimal bracket, even a standoff post that bolts the lid to the base frame near the hinge.
I power my JW H610-PIO ThinITX with a 12500T and 4060LP from an Alienware 230w GaN charger, it was roughly 30 USD second-hand. The DIN power connector is $1-$3. I wasn't charging a battery, but it should be possible if you don't charge when under max load.
This project looks very interesting and I will keep an eye on it. If it fits in the Z-Height the slim golden flower heatsink does a very respectable job. I'd be very interested in using a Lenovo X220/T420/T520 keyboard with the pointing nub.
Might be possible to use a portable monitor for a screen/lid when going with a discrete card. Although DP to eDP adapters are very minimal, and some mostly deal with the backlight.
For the hinges, either a support bar and brace running from side-to-side or maybe move the hinges out where the corner will provide support. Although if you are fastening the frame to the lid it might be fine with a minimal bracket, even a standoff post that bolts the lid to the base frame near the hinge.
I think the slim golden flower / golden field heatsink would be too thick currently, as in, it'd be poking out of the keyboard area, which is how I got into heatpipe heatsinks like the Intel HTS1155LP. But this may be an interesting idea for a version with a 15" display for example, where there isn't as much horizontal space, and so some components could get stacked vertically for a thicker system...and/or a system with the motherboard facing downwards.
The desire for a Lenovo keyboard is good to know, thanks. I'm currently designing for two keyboard heights, which you can change between by unscrewing the hinges; this alters the offset of the display from the keyboard (I'll post pics of this eventually). One is a "thick" height which can fit mechanical Choc V1 keyboard switches for a totally custom keyboard, and one is a "thin" height which can fit typical OEM laptop keyboards, which are cheap and plentiful (for now), but would need a USB control board or custom PCB.
For the latter I've been focusing on the keyboard of the Dell Precision 7510 as a reference, since I like it and it has lots of international variants (it also has a pointing nub if you're into that), but I'd like to make it reasonably easy to integrate some keyboard of your choice into it. It couldn't be "free" to change though - every laptop keyboard has of course different physical dimensions, which isn't much of an issue as you can just remanufacture the keyboard chassis cutouts, but moreover the different FPC cables and pinouts will likely mean some adjustments to the PCB connecting to it. I notice the Lenovo X220 keyboard has a rather different connector style...I wonder if there's enough commonality that a single PCB could interface with multiple of the more popular keyboards, though. Of course, there's always the DIY method which I've been using so far until I get a real PCB made...
On the hinges, yes I think you're about right, thanks. For the most recent prototype I've moved the hinges out to the corners, where they are much better supported. Some people may desire Absolute Zero Flappiness though, so I'll see if there's a simple enough way of integrating some mounts for some optional support bars / braces; preferably a standard off-the-shelf type I wouldn't have to design.
Thanking everyone for the continued interest - I'll post a real update later this year...
Another year goes by, and much has transpired with the Devotion project. The progress warrants a change in thread status from Concept to Prototype. Here is the update for the year of 2025.
// Chassis redesign
The chassis has been significantly redesigned since the last prototype. The dimensions have been optimised: approximately 410 mm width, 280 mm depth, 44 to ~53 mm height depending on keyboard configuration (thin for OEM keyboards, or thick for mechanical Choc), which itself is a new feature. There is now a continuous welded inside perimeter, which makes this chassis much stronger than before.
The tape on the heatsink is a hack to channel the airflow. It'll probably be replaced with a 3D-printed part.
The thing in the middle with lights on is a PWM fan controller (Noctua NA-FC1).
Note the screwable RP-SMA antennas on the right-hand side. I modded the I/O shield of this motherboard by drilling holes for the RP-SMA mounts. I find the signal strength with these to be hugely better than internal flat antennas.
New hinges have been integrated, which are smaller, smoother, and allow for 180 degree rotation as shown in the below images. As mentioned, the hinges can be unscrewed and reconfigured between a "thin" height to fit typical OEM laptop keyboards, and a "thick" height (exact value TBC) which can fit mechanical Choc V1 switches for a totally custom keyboard. I liked the other Southco hinge design because of the screw-adjustable torque, but you can achieve a similar effect with these hinges by selecting a variant with stronger or weaker torque, and/or combining multiple sets. I have my prototype configured with 4x 0.15 Nm hinges, which feels very sturdy in the "thin" configuration. These hinges also look simple enough that maybe you could even make them yourself in a pinch.
On this last image you can see the "thin" and "thick" configurations superimposed on each other.
To access the internals, the keyboard must be removed, and it has been made to easily connect and disconnect from the chassis by sliding along fixed mating USB-A connectors.
Cutouts have been added for a 16 mm dia power button and 6 mm LED, as well as cable tie points.
The power button itself has a LED, I just haven't wired it up!
The vent for the graphics card has been made removable, so that you can use a double-slot card like a 4060 LP. It would be sticking out of the underside though, so that configuration is better suited for stationary use than portability. You'll also have to modify (cut down to size) the double-slot IO shield as pictured...or I'll have to offer a half-sized shield for specific cards
The RX6400, a single-slot card. The M3 screw holding it in place is on the opposite side to what you'd normally expect, which should make it easier to access.
RTX 4060 LP, with the IO shield cut in half to fit in the case. This isn't that difficult with a jigsaw.
Tolerances could use a little loosening.
Enough space for a pretty long card here, ~200 mm long.
For the initial release, a few fixes and changes are planned; for transparency, the user-facing changes are listed in the spoiler below.
Most notably, I will also demonstrate a slim and portable "desktop mode" configuration, with the display and keyboard replaced with a plate, and of course including the (optional) battery solution. Look out for that.
Touchpad mounting optimisations
Optimise design for new hinges only (remove the gaping Southco-compatible holes, at least on the KB plates)
3D-printed display spacer with tool slots
3D-printed heatsink channel
Display cable passthrough consisting of the two above parts
Flatten the left-side angle on the lower chassis to 90 degrees, to ease design and customisations
Heatsink bracket with captive screws
Angled power cable
Lid magnets
Narrower USB connectors to make space for the UPS
Widen clearances for graphics cards
// Heatsink
With the new chassis dimensions firmed up, the CPU heatsink could be optimised for the available space. I designed a simple heatpipe heatsink similar to the Intel HTS1155LP, and had it manufactured by Shenzhen Jindee Technology Co., Ltd. via Alibaba. I have paid for the NRE on the tooling, so these heatsinks will be cheap (~$15 USD, not including fan or bracket). The fan will most likely continue to be the KDB0712HB or similar. There's a bracket here too which should be pretty easy to swap out to use the heatsink with different sockets.
// Touchpad
The touchpad I've integrated into the keyboards is the Procyon 57x80 by George Norton, and it's a huge improvement over the random USB AliExpress touchpad I had before - though it is not a standalone device, and must be integrated with the controller of another device (e.g. a keyboard). As free and open-source hardware, it can be modified and manufactured by anyone. Since it's recognised as a touchpad within an OS, it behaves as you'd expect, with vertical and horizontal scrolling, tap-to-click, two-/three-finger tap, and OS-specific gestures. For the touchpad surface, I've tried PLA, acrylic and vinyl wrap, and the lattermost is the most appealing so far, but it wouldn't be very difficult to use an alternate surface of your choice.
// Keyboards
As mentioned, the hinges can be configured to allow space for a thin OEM laptop keyboard, or a thick mechanical Choc V1 keyboard. For the OEM keyboard I've been working with the Dell Precision 7510, but I'll be looking at Lenovo/ThinkPad options, as well as an option without a numpad, since I guess its presence really offends some people. I'll design small PCBs to interface cleanly with these keyboards and act as USB controllers for them (I'm currently using DIY prototyping boards to do this).
As for the Choc version, I have a switch layout, as pictured below. I'll be speaking with a keyboard PCB design service to help speed up the development. My plan is that integrating a different Choc keyboard would be a matter of modifying just the upper plate for a different switch layout, which shouldn't be too difficult.
// UPS
This is a big one. I posted about my experiences using an OpenUPS2 in the ITX Laptops thread. In short, while it can work, I'm not using one anymore (I also managed to brick two during "normal" use, for reasons unclear to me). So, I've contracted an electronics engineer on Upwork to help me create a new UPS to fill a similar role, and that work is still ongoing.
Like all the Devotion part designs, it will be free (libre) and open-source hardware and software, allowing others to contribute or modify it. For the specifications of this UPS, I knew I needed to satisfy the Devotion requirements as a priority, but beyond that I tried to design for what would be useful for other similar projects, since there appears to be few alternatives to the OpenUPS for SFF applications. The specifications are broadly:
Inputs: 12-20V 12A DC jack (2.5x5.5mm), 5-20V 5A USB-C
Outputs: 12-24V 10A main output, 12V 6.5A PCI-E GPU additional power, 5-20V 5A USB-C (for e.g. a Raspberry Pi). Not intended to be an outright ATX power supply
Total rated output power 200W
5S BMS supporting Li-ion/NMC and LiFePO4/LFP chemistry (using e.g. 18650 cells)
USB HID communication for battery status reporting to a connected operating system (Windows, Linux)
User-configurable options, like stop charge percentage (e.g. 80%) to optimise battery longevity
This is a key component which I hope will be useful outside of the Devotion project, and I'll make a separate thread for it, as well as sell it separately to the Devotion, when it's ready for release.
The BMS is a separate PCB which this connects to by an XT60-style connector, and should be sitting on top of a 5S battery pack.
// Closing
As mentioned in the previous update, I've had an eDP cable manufactured, which will work with eDP boards. But many boards are LVDS, and I don't feel like the Devotion concept is complete without a good solution to make those compatible. There are random eDP display boards on AliExpress and eBay which you could use, but they're not very good, so as discussed in the ITX Laptops thread, I want to make some decent ones. But this is quite a task, and work would begin on that after the initial release of everything else. Other post-release components may include speakers, and a lid switch to turn off the display when the lid closes.
I'm still looking at options for worldwide distribution. The individual components will be sold separately, so you should be able to buy just the UPS, or the parts needed for the desktop version - but I'll probably offer an assembled laptop chassis as well, for convenience.
I'm sure I'll have more to share in 2026. Thanks for the interest, and I hope to see you then.
still...
