Log My handheld PC projects

[Arboreal]

Brilliant news, really good that Framework have done what they promised and you have been able to support them by buying a board.
Keep up the good work

 

[CC Ricers]

The motherboard is shipped and may arrive much sooner. I was given a very optimistic delivery date for this Friday.

So it looks like I also need to get a power adapter and USB-to-HDMI cable ASAP. I have a 7 inch touch screen that I can test with, before I get the actual 8 inch screen that will go in the final build.

I only found a couple of screens around that size that have a touch panel in the kit, and this looks to be a good one.

It's larger than the OneXPlayer screen, just slightly more, and the bezel will have to sit very close to the edge. So I actually like this, but it does require the case to be a bit oversized.

 

[CC Ricers]

As expected, I got my motherboard today, but can't use it yet since I'm still waiting for a USB-C to HDMI adapter ordered on eBay. I should've just ordered the expansion card with Framework. So all I can do now is look at it

And also measure it. The board is about 70mm shorter than the laptop to allow room for the expansion cards. It is 233mm long at its longest extents, and 107mm wide not counting the CPU cooler. With the cooler heatsink, it is 114mm wide.

It is also 6.8mm at its thickest point, which is less than I had expected. Surely it will help most of the case stay narrow throughout.

 

[CC Ricers]

Went out to a local store today to buy a USB-C to HDMI cable to do some early testing, and realized I lacked a USB hub that connects to USB-C, so I bought a USB-C to 3.1 USB A adapter too (not a hub). With these I was able to plug in one my mini 7" monitor and do some tests on Windows with a couple of games.

Haven't done much testing on the performance side, but I was more interested in the power consumption. I already have a Nintendo Switch power supply which turned out to be reliable for use here. That power supply has a max output of 39W (2.6A at 19V) which seems to be plenty fine for the Framework motherboard. Ran some older AAA games like Devil May Cry 4 and Borderlands 2 just to play some games that just max the GPU if I turn Vsync off.

DMC4 can easily get over 200fps at 720p and draws ~32 watts at the wall. With Vsync on, it dropped to ~17 watts. This excludes the power draw from the monitor which used its own power source. The monitor with speakers adds 6 watts.

Unlike the NUCs I've used, this BIOS doesn't have many options for power management. The Boot Performance mode didn't seem to make a difference whether it is set to Turbo Performance or Max Battery. Probably because it had no battery and used a wall adapter.

I wouldn't be able to do proper power testing without a battery. There's no data specs for the battery pinout, and spare laptop batteries are still not in stock.

If I cannot get a Framework battery, be possible to make the Framework detect a battery source if I used a DIY uninterruptable power supply like I've previously done with 18650 batteries. But it will also need a USB-C PD trigger board in order to detect a battery being plugged in.

I want to use as few USB ports as possible. One will be dedicated to the HDMI output.

Other devices that are required for power and data are the monitor, input controls and touch panel. With a USB-C to splitter board it can be possible to run all three with just one other port.

Pimoroni sells one half of such a device, a USB-C plug to USB 2.0 breakout. It's actually quite hard to find a breakout with a male plug. Most use USB-C female.

The other half is a hub to split into multiple connections. It too needs to be very small to fit inside the enclosure, and there are a few.

It could even be possible to fit this kind of mini USB hub into a Framework expansion card, one made for DIYers with header pins exposed.

 

[Curiosity]

If you have any interest in a ~10cm long usb c straight male to right angle female extension?
I don't have a use for it but if you do I could send it over for the cost of shipping or something like that if you want.
Maybe useful?

 

[CC Ricers]

If you have any interest in a ~10cm long usb c straight male to right angle female extension?
I don't have a use for it but if you do I could send it over for the cost of shipping or something like that if you want.
Maybe useful?

It may work for me. It would be better if the right angle was on the male end, as this side can be plugged and keeps the case from getting too long.
I just want to know if the male end is right angle, like in this picture.

 

[Valantar]

Have you looked into using the board's eDP connector to run your monitor? At least according to this project log, it seems like eDP display panels natively accept DP inputs, so I would expect all that's needed to connect any eDP display to any eDP source would be a suitable cable. Definitely not the easiest soldering job if a cable can't be found, but a huge boon for compactness at least. (If you're interested in going this route, according to the connector datasheet the connector type you need for the eDP cable is I-PEX 20877-040T-01 (locking, thicker/taller from the PCB) or -02 (non-locking, slimmer). It seems there are companies that specialize in making such cables - an inquiry might be in order?)

Btw, the battery connector pinout (including the type of connector!) can be found here. Added a screenshot just in case

http://www.lcd-cable.com/products_i...-01-cable-Assemblies-Manufacturer-357016.html

 

[Valantar]

Another idea if you want to conserve USB ports: the webcam connector has USB 2.0 lanes on pins 20 and 21 (though no 5V, so you'd have to source that elsewhere), so one option for really conserving your USB ports would be to buy a webcam, butcher its cable, and hook those lanes up to one of those hub boards you posted above.

 

[Curiosity]

It may work for me. It would be better if the right angle was on the male end, as this side can be plugged and keeps the case from getting too long.
I just want to know if the male end is right angle, like in this picture.

Good news- I was mistaken!
Right angle to right angle, female side has wings to facilitate mounting, and it is in fact about 100mm of flexible cable between the two halves.

I bought it for my custom build and plans changed so it ended up far too short to use.

 

[CC Ricers]

Thanks for that info @Valantar. I have browsed the Github documents on the laptop a couple of times, but somehow overlooked the pinouts page. Finding a small enough screen with a high enough resolution that directly connects to 40 pin eDP might be a challenge.

Finding a battery replacement may be less difficult. The voltage for the Framework battery is 15.4V, and I have found several online with that same connector from other laptops such as HP or Asus. Still feels risky to try a third party battery without properly inspecting that the pinout is 100% compatible. Would be much better when the Framework batteries are back in stock.

 

[CC Ricers]

Good news- I was mistaken!
Right angle to right angle, female side has wings to facilitate mounting, and it is in fact about 100mm of flexible cable between the two halves.

I bought it for my custom build and plans changed so it ended up far too short to use.

That may or may not work for me. The big question mark is the female end is also angled, and there is a PCB attached which extends 2cm from it, so that's an extra 2cm (roughly) that cannot bend, and not quite sure it will fit great for a slim hanheld profile.

I will probably just get the small 90 degree adapters and use one for the HDMI cable. It will be something similar to what this cyberdeck build used with the motherboard. They used a custom printed adapter to make the bend tighter on the HDMI adapter. I may try that if I'm willing to open up the cheap adapter that I'm still waiting on, and keep the other adapter as a spare.

For screens there are some good options in 7", 8" and 8.9" size. The 7" are 1920x1200 and 8.9" are available in 2560x1600 resolution. 8" are just in 1280x800 which is fine, but the higher resolutions would be nice for desktop use and running old games in native resolution.

Here is a 7" screen with 1200p resolution and touch panel. It's not very cheap but has all the parts I need.

Mocking the fit on the Framework case, there will be noticeable bezels going with 7". Won't look as sleek some of the other handheld gaming PCs but roughly if you can imagine the Steam Deck it will have bezels like that, just a bit shorter lengthwise.

8" to 8.5" would be the sweet spot for this motherboard. Elecrow makes a touch screen monitor that falls in that range, again only in 800p instead of 1200p or 1600p. I'm still deciding which size to go with.

 

[CC Ricers]

Think that I'll go bigger instead of smaller for the screen. The 8.9" 1600p screen will be purchased along with the touch panel. There are 50hz and 60hz versions available. For portable gaming, maybe the 50hz is better? It could possibly improve battery life if it's capped to the refresh rate, and I would be able to keep more games at a stable framerate with 50hz.

 

[Curiosity]

Totally understand that, tho it's closer to 1cm of inflexibility. I figured better to offer and have you not be interested that not offer and see you buy something close or identical.

 

[CC Ricers]

@Curiosity I might try out the cable, but I'll DM you if I'm going to buy it.

Seems I can't make my mind up about the screen Now I'm leaning towards the Elecrow 8" monitor for the more balanced look. I can still take it apart anyways and print my own custom enclosure. Version 1 will just have no gamepad controls, just power and the volume controls.

Version 2 will have internal battery space and gamepad controls. Top half is split into three parts to make it easy to print out controller ends without having to print an entire top part all over again.

Going to also buy the laptop speakers and WiFi card from the Framework store.

 

[REVOCCASES]

Seems I can't make my mind up about the screen Now I'm leaning towards the Elecrow 8" monitor

not sure if it fits your needs, but I'm quite happy with my INTEHILL 8.9" touchscreen - major advantage is that it only needs one Type-C cable for power/video/data

Accessory - Review - INTEHILL 1920×1200 portable 8.9" USB-C Touchscreen - supports HDR and FreeSync

My old portable monitor broke, so I was looking for some alternative... Finally decided to go really SFF and got a 8.9" USB-C Touchscreen from INTEHILL. Technical Data: IPS screen with 1920×1200 resolution, 60Hz HDR Support AMD FreeSync Support (48 ~ 60Hz) Input: 1x mini-HDMI, 2x USB-C 10...

smallformfactor.net

 

[CC Ricers]

not sure if it fits your needs, but I'm quite happy with my INTEHILL 8.9" touchscreen - major advantage is that it only needs one Type-C cable for power/video/data

Accessory - Review - INTEHILL 1920×1200 portable 8.9" USB-C Touchscreen - supports HDR and FreeSync

My old portable monitor broke, so I was looking for some alternative... Finally decided to go really SFF and got a 8.9" USB-C Touchscreen from INTEHILL. Technical Data: IPS screen with 1920×1200 resolution, 60Hz HDR Support AMD FreeSync Support (48 ~ 60Hz) Input: 1x mini-HDMI, 2x USB-C 10...

smallformfactor.net

That monitor looks good in general (especially all the power and DP going through one cable), but at 143mm height it will likely feel oversized as a portable system for me. More and more I'm gravitating towards the 8 inch monitor. It also has a touch function. It's 1280x800 but on the other hand it won't stress the GPU as much to render at that resolution.

 

[CC Ricers]

Minor update: Bought laptop speakers and wi-fi card from Framework. I don't know what quality to expect from them, but I want them to divert power away from USB so I don't need it to do the work of powering both a screen and speakers at once. My testing mini monitor turns off whenever the speakers get too loud, don't want that happening in a handheld (or any other computer system).

I'm also feeling more the 8.9" 1600p monitor. Yes, I went back to the big one The way I see it, Chinese companies are coming out with smaller handhelds like AYN Loki so I figure gonna stand out better by going the other direction. Just not TOO big. But ideal dimensions are 132 x 280 mm for the handheld. Just slightly larger than a regular OneXPlayer and probably about how large the Alienware UFO concept was.

 

[msystems]

I don't know if it helps you, but I saw a lot of usb-pd boards on Ali express with up to 100w output. Some even come with a secondary board for DIYing up some lithium in series.

9.47US $ 50% OFF|High-power 120w Two-way Pd Fast Charging Module Power Bank Motherboard Two-way Buck-boost - Power Bank Accessories - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

However I don't fully understand how to go about charging the lithiums with this. It doesn't appear to support charging and discharging at the same time. And then I don't think the Framework would be able to know the battery status either. So essentially it's a power bank but without a housing as far as I can tell.

 

[CC Ricers]

I don't know if it helps you, but I saw a lot of usb-pd boards on Ali express with up to 100w output. Some even come with a secondary board for DIYing up some lithium in series.

9.47US $ 50% OFF|High-power 120w Two-way Pd Fast Charging Module Power Bank Motherboard Two-way Buck-boost - Power Bank Accessories - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

However I don't fully understand how to go about charging the lithiums with this. It doesn't appear to support charging and discharging at the same time. And then I don't think the Framework would be able to know the battery status either. So essentially it's a power bank but without a housing as far as I can tell.

I'm going to stick with a laptop battery since it makes the most sense and don't need to spend a lot of time rigging stuff. But there's still the setback of Framework batteries being out of stock, and I've been checking since May :-/ Wondering if other 16 volt batteries with the 10 pin connector would do just as well. In the meantime I am powering it with the Nintendo Switch adapter no problem.

Also, I have bought the laptop speakers and WiFi card. The speakers are to be plugged into the board's main speaker port and this way I don't need the display module to also power its own speakers, so more headroom for USB power. WiFi card still needs the antenna so I'll be getting that as well.

 

[CC Ricers]

I have went back to working on the case design for the Framework board. Going back and forth on this, I settled to go with a stacked design of laser cut sheets, possibly out of carbon fiber for lighter weight (and also looks). Inside is a modified version of a simple monitor mount I found for the board, which I recreated from the STL as it was easier than just trying to convert the STL properly and tweak it on my own.

This lightweight frame is built around a 8 inch 800p portable screen. The top section is split so it's easier to replace and re-do the controller parts as I make changes to the model. It's kind of inspired by DIY quadcopters, as it will use those fancy anodized aluminum columns to hold the outer pieces together.