Creation | anyon_e
I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success – Nikola Tesla
It’s got a 4K AMOLED display, a Cherry MX mechanical keyboard, plays Minecraft at 4K, runs +7B LLMs, surfs the web, and has ~7h battery life. All open-source.
Imagine a skill-chart of qualities of technology: screen, audio, performance, build, tactility, touch-interaction, efficiency, size, and so many more. At the balancing point of all these qualities is the laptop. To that end, let’s build a laptop that hits as many qualities of a modern commercial thin & light laptop—while trying to do as much from scratch as possible.
I looked towards single-board computer SoCs, as board manufacturers commonly release schematics for reference. In many aspects, the Rockchip RK3588 is the fastest consumer-procurable chip on the market. Despite the spotty software support, the hardware documentation has lots of developer resources and reference schematics from SBC manufacturers.
With only a few months to work on this project, an SoM (system on module) like the Raspberry Pi CM5 presented the best option for its hardware compatibility and a high likelihood of a snug integration. Choosing an SoM also alleviates memory and other high-speed signaling concerns. Looking around for a RK3588 SoM, I came across the CM3588 by FriendlyElec. Cheap, well-documented, and easily procurable. Sounds good!
