Background Information

MNT Reform is an open hardware laptop designed to be as open and transparent as possible and to support a free and open-source software stack from the ground up.

Users are invited to take a look under the hood, customize the documented electronics, and even repair the laptop themselves if they like.

Built not around Intel technology, but an upgradeable NXP i.MX8MQ CPU module with 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 cores, MNT Reform has a much easier-to-understand architecture than conventional laptops.

Technical Specifications

SoC Options

The MNT Reform Laptop features several SOC module options for upgrading

{table
|width=100%
| 
|! i.MX8MQ
|! i.MX8MPLUS
|! RCM4 A311D
|! RCM4 RPI
|! LS1028A
|! RKX7
|--
|! CPU
| 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53
| 4x 1.8GHz Cortex-A53 (2GHz overclocked)
| 4x 2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 + 2x 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53
| 4x 1.5 GHz Cortex-A72 (2 GHz overclocked)
| 2x 1.5 GHz Cortex-A72
| Kintex-7 FPGA (i.e. VexRiscV/LiteX)
|--
|! GPU
| Vivante GC7000L (OpenGL/ES 2.1 with Etnaviv)
| Vivante GC7000UL (OpenGL/ES 2.1 with Etnaviv)
| ARM Mali G52 MP4 (OpenGL/ES 3.1 with Panfrost)
| VideoCore 4 (OpenGL/ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.0)
| Vivante GC7000UL (OpenGL/ES 2.1 with Etnaviv)
| User defined
|--
|! RAM
| 4 GB LPDDR4
| 8 GB LPDDR4
| 4 GB LPDDR4
| 8GB LPDDR4
| 16 GB DDR4
| 2 GB DDR3
|--
|! Wi-Fi
| via mPCIe card
| Integrated QCA9377 (WiFi 5)
| Integrated RTL8822CS (WiFi 5)
| Integrated BCM43455 (WiFi 5)
| via mPCIe card
| N/A
|--
|! Bluetooth
| N/A
| Integrated QCA9377 (BT 5.0)
| Integrated RTL8822CS (BT 5.0)
| Integrated BCM43455 (BT 5.0)
| N/A
| N/A
|--
|! PCIe
| 2 x Slots
| 1 x Slot
| 1 x Slot
| 1 x Slot
| 1 x Slot, 1 x External, 1 x SATA 3
| 2 x Slots
|--
|! Dual Display Support
| Yes
| Yes
| No
| Yes
| No
| Yes
|--
|! Open Source Firmware
| DDR4C and HDMI (optional) have closed-source firmware
| DDR4C and WiFi/BT have closed-source firmware
| Part of boot/TF-A and Wi-Fi firmware is closed source
| Closed boot blob
| eDP has closed source firmware (required only in laptop)
| Yes
|--
|! PDF Schematics
| Yes, full
| Yes, full
| Partial
| Partial
| Yes
| Yes
|--
|! KiCAD Sources
| No
| Adapter only
| Adapter only
| Adapter only
| Yes, full
| Yes, full
|--
|! USB Support
| USB 3.0
| USB 3.0
| USB 2.0
| USB 2.0
| USB 3.0
| USB 1.0 (User Defined)
|--
|! HDMI Support
| HDMI 2.0a
| HDMI 2.0a
| HDMI 2.1
| HDMI 2.0
| No (external PCIe for eGPU instead)
| HDMI 1.4
|--
|! Price Comparison (Euros/USD)
| €249 ($271.26)
| €399 ($434.67)
| €249 ($271.26)
| €149 ($162.32)
| €899 ($979.37)
| €1,599 ($1741.94)
}

Display

• Diagonal Size: 12.5"

• Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels

• Pixel System Control: 128 x 32 pixel system control OLED

• Display Driver: MIPI-DSI

I/O

• USB 3.0: 3 x Type-A USB 3.0 (External)

• USB 2.0: 2 x USB 2.0 (Internal)

• HDMI: 1 x HDMI

• Ethernet: 1 x Gigabit Ethernet Port

Networking

• Ethernet: Gigabit Ethernet

• Wi-Fi Card: ath9k miniPCIe

Storage

• Storage Type: SSD

• Key Slot: M.2 M-key socket

• eMMC: 16 GB

• Full-Size SD Card Slot: Yes

PCIe

• PCIe Socket: 1 x miniPCIe 2.0.1x

• M.2/NGFF: PCIe 2.0 on LS1028A, SATA-3 on A311D

Operating System

• Preloaded O/S: Debian GNU/Linux

Keyboard/Trackpad Options

• Keyboard: Reform Mechanical USB Keyboard w/ Kailua Choc Brown Switches

• Keyboard Backlight: Dimmable Backlight

• Keyboard Firmware: Open Firmware

• Trackpad: Reform Capacitive USB Trackpad

• Trackball: Reform Optical USB Trackball w/ 5 Mechanical Switches

Enclosure

• Case Finish: Bead-Blasted, Black-Anodized 6061 Aluminum

• Case: Modular Case from CNC-Milled

• Bottom Cover: Milled Simi-Transparent Acrylic

Microphone/Speakers

• Speakers: Wolfson WM8960 ADC/DAC Stereo Speakers

• Headphone Jack: 3.5 mm Headphone Jack w/ Microphone Support

• Internal Microphone: No

Battery

• Battery Technology: LiFePO4

• Battery Cells: 8 x 18650 Cells

• Owner-Serviceable: Yes

• Battery Life: 5 Hours

Sources

• Hardware Sources:

  • KiCAD Sources for Motherboard, Keyboard and Trackball

  • STEP/STL/FreeCAD files for other case components

• Software Sources:

  • C Sources for Firmware (input devices and system controller), script building support for boot and system images.

Additional Information

• MNT Reform Laptop Product Page

• MNT Reform Laptop Documentation Page