I am looking at the R400 (can get it cheep) and was unhappy of its Napa platform. Of course there are other things i dislike but i can get over them. Is there, anywhere I can get a Santa Rosa based mobo that will fit in the R400? I am asking this for a friend, but i am also interested myself. I dont want to waste a lot of money, but I technically could Frankenstein a new mobo from a new tablet, provided it fits, right? how about something cheaper, like a third party mobo supplier? Thanks for the help, -ChaosSpear
The motherboards in laptops are proprietary... not only to the manufacturer, but to the chasis itself. With drive location, RAM location, fans and vents, etc. You may be able to force a super small mobo into the case (see mini-itx)but you will not see any tangible gains with such a design. If you absolutely need a certain chipset you would be better served purchasing a computer designed with it already on board.
sadly, thats what I thought. but the r400 has no optic drive, and i wouldnt mind moving everything inside, as long as the ports are able to reconnect. mini itx? thanks ChaosSpear