themusicinnoise-site/blog/posts/0077-mnt-reform-adopts-i.mx8.html

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2020-11-12 09:08:48 +00:00
<p>For a while now I've been following the progress of the world of ARM computing, especially relating to personal computing. One of the projects I've been following is the <a href="https://mntre.com/reform/" target="_blank" >MNT Reform</a> (which I mentioned in my last post on ARM). The Reform is a modular laptop with open-source casing that can easily be 3D printed for replacement. In its original model it used the i.MX6QP, which had 4 cores with a frequency of 1.2GHz and the Vivante GC3000 GPU, which had up to OpenGL ES 3.1. However, in May for the re-introduction of the Reform they announced <a href="https://www.crowdsupply.com/mnt/reform/updates/re-introducing-reform" target="_blank" >they would be upgrading the chip from the i.MX6 to the i.MX8</a>. This has quite a few benefits to it, most importantly being the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.MX#i.MX_8_series" target="_blank" >introduction of Vulkan support</a> with i.MX8's integrated GPU (which uses free drivers). This means a lot more power for the ARM laptop, and shows how ARM can push into the realm of personal computing.</p>
<p>For most people interested in FLOSS computers, the MNT Reform seems to be providing a modern computer with freedom respecting hardware, while avoiding any kind of management engines like with Intel's x86 CPUs. With a GPU supporting Vulkan we can hope to see a laptop that will be good for FLOSS gaming as well as other GPU intensive tasks (such as 3D modeling).</p>