Intel Displays Credit-Card Sized Compute Card At Computex 2017, Shipping Soon

[Guest]

Intel unveiled its Compute Card, a credit card-sized compute platform, at CES earlier this year, but brought us up to speed on the available SKUs and the release date.

Intel Displays Credit-Card Sized Compute Card At Computex 2017, Shipping Soon : Read more

 

[TheRojakPlace]

The first that comes to mind is how much it looked like PCMCIA cards, when it's said to be inserted into laptops. History repeats! ??

 

[bit_user]

The first that comes to mind is how much it looked like PCMCIA cards, when it's said to be inserted into laptops. History repeats! ??

No, these cards are more likely to contain the laptop's CPU, memory, and primary storage. The laptop would likely be just a shell containing battery, display, keyboard, trackpad, and maybe some additional storage.

I don't really see this catching on as a way to have upgradable laptops, since these CPUs will be slower than most current laptop specs and the slot will just add bulk and cost. There would probably be other purposes for slotting these into a laptop or tablet shell, but those remain to be seen.

I highly doubt they're going to revive anything like a PCMCIA (AKA PC Card) slot, for these. Laptops are already too thin to accommodate it.

 

[AgentLozen]

No, these cards are more likely to contain the laptop's CPU, memory, and primary storage. The laptop would likely be just a shell containing battery, display, keyboard, trackpad, and maybe some additional storage.

I was wondering what this compute card was supposed to do, but the more I look at it, the more I think that you're right Bit_User. It seems like it's the computing guts that you can insert into a laptop shell. Every two years or so you could just replace the compute card and upgrade your laptop.

It's a neat idea, but I think it will only appeal to a niche market.

 

[bit_user]

It seems like it's the computing guts that you can insert into a laptop shell. Every two years or so you could just replace the compute card and upgrade your laptop.

It's a neat idea, but I think it will only appeal to a niche market.

I'm sure that's not the main point of it. This is like a more streamlined version of Raspberry Pi, where most of the ports are on whatever it's docked with.

I'm sure they have various industrial & commercial applications in mind (some of their partners listed seem to be kiosk & electronic signage manufacturers). It remains to be seen how consumer-focused this will be. I wonder whether they see it as a mobile counterpoint to their NUC platform, or perhaps something more specialized.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Actually, this seems more a blast from the past. The Pentium II slot CPUs were supposed to be user replaceable, upgradeable, and pair-able without the user having to open the chassis. While that never quite came to fruition, it looks like Intel never completely forgot the idea.