Dual system laptops

[NumLock21]

Was checking out some laptop at a retail store the other day and saw some of them are tablet styles, where you can detach it from their keyboards. This means all the hardware components are  installed on back of that LED screen, and its keyboard is basically a docking station. I wonder if any of them has ever thought up of actually putting 2 systems, where the keyboard dock will have a more powerful specs, compared to the ones that's installed behind the display? So when you run in laptop mode, it uses the components that's in the keyboard dock.

What I mean is this

2 in 1 laptop

Screen part - Core M CPU, 4-8GB of ram, iGPU 128-256GB SSD

Keyboard part - Core i3 - i7, 8-32GB of ram, dedicated GPU, 256-1TB of SSD.

Ram on the keyboard uses SO-DIMMs so they can be upgraded.

SSD runs on M.2 or in the 2.5" form factor

When you detach the screen from the keyboard, it runs on Core M, etc. Plug screen to keyboard and it runs on the Core i7.

 

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

No one has done this. 

 

Its expensive, you run a different os(most people would hats this)

 

Less batter life

 

Heavy

 

You don't want to reboot. 

 

The best way i could think to do this is using vms and live migration.

[don_svetlio]

6 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

No one has done this. 

 

Its expensive, you run a different os(most people would hats this)

 

Less batter life

 

Heavy

 

You don't want to reboot. 

 

The best way i could think to do this is using vms and live migration.

You are wrong. Microsoft did this with the Surface book. It works just fine, it doesn't affect battery as the bottom has it's own extra battery, it's not heavy at all and reboot is not needed.

[don_svetlio]

9 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

Was checking out some laptop at a retail store the other day and saw some of them are tablet styles, where you can detach it from their keyboards. This means all the hardware components are  installed on back of that LED screen, and its keyboard is basically a docking station. I wonder if any of them has ever thought up of actually putting 2 systems, where the keyboard dock will have a more powerful specs, compared to the ones that's installed behind the display? So when you run in laptop mode, it uses the components that's in the keyboard dock.

What I mean is this

2 in 1 laptop

Screen part - Core M CPU, 4-8GB of ram, iGPU 128-256GB SSD

Keyboard part - Core i3 - i7, 8-32GB of ram, dedicated GPU, 256-1TB of SSD.

Ram on the keyboard uses SO-DIMMs so they can be upgraded.

SSD runs on M.2 or in the 2.5" form factor

When you detach the screen from the keyboard, it runs on Core M, etc. Plug screen to keyboard and it runs on the Core i7.

 

 

Microsoft Surface Book is what you want I guess

[don_svetlio]

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, don_svetlio said:

You are wrong. Microsoft did this with the Surface book. It works just fine, it doesn't affect battery as the bottom has it's own extra battery, it's not heavy at all and reboot is not needed.

Bottom only has a gpu, not anouther cpu and ram.

[NumLock21]

5 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

No one has done this. 

 

Its expensive, you run a different os(most people would hats this)

 

Less batter life

 

Heavy

 

You don't want to reboot. 

 

The best way i could think to do this is using vms and live migration.

I just thought about the OS where it can only run from the SSD that's in the screen. Plugging to the keyboard dock means the SSD in the dock is just for storage.

[don_svetlio]

Just now, Electronics Wizardy said:

Bottom only has a gpu, not anouther cpu and ram.

Still. It's the same idea as the OP described. ULV CPUs are all 15W so not really hot

[Bleedingyamato]

Microsoft has sort of done this for their Surface Book I think it's called.  The keyboard part contains a lower end Nvidia dedicated GPU with I think 1GB of VRAM last I had seen along with additional battery cells to extend the battery life while docked with the keyboard.

 

It's an interesting idea but way overpriced for what you get because MS wants to be greedy and charge an insane premium for the ultra portable form factor.

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, NumLock21 said:

I just thought about the OS where it can only run from the SSD that's in the screen. Plugging to the keyboard dock means the SSD in the dock is just for storage.

So..... surface book

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, Bleedingyamato said:

Microsoft has sort of done this for their Surface Book I think it's called.  The keyboard part contains a lower end Nvidia dedicated GPU with I think 1GB of VRAM last I had seen along with additional battery cells to extend the battery life while docked with the keyboard.

 

It's an interesting idea but way overpriced for what you get because MS wants to be greedy and charge an insane premium for the ultra portable form factor.

That's because there is no competition. If you want a 2-in-1 like the SB - there is no alternative.

[NumLock21]

Okay so my idea was basically a surface book, but I want the dock with to come with a powerful CPU, more ram and a better GPU like a GTX 980. Don't know what Nvidia gpu have in that surface book. Probably a ION or something. 

 

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, NumLock21 said:

Okay so my idea was basically a surface book, but I want the dock with to come with a powerful CPU, more ram and a better GPU like a GTX 980. Don't know what Nvidia gpu have in that surface book. Probably a ION or something. 

 

The SB has a 930M with 1GB of GDDR5

What you are describing is basically impossible.

[Gikero]

21 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

No one has done this. 

 

Its expensive, you run a different os(most people would hats this)

 

Less batter life

 

Heavy

 

You don't want to reboot. 

 

The best way i could think to do this is using vms and live migration.

I would say this qualifies, but it was never released. It seemed that Google and/or MS were not happy with the idea and put a stop to it.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/6/5280850/asus-transformer-book-duet-hands-on-ces-201

Honestly, it is my dream laptop. Give me x86 and decent GPU in the base. When docked, Windows. When undocked, a decent tablet.

 

[Bleedingyamato]

5 hours ago, don_svetlio said:

That's because there is no competition. If you want a 2-in-1 like the SB - there is no alternative.

True.  They really have no incentive to lower the price.

 

But for what it is the SB is a good example of aside from the horrible price.  Even if you lose the full tablet experience by using the keyboard dock having the added battery life and any sort of dedicated GPU is very nice for what is technically still a tablet.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Bleedingyamato
Fixed phrasing of first sentence.

[kaiju_wars]

1 hour ago, don_svetlio said:

The SB has a 930M with 1GB of GDDR5

What you are describing is basically impossible.

While it's not technically impossible, just what OP wants would be ludicrously expensive.