At that time, “headless laptops” mainly referred to a special product colloquially known as “headless machines”. They were essentially laptops with broken screens or those that had their screens removed entirely. Users who purchased these “headless machines” often did not attempt to repair the screens but instead connected these devices to external monitors, sometimes even adding keyboards and mice, effectively using them as a variant of a “desktop computer”.
Clearly, the reason consumers bought these products was that they were essentially damaged laptops, making them particularly cheap. However, what many may not expect is that years later, this type of “headless laptop” not only saw a booming market performance but also underwent normalization in various aspects, posing a significant challenge to traditional desktop computers.
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From “headless machines” to MoDT, laptop platforms are increasingly favored in desktop PCs
First, it should be noted that these “headless laptops” are no longer the same “foreign garbage” or “headless machines” they once were; their appearances have become increasingly diverse.
ROG NUC may currently be the most “gaming” MoDT product
For example, a more common form is the “mini PC” products that resemble the size of a book or lunchbox. Intel had previously launched many such products and collectively referred to them as NUC (Next Unit of Computing). Therefore, most players now refer to these mini PCs as “NUC”, regardless of what other manufacturers call them.
In addition, some very unique motherboards can be seen in the DIY PC market. At first glance, they do not seem much different from ordinary desktop motherboards, but upon closer inspection, it is easy to find that these motherboards lack the CPU installation socket typical of desktop motherboards and instead come with a sizable metal cover. Beneath it is a soldered mobile CPU that cannot be replaced.
Moreover, the chipsets of these motherboards often originate from laptop platforms. In essence, they resemble a laptop’s quasi-system transplanted onto the shape of a desktop motherboard, made into a factory-pre-installed “board and CPU kit”.
With such an appearance, who would guess it contains a laptop platform?
That’s not all; looking at the entire market today, we can even see some more “quirky” devices in the commercial PC field. They look completely indistinguishable from ordinary “desktop computers”, and their chassis size is not particularly small. Only by opening the case and removing the custom cooler can one discover that the CPU used on the motherboard is not a common desktop CPU but a soldered “mobile CPU” from a laptop.
It is evident from these examples that products using laptop CPUs or laptop chipsets + processors in the form of “desktop PCs” have become clearly normalized. This normalization naturally means they are attracting more and more consumer attention. Additionally, more manufacturers, including leading brands, are entering the market with products they refer to as “MoDT (Mobile on DeskTop)”.
So why have products that pack laptop CPUs into desktops become increasingly popular in recent years? Based on the characteristics of various products on the market, we can summarize several major advantages.
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Significant price differences make desktop PC gamers excited
Firstly, friends who pay attention to these products will find that most MoDT products on the market, especially those appearing in the form of motherboards or commercial PCs, often use older laptop CPU solutions. For example, many products based on the 12th and 13th generation Core, as well as AMD’s 7000 or 8000 series mobile CPUs, are still visible today. Using older CPUs naturally means that manufacturers can procure chips at lower prices.
Less than 3000 yuan for the 14900HX (24-core, 32-thread core, same as 14900K)
As far as we know, some brands initially launched these MoDT product lines to help clear inventory in their supply chains. Therefore, from a consumer perspective, this means that the complete MoDT solutions and board-CPU combinations will be extremely inexpensive.
There are even options close to 2000 yuan for the 7945HX (16-core, 32-thread core, same as 7950X)
For example, on mainstream e-commerce platforms, a certain brand’s “Ryzen 7945HX” ITX integrated motherboard is priced at only 2199 yuan, while the corresponding “official” desktop version Ryzen 9 7950X has a CPU price of at least 2700 yuan or more. Not to mention that the MoDT package for the Core i9-14900HX is currently under 3000 yuan, while the same Core i9-14900K retail chip costs at least 4500 yuan or more, which is a significant price difference.
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Low power consumption and low heat generation bring benefits beyond just “not easy to throttle”
Everyone knows that in the past two to three years, there has been a noticeable increase in heat accumulation and high power consumption across desktop CPUs from various manufacturers. This is particularly evident in high-end gaming CPUs, where severe heat accumulation and over-voltage strategies have even led to some products experiencing significant “throttling” issues.
Intel once launched high-end MoDT hosts, and the CPU (i9-11900KB) even performed better than desktop counterparts
However, due to the unique nature of laptops, laptop CPUs come with much more conservative voltage strategies and noticeably lower power walls from the factory. Even models like the 7945HX and 14900HX, which essentially use the same cores as desktop CPUs, often exhibit much lower heat and power characteristics.
This brings several potential benefits. For instance, lower heat generation means players can spend less on CPU coolers, cases, and fans, further reducing overall costs. While lower power consumption may not matter much to individual users, for commercial scenarios where dozens or even hundreds of computers run simultaneously, these seemingly “non-serious” MoDT computers can indeed be seen as a means to achieve “cost reduction and efficiency improvement”.
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Simple interface advantages allow MoDT products to innovate
Moreover, since MoDT platforms originate from laptops, the related motherboard chipsets inherently possess some unique advantages. This means they often integrate features like WiFi and Thunderbolt controllers that are not available in desktop platforms of the same generation (this is even more evident for slightly older product generations).
As a result, many MoDT “mini PCs” on the market commonly come equipped with USB4, Thunderbolt 4, and even OCulink interfaces that support external graphics cards, and they generally feature WiFi network cards. This effectively addresses the potential shortcoming of MoDT computers not being able to install dedicated graphics cards while also making them more attractive to consumers who find it difficult to layout network cables in their homes.
The above is a mini PC, and below is a modular graphics dock
Some manufacturers have even cleverly turned the expansion capabilities of the MoDT platform into a selling point for high-end products. Through the combination of modular mini hosts and graphics docks, they provide high-end players who are tired of traditional desktop PCs with a “new gadget”. This, in turn, enhances the diversification and competitiveness of MoDT products in today’s PC market, breaking away from the simplistic “low-cost” image.
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