> attempts from other brands at making a modular graphics system in a notebook<p>i.e. Dell.<p>> the off-the-shelf FXBeam connector from Neoconix<p>So <i>that's</i> the company that makes the Dell Graphics Form Factor (DGFF) connectors[1], and that's why they're called <i>beam connectors</i> in the service manual[2] (search for it on that page; notice how similar the connectors are to Framework's). These have been used in Dell Precision workstations since the Precision 7530 and 7730 (released in 2018).<p>I ought to have realised that surely Dell didn't develop this themselves.<p>> We quickly found that these connectors (on the left in the image) could only reliably be installed once. On removing, handling, and reinstalling, it was easy to bend or break off the small pins.<p>After working with these connectors, they require some finesse, but they're not as fragile as the post makes them out to be. They're essentially tiny LGA sockets. Dell's implementation put the pins on the connectors and the contacts on the board, so the cheaper (and more disposable) component could break more easily. I'm not sure why Framework decided to forgo the connector and try to join both graphics card and motherboard directly together; this isn't addressed in the blog post.<p>That being said, 'beam connectors' still aren't cheap, though; when I asked Dell's service centre for spares, I was quoted something like SGD20/connector. They're roughly the same price on eBay[3].<p>[1]: <a href="https://i.imgur.com/aMal40L.jpeg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://i.imgur.com/aMal40L.jpeg</a><p>[2]: <a href="https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/precision-15-7560-laptop/precision_7560_sm/removing-the-system-board?guid=guid-4a968c20-fdba-4944-b1ab-7dbca12490a0&lang=en-us#:~:text=Remove%20the%20FPC%20beam%20connectors%20from%20the%20computer" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/precision-15-7560...</a>.<p>[3]: <a href="https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=NGRJG&_sacat=0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313...</a>