The more impressive thing is that they managed to get the Nvidia upgrade to be backwards compatible with existing Framework 16 models.
That’s the push I need to really, truly believe they’re committed to the goal of upgradablity. Too many “modular” products have come out where the “upgraded” modules were only available if you bought the newest version of the base product.
In the next year or so, I’ll probably be buying a new laptop, and this has convinced me that Framework is probably the way to go.
i’ve had a framework 13 from a time before there was any other type of framework, and it’s a great laptop honestly. ive yet to do big upgrades, but just being able to repair it myself is awesome. one time i dented the chassis around where the power button was. no worries, just changed the input cover and bam 5 minutes later it’s like new.
my only complaint is that the battery life is atrocious. i heard it’s better (but still not great) on newer models tho
I have two Intel frameworks, and they both suck in regards to battery life
Buuut, I just have a big power bank in my backpack. Gives me at least 1 full charge when I’m on the go. And at home I just have a lighter laptop due to smaller battery
The only thing that pisses me off about framework, is their abysmal software and communication in that regard. It’s basically impossible to get them to acknowledge or fix problems in their firmware
I have a 7840U with a 55HWr battery. I can squeeze out 7 hours. If I’m power using then 5-6 is typical. With the 63WHr battery, you’ll get about 15% more time with it.
yea, that’s what i meant when talking about newer gens being better
i have a i5-1240P (with 55WHr battery) and im lucky to get 5 hours while on power saver reading PDFs
I’ve been rocking a Framework 16 for about a year now and would happily recommend it. It’s a bit more upfront, but I love knowing that I can fix or replace just about anything on it (pretty affordably too). It’s just so refreshing to not have to worry about dumb shit like an obscure power adapter or port forcing my laptop into an early retirement.
It’s not the lightest laptop I’ve ever had, but realistically not all that much different from my last gaming laptop. Now that I’m not a full time student anymore I could probably get away with one of the smaller models, but the form factor is pretty nice.
Overall, no major complaints!
The only downside I have seen is that GSYNC will not work. The newer display supports it, put anyone upgrading an older Framework 16 with the new NVIDIA card will have to buy the screen upgrade as well if they need GSYNC.
Will freesync work with it?
Nowadays they’re the same thing. Nvidia uses a different name because they like appropriating things, I guess.
They are not the same thing. GSYNC requires the monitor to be embedded with an NVIDIA controller.
It does not. You’re talking about the original version GSYNC which required a hw module. That’s no longer the case.
No. That’s G-SYNC compatible, G-SYNC monitors require an “NVIDIA G-SYNC processor”.
https://www.nvidia.com/en-in/geforce/products/g-sync-monitors/
“g-sync compatible” monitors are still advertised as “g-sync”. So, while you’re technically right, even though nvidia’s marketing differentiates versions, manufacturers only put that in the fine print. Also, if you go back to the original question (“Will freesync work with it?”), if gsync works, freesync works as well. Regardless of which variant of gsync you have.
Lastly, framework mentions “we’ve updated our 165Hz 2560x1600 panel to support NVIDIA G-SYNC®” but I’m not sure they’re referring to actually including a coprocessor. It most likely refers to just adding VRR support.
Just picked up my first Framework 13. Moves like this are why I’m increasingly trusting of their mission and vision.
Hopefully they stay private, or better yet, change their corporate charter into a cooperative. Never go public.
That’s it, every other gaming laptop is finished. Even though I have the older CPU I can get the newest GPUs now. Nobody can claim that right now. No other company is doing this.
The other laptops arent finished yet. Framework is super expensive , even compared to other gaming laptops.
I think its worth it, but thats not the opinion of a lot of casual people.
And had i not gotten one via my job, i would not have gotten a framework 16 because of the price
lol industry first? Swappable GTX models were already a thing 10+ years ago. Clevo/Sager chimes in…… “bitch, we did it before you”.
Nowhere in the press release they claim to be an industry first on swappable mobile GPU, and the title imply that the “industry first” is to have a swappable RTX5070M, which may be correct, especially depending on your definition of “swappable”.
I’d prefer an AMD 9000 series because I refuse to support Nvidia, but the upgradability is still an amazing achievement. I’m glad to see Framework delivering.
Out of curiosity, why do you refuse to support Nvidia? AMD isn’t some saint, they’re a shitty corporation just like Nvidia. They got lucky when Jim Keller saved their asses with the Ryzen architecture in the mid-2010s. They haven’t really innovated a god damn thing since then and it shows.
Edit: I get it, I get it, Nvidia is a much shittier company and I agree. I was pretty drunk last night before bed, please pardon the shots fired
Haven’t innovated? 3D chip stacking?
CPU companies generally don’t change their micro-architecture, especially when it works.
they’re a shitty corporation just like Nvidia
Neither of them are anyone’s friend, but claiming they’re the same level of nasty is a bit of a stretch.
Not saying that supporting the under dog isn’t good.
Just don’t think AMD is less “nasty”, the only thing stopping them is the lack of power to do so.
Right, and since they’re not dominant, they’re less nasty. If they become dominant, consider switching to whoever is the underdog at that point.
Not OC but I don’t want to deal with Nvidia’s proprietary drivers. AMD cards “just work” on Linux
Except that AMD doesn’t support HDMI 2.1 on Linux (not their fault to be fair, but still)
This may be an unpopular opinion but who cares? I’ll use DVI if I have to.
I personally don’t have a need for it, but if someone has a 4K 120Hz TV or monitor without DisplayPort that they want to use as such, it’s kinda stupid that they can’t.
yeah, but that’s the fault of the HDMI standards group. AMD cards could only support HDMI 2.1 if they closed their driver down. I guess this can’t be fixed with a DP to HDMI adapter either, right?
my opinion: displayport is superior, and if I have a HDMI-only screen with supposed 4k 120Hz support I treat it as false info.
It could help if AMD still manufactured discrete mobile GPUs.
Most people don’t need them. The gaming and workstation laptop market is smaller than ever. The integrated graphics has been “good enough” for a while now.
Especially since the Steam Deck and derivatives mostly killed the gaming laptop niche market.
High end gaming laptops needed desktop GPUs anyway, because at least for nVidia, once you get past the **60 range, the mobile version starts getting very small jumps in performance compared to the desktop.
At some point it’s cheaper to get a gaming desktop and a cheap laptop lol
for laptops, either get last or even further generation 8 core cpu and 5070/4070, or be happy with AI 300 series igpu. Buy more memory instead. You might one day want local AI/LLMs.
Problem is almost no laptop has Strix Halo. Not even the Frameworks.
And rumors are its successor APU may be much better, so the investment could be, err, questionable.
Iirc this was due to the design of the chip. Framework said the bandwidth needed for the strix halo is waaaaaaayyyyy faster than the bandwidth of the sodimms that laptops have.
Hence they made the desktop, only thing they could think of doing with those classes of apu’sIt’s just soldered LPDDR5X. Framework could’ve fixed it to a motherboard just like the desktop.
I think the problem is cooling and power. The laptop’s internal PSU and heatsink would have to be overhauled for Strix Halo, which would break backwards compatibility if it was even possible to cram in. Same with bigger AMD GPUs and such; people seem to underestimate the engineering and budget constraints they’re operating under.
That being said, way more laptop makers and motherboard makers could have picked up Strix Halo. I’d kill for a desktop motherboard with a PCIe x8 GPU slot.
Now if only Framework did that with AMD & Intel GPUs, then we’d all be balling.
Also please make it available in the East
They’ve had AMD for a few years now. No Intel one, but they do sell empty GPU module shells, so maybe someone could cut down a desktop Intel card to fit in one?
OK I’m a bit confused. I have a Framework 16” that I bought earlier this year, without the GPU extension bay. I don’t care that much about the expansion bay as without it, the laptop is already huge. I have an eGPU to play on when I need it.
What upgrade options does this announcement offer to me?
I’m dissatisfied with:
- the webcam
- screen colors / brightness
- key stability on the keyboard (the keys are a bit wobbly)
- speaker sound quality (I’m not expecting the best, but something better than what it shipped with)
They are announcing a new webcam, will it be backwards compatible ?
Otherwise I’m really happy with it, I absolutely love the modular I/O, being able to swap which side the audio jack is is amazing. happy to support this endeavor of repairability
So I went back to the blog post. They are shipping the Framework 13" webcam in this updated 16" version. The part was already available for me to upgrade!
We’re now using the 2nd Gen Webcam that we first introduced last year on Framework Laptop 13.
https://frame.work/blog/introducing-the-new-framework-laptop-16-with-nvidia
The module comes pre-installed on Framework Laptop 13 (Intel Core Ultra Series 1) and the new Ryzen 7040 Series configurations with the 2.8k display. It’s also compatible with all of our existing Framework Laptop 13 and Framework Laptop 16 models […]
https://frame.work/blog/framework-laptop-13-deep-dive---a-laptop-webcam-with-smartphone-technology
Ordered the webcam. Will update when I upgrade it.
So I’m going to be skeptical here. I had an older 9xx MSI laptop that was touted as replaceable and “upgradable” GPU for the next generation at the time.
That ended up as a big ol’ whoops, because replacement screwed with thermals and found that you couldn’t actually upgrade because of all kinds of reasons and resulted in a class action suit.
Just color me skeptical on these types of things.
Framework has been pretty consistent on upgradability. You can even put the newest MOBOs/CPUs in the oldest laptops since they kept the formfactor identical. They sell such mobos on their website.
GPUs a bit of a different monster since there no such thing as a standard socket, you’re bound by the manufacturer spec for pin in/out.
And that was the case with MSI laptop and Nvidia partnership when Nvidia went full Darth Vader and changed the terms of the deal.
I mean more power to them if they can actually deliver actual modules that can be upgraded and if I can actually see a generation or two of this actually working, I’ll be on board but once bitten, can’t fool me again for the time being.
The standard is PCI-e, and it is interchangeable. This is the second dedicated video card you can get in a Framework laptop, and they can be swapped out with each other. The other video card is even an AMD Radeon.
Again, that’s great if they can continue to update and release their GPU module to work with additional and future gpus. I’ll believe it when I see it be updated with the next generation of gpus because just like it said on their press release, others have tried it and failed.
This is the next generation GPU. The Radeon is a last generation model that you have been able to buy for awhile now. What you are asking for currently exists and is something you can buy on their website right now and upgrade your older laptop:
Prior Module: https://frame.work/products/16-graphics-module-amd-radeon-rx-7700s
New Module: https://frame.work/products/laptop16-graphics-module-nvidia-geforce-rtx-5070
Ah, I see. Well cool, that’s actually pretty neat then, reasonably, at least in terms of today’s ridiculous GPU market, price. Maybe they will be the ones to break the curse then and I can have a laptop that can actually treat like a desktop.
Maybe they will be the ones to break the curse then and I can have a laptop that can actually treat like a desktop.
Nah, unfortunately they are just as beholden to the GPU makers as any of us. More than larger laptop OEMs for sure.
A future Intel Arc module may be the only hope, but that’s quite a hope.
I just got a 10L SFF desktop I can put in a suitcase, heh…
So what’s the hivemind consensus fellow lemmings, framework or thinkpad? My brain says lenovo but my heart says
There is no Thinkpad as repairable as the framework and if they are (they’re not) the price is out of reach for individuals since the p51 with LPCAMM2 targets enterprise costumers.
Your brain is wrong on this one. Follow your heart
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And still no OLED screen… why Framework, why?
I got one of the latest Framework 13 a couple months ago for work, and while I’m happy about the prospects of future repairability and upgradability down the line, it’s not a great laptop given its pricepoint.
The build is subpar, with the screen flexing a ton, the keyboard and trackpad are lacklustre and pretty uncomfortable, but the worst is the screen, it’s dim, with poor colour reproduction and 3:2 is frankly not for me. And fractional scaling is a mess with XWayland, while it was much better on my 2019 XPS 13.I love what Framework are pushing for and actually achieving, but tradeoffs are very much at play. I’m hoping for an OLED screen replacement in the near future though.
The good thing: You will probably be able to swap it once they make it available.
I really don’t see it happening considering you would likely just be replacing the whole chassis. I see an OLED in the future, just not a swappable one.
You can buy individual displays directly on framework’s website and swap them into even their oldest laptop. If they make OLED versions in the future, it will be the same: a display swap.
