I’m curious as to the benefits of going with a frame work laptop realistically?
I primarily do CAD work and such so my needs are a bit different that a lot of people. But even looking at it from the perspective of wanting to game, i could pick up a second hand Dell for a tenth the price of a frame work, and have quite powerful on board graphics with a powerful CPU, and sure it wont be latest gen but it would still be enough to out preform a Framework 13 and possibly 16, and have a far bigger screen.
So surely there are some other benefits to a frame work? Or is it really just the fact you can repair these easily that make people buy them?
I’d also like to mention I do fully support what Framework are doing in terms of reparability but when it comes to considering if I should buy one I have got to think a little more logically than believing in the dream.
Customizability, you can make a lot of choices you wouldn’t be able to make. You can find the perfect laptop except you want a matte display over a glossy display you are SOL and have to keep looking. With the FW, you pick your parts.
Also you are looking at in the short term. Long term, when the screen brakes or something happens, it’s generally going to be easier and potentially cheaper to replace it urself, and when it comes to upgrading, you may only need to replace a piece or two rather than the whole laptop. They’re selling 11th gen i7 boards for like $200 right now, if you had an i5 you can get an upgraded laptop with only $200!
Plus, upgrading my mother board / cpu atm, I am now left with a Desktop in the form of my old board.
I always wanted a laptop that can be built like a desktop PC - have a standard so off-the-shelf parts can be used to build, upgrade, and repair laptops just like we already can with PCs. Framework has open sourced a lot of their hardware so I’m hoping their laptop designs (only two so far) will become the standard. FW13 and FW16 wouldn’t just be model monikers. They will be industry standard form factors like AT, ATX, and ITX.
That’s my wishful thinking at least.
How much RAM and SSD do you need for CAD? The more you need, the more you are going to be ripped off by anyone who supports then to the board.
If you want to upgrade with an all soldered machine, it brands throwing everything away and starting fresh.
Even if there exists some magical and super cheap Dell with 1/10 the the price of the framework that can outperform it (really? How about a link with the process and performance numbers) - can you upgrade the motherboard when a btw I’ve comes out? And reuse the older one as a PC?
Module system is fun to play with, especially you’re quite a tinkerer (arduino etc)
I can afford it and I like the idea of it. Not everything is about maximizing performance per dollar.
Not everyone is in a position like you, that has that kind of money to buy a more premium laptop like a Framework.
One advantage I see is that you can improve your overall experience with time by making new upgrades, instead of being stuck with a non-upgradable machine’s flaws. For example, if you had bought the first batch, now you get the luxury of upgrading the processor, or the display to matte.
Before purchasing OG laptop 13 I had a Acer Chromebook 713 with the same processor. I’m looking for a laptop that’s thin and light since I don’t want to carry my gaming laptop all day, and I accidentally run into Framework.
But before even considering upgradeability, modularity, and repairability, Framework actually has some edges on hardware that almost no one else has in the States. Like one of the few 7840U/HS laptops with large-enough memory, without a dGPU, and with >=1 USB4 port (the other one being Lenovo Thinkpad P14s Gen 4 non 45%NTSC version).
For Framework Laptop 16, this is currently the only laptop on the planet that supports the public 48V/5A PD EPR standard. The debate between the powerful but heavy brick and the light but weak PD charger is now over. ASUS already demonstrated that they can even properly feed a 4090 mobile with 240W given a 7940HS, so 240W is enough. This alone can be a reason for going Framework.
Well because it’s a low power APU with a really bombastic powerful GPU part. High built quality, long battery life and it’s repair and upgradeability
I’m surprised I haven’t seen anyone post this yet:
It’s about sustainability, the environment and framework’s commitment to transparency.
Please write this down: YOU VOTE WITH YOUR MONEY.
When you purchase a FW laptop, you are investing in the FW ecosystem and telling the consumer electronics market that you, a consumer, believe in the values that FW stands for.
The market will follow where the money goes.
You pretty much got it. The selling points are repairability, upgradability, a company that isn’t consumer hostile, and Linux support/compatibility. Not everyone needs these things and not everyone wants to pay what they cost. Framework also doesn’t really provide the sort of warranty and support services that most companies would require (although they are less necessary in a device that can be repaired easily).
Buy what you need and can afford. Be glad that we have choices as consumers and that Framework is contributing to that.
It’s a 13in laptop that’s laughed at Onshape so far and is powerful enough for moderate gaming, and it’s designed to be fixed when something breaks. And if/when I decide it isn’t powerful enough to meet my needs anymore (dunno how long that’s gonna take, the Ryzen 7840u is pretty beefy) I can drop in the most current mainboard and upgrade to whatever the new hotness CPU/iGPU is.
In theory it’s the last daily-driver laptop I’m going to need.
I think eluktronic at one point had a 17" laptop with a desktop processor. I’m hoping Framework will be able to offer a desktop processor in a laptop and make it an upgrade option down the line.
Joining the Framework crowd is not about getting the most bang for the buck. Being a niche low run laptop company they just can’t compete with the volume/price the big boys have.
It’s about putting your money where your beliefs are. A high quality laptop that doesn’t force me to replace it when simple things go wrong. A laptop that let’s me configure it like I want. A laptop that doesn’t lock me in to their proprietary components soldered onto the motherboard.
Some have said “sounds a bit Apple-esq”, and ya it is. It’s getting behind a company that’s doing something different, vs just saying think different.