I won’t be entirely surprised to see the laptop industry staying the same since the laptop chips didn’t even come out yet (intel currently only offers desktop unlocked i5 and i7 of 12th gen on their website)
And their launch itself is going to be appropriate for a main event, as the performance+efficiency cores are supposed to make laptops even more performant.
Speaking of which …
Intel is surprisingly quiet about their Xe graphics however. We see the 80 unit and 96 unit in mobile chips performing quite well, but they are surprisingly quiet about “making a 256 EU unit and put a blue heatsink on it”.
I mean, they made the DG1(development graphics one), which is a actual thing handed out to developers so they can harness the “scalable graphics technology”. But as a consumer product perhaps it’s a bit mundane (remember it only have 80 units which is the same as 1135g7)
Obviously they are the old toothpaste company, keeping people waited on whatever they have to offer. Shouldn’t be entirely surprised to see that.
Let’s play the waiting game. I’m in.
Honestly, given that this just came out, it’s unlikely that they’ll have a 12th gen processor. For one, there’s already demand from the community for Ryzen-based platform solutions. For another, they’ve already put engineering overhead into the 11th gen and are underway with improving the current gear while planning ahead for whatever comes next. There’s also the practical experience thus far that DDR5 just isn’t giving people massive performance gains - yet.
So while it’s understandable to want to benefit from the latest and greatest, I could understand sitting out this next gen for a while, possibly skipping it altogether.
With intel releasing their new 12th gen Cpu’s soon and framework having not finished releasing all their 11th gen cpus. Is anyone wondering if or when they will be released?
Done - it makes the thread listings cleaner and keeps all posts in one thread, but it’s a little messy for the thread itself as you see here. It does not insert posts in chronological order but in the order of the original threads, which looks a little messy in the thread and makes it harder to follow.
But it makes more sense from an organizational standpoint, so - done.
I’m on the fence about getting an i5 model now and switching to Rembrandt later (assuming we have the option), or waiting to see if Rembrandt ever becomes an option. Thankfully I have memory and an SSD I can reuse in the Tiger Lake board, but I’m just worried I’ll get it and not be able to get a proper 8 core CPU or equivalent without torching battery life.
I’m about to take the plunge and order a DIY with the second-fastest i7 CPU but with a beefy amount of RAM and SSD - so none of the prebuilt options would match, and I will put Linux on it anyway.
My current personal laptop is still working but getting a bit long in the tooth (firmware keeps losing settings once the battery drains, the “i7” throttles all the time, not enough RAM for large compile jobs) that I figure, between the current global shortages and there potentially being AMD or ARM options a few years down the road anyway, the 12th gen is not that overly exciting anyway.
Framework is a small company with limited engineering resources, and plenty of possible projects to use them on. If 12th generation were a typical Intel upgrade it would be a no-brainer because it wouldn’t be much work to do, but it’s actually a very different architecture with a new pinout (or socket design on desktop parts).
There are other things people are clamoring for. AMD fans want a system with their preferred processor family… but that will likely have to wait for Ryzen 6000 later this year so Thunderbolt is supported. Lots of people want a larger laptop with support for a discrete GPU. Others want a touchscreen, a higher resolution display, pen support, and/or a 2-in-1 design. There are more radical possibilities like an Arm-based laptop. People want more modules; an Ethernet module is probably the #1 request. And finally there is ramping up production to fill the global demand.
I’m not convinced that a 12th generation Intel motherboard is the best use of Framework’s resources right now. The ideal is for the company to be sufficiently successful to have the ability to take on multiple projects at once.
@Shirley_Dulcey Releasing a 12th gen CPU is a make a break for this company tbh. If they can’t deliver a 12th gen intel cpu within a time frame around when other manufacturers are launching their systems the company will end up like Clevo did with MXM GPUs. With Clevo the incentive to buy the upgradable GPU Laptop over was diminishing as the desktop cards were launched as far as a year with Mobile GPUs even being launched before the MXM cards were released.
I mean you will still have all the fanboys who will buy no matter what sure but for the most part it will show they can’t keep up with the promise of upgradability. Why should I waste my money on buying a 12th gen framework if it launches at the end of the product cycle at MSRP while others will be discounting systems and getting ready for 13th gen. It’s really a make or break for this company at least for me I’ve been through this with Clevos MXM GPUs for years and I don’t want to be waiting a year to have the upgrade when I can just buy a BGA Laptop right away.
you could order your own RAM and SSD (and WiFi card), if you desire.
On the big picture, no. And in fact, on the big picture the 12th gen is only a testbed. But it is a massive bump up for mid tier Intel mobile computing that we haven’t seen in quite a few years
I’m not sure 12th gen CPUs is a make-or-break for the company. I do think it’s important that Framework has a roadmap in place to offer new motherboards in the future, but I think a lot of potential Framework users aren’t necessarily looking for the most processing power on a laptop since it’s comparable to an ultrabook in size.
I showed mine to a few people who said they were interested in getting one, and the topic of processors never came once.
If Framework doesn’t have 12th gen plans and prefers to skip a generation, I do at least hope they will drop prices for the current motherboards. Some companies have a reputation for keeping outdated hardware for the same cost for years and I wouldn’t want Framework to end up that way.
You can. But if you buy the SSD and RAM on your own you can get … say, more variation/features compared to what Framework provides (namely stuff from Micron)
Which, don’t get me wrong, is all good stuff. But there could be other options (e.g. Intel Optane 32+512GB SSD, WD, Toshiba) that, if you want, have to purchase from other companies.
Doesn’t Toshiba Computing have a different name? Some … ?
It’s a bit like Kingston and Sandisk, but it really doesnt matter.
I would say it is too early to tell… (if they are indeed skiping a whole processor generation).
I haven’t seen any of the other manufaturers put out a U-series 12th gen Intel based laptop yet (and they have way too much resources on their hands and a pretty solid manufacture/distribution scheme in place already).
I don’t think it would be (way too) hard for Framework to adapt 12th gen. U-series processors to the existing design. But no doubt, it will take time (if at all possible). Also, it makes no sense for them the “pre-announce” it and loose a few customers that will abort their purchases and just sit waiting for the next gen.
Just look at this spredsheet (from Intel’s own ARK):
I really don’t think the P-series i5-1240P or i7-1260P will be right for this machine (at least the way it is currently constructed. The P-series would probably need a much better cooling solution (and maybe a bigger/better battery also).
As for the pricing, I might be wrong, but unless Framework pre-ordered a bunch of processors at huge discount prices and has to get rid of them in a hurry, I don’t see how they can drop their prices also. Looking at ARK’s listed prices, Intel is still selling 11th gen. processors for the exact same prices as 12th gen.
ok.
If, say, that Framework have released the 12th gen laptops. Which RAM option do you prefer?
DDR5
DDR4
0voters
Remember, DDR4 means you can use your current RAM(s) and not having to pay extra.
I think there is little chance they will offer both models, as the two standards are completely different.
FWIW, I’ve been eyeing the Framework laptops since they were first announced, but I already had purchased a Dell XPS fairly recently and couldn’t justify it. Now, the XPS is having all sorts of issues, it runs too hot (I still blame Intel 11th gen partially for that) and it’s just generally too heavy and uncomfortable to use for what I want out of a laptop. If you think Framework not releasing a 12th gen Intel doesn’t matter quite yet - I would be buying one right now if a mid-range Intel 12th gen was available, or more preferably I would like a Ryzen 6000 series w/ RDNA2 integrated graphics. I know they’re not a big company, but I can only wait so long and if I buy a laptop soon I won’t be buying a Framework for likely several years. Now is the time, and I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this way from the pool of potential customers.
I have not purchased my Framework Laptop yet. Still saving some money for it.
If all goes to plan early September I would be ordering mine.
I figured I would save enough for the Middle i7 option. Get A DIY kit reuse My aging thinkpad’s windows 10 key.
I have been pretty interested in the new Intel 12th gen, I do also wonder if there would be A board that supports the new Intel arc GPU since the A3 (i think is what they called it) is for thin and light laptops.
The extra GPU power is not A big deal to me in the here and now, however it would be A nice to have for future reuse of the Framework motherboard.
Ryzen based board could also be nice.
My laptop use case is mostly writing and maybe some light Video editing.
I mostly want it so I can get away from my desk and work somewhere else… COVID really messed up my writing workflow…
