My workplace assigns Framework laptops to the software engineers. We mostly have an army of 11th and 12th gen ones. They all have frankly horrible battery life.
We want to upgrade to the spec of the AMD one. Which pieces need to be swapped? The mainboard obviously. Is the battery different? Anything else?
You will need different RAM. 11th and 12th gen Intel use DDR4. The AMD boards can only operate with DDR5. So the RAM will have to be swapped. Some Intel Wi-Fi cards will only work with Intel processors. So it’s possible that the Wi-Fi cards would have to be swapped, though some will work fine with an AMD processor.
I think everything else should be fine, including the battery.
Thanks for the response.
I guess the battery is compatible. But is it the same, or does the amd one come with a better battery by default?
The higher-end Ryzen 7 7840u model comes with the better battery by default while the lower-end Ryzen 5 7640u model has the same battery as the 11th/12th Gen models.
The 13th Gen Intel model is the same situation with the lowest CPU choice having the worse battery but the better CPU choices having the better battery.
I see. Is the better battery available for sale as an individual upgrade? We’ll definitely be getting a high end mainboard.
Yes. It is available on the marketplace and offers 10% higher capacity (60.6 Wh vs 55 Wh) as well as 10% higher power charging (which results in the same time to charge but you get more out of the charge).
To elaborate the Intel AX201 (which was included with 11th Gen pre-built systems, although DIY editions had the AX210) and the Intel AX211 (which is included with the Framework Chromebook editions) use CNVIo2, which is a propriety Intel protocol that requires a CPU with CNVIo2 support.
The Intel AX210 that is included with all other Intel based Framework laptops should work fine. AMD recommends using AMD Wi-Fi cards with AMD CPUs (and Framework follows that recommendation by including AMD Wi-Fi cards with the AMD models), but in practice the AX210 is fine.
You can swap a better battery, keep in mind that the AMD Ryzen 7040 series is more energy-efficient. Thus the better battery life is the combined result of both.