I have a 13 that I bought about 3-4 years ago which has a 12th gen i7-1260p, 32Gb RAM, and 1tb SSD. I still have the older WiFi module, camera, and screen
I’m interested in everything in the new Pro model and would like the Intel X7 and the longer battery life. If I do that, I would need the newer RAM as well, and the new chassis, and the new battery. All in all, I’m pretty close to nearly replacing every part.
So in that case, I would only assume it makes more sense to just buy a full 13 Pro rather than reassembling it in my current 13?
I feel a little silly doing so because I’d love to take advantage of the upgradability, its just that I want to upgrade it all! I also figure I’d have an easier time selling my current 13 as a fully functional machine rather than all the individual parts.
I feel it very much makes sense to just buy a 13 Pro.
They’ve upgraded or improved so many parts. Chassis seems much better. Battery, speakers, haptic touchpad, mainboard, ram. What’s left? Webcam and SSD? Screen only if you don’t want the new one, which sounds improved beyond just touch, since it was completely made for Framework. I believe the new intel WiFi module contributes to improved battery life.
The upgradability via just parts of the 13 Pro is excellent. For the freedom, choice and ability to save money if you really only need or want certain things. And especially with RAM being so expensive at the moment.
But if one is interested in an all around upgrade & has the money, just buying a 13 Pro seems better to me. Your previous 13 isn’t being trashed or wasted, it can stay as a backup or be passed to someone else, where it’s upgradability continues to be a benefit to them.
Was wondering same for the 13 we have, it’s my kids school laptop.
So some gaming is done on it and I was thinking if I did the main board to intel + ram would be better performance and battery duration than if I went with the new amd board ? Except I could then reuse the ram.
And then later do the Chassis… touch screen is not something that seems to be a huge concern yet.
For me, I want to give Framework as much money as I can. The Pro represents a lot of investment on the side of Framework. Just the panel a lone was more than a million in their own funding. I also like the new shape of the Pro, and that it looks more substantial, so for me, I just went the route of getting the Pro complete.
My daughter has been asking about getting a laptop, and so she is going to be getting my 12th gen FW 13, when I get the pro.
Plus it being black is a big deal to me. I think it just looks so much better.
I am in the same boat as you and I pre-ordered the Pro. I am passing my FW13 with 12th Gen Intel to my nephew with a new battery. If you can afford it, get yourself the FW13 Pro (and the X7 to me is truly the sweet spot) and ideally find your 12th Gen a new home. Replacing all those parts doesn’t feel like good value for money.
I personally think - yes. If you can afford it.
If you can’t there are other options…and it all depends.
I’m going for a new chassis, I have serious grudges with how flimsy the old one is (and how bad thermals are) and its not just aesthetics, its enough flex to rando turn off my laptop while I’m carrying it open. Nirav demoed the new one’s rigidity - so I’m convinced.
Old one I’m keeping as a backup, until h/w support for the new setup is stabilized (could take up to 6m easily). And then I’ll sell it second hand. Probably, I’ll make a profit on how much RAM cost will inflate in that time…
If all of the upgrades are worth it to you, then yeah get the pro outright to buy 'em all.
I don’t really want the screen upgrade since I already have the 2.8k one, and I like my mainboard (ryzen 350), so buying a pro would be a waste for me. But I do want the bigger battery and the haptic touchpad, so I’ll just buy those. For people in my position, modularity is saving hundreds of dollars.
But if you really want it all, just buy it all, there’s no shame in it Make sure your old device goes to good use though, don’t let it rot in the closet!
Well.. Make a checklist of things you need to upgrade.
You don’t really need to upgrade to the largest battery (61wh is also pretty nice), so you don’t need the new chassis.
Display? Your current display seems to have served you well, is it really necessary to upgrade?
Camera? Does it really matter?
Wifi module? Does it come with motherboard? idk really..
If you can just not upgrade those 2 big things to the newest spec, upgrade is really down to motherboard+RAM only. You don’t really need to have all the newest and best stuff and just because you CAN upgrade, doesn’t mean you NEED to.
Almost ironic that this upgrade-your-laptop novelty thing sometimes causes more e-waste.. People upgrade just for the sake of it, not because they need it.
Make sure your old device goes to good use though, don’t let it rot in the closet!