Sorry in advance: I love right to reprair but I’m a computer noob, so talk to me like I’m 5yo.
I bought this Framework Laptop 13 (11th Gen Intel Core) in june of 2022. I love it, but my only regret is I can’t play any games, except oldies like the original Roller Coaster Tycoon. Everything I test through CanYouRunIt.com begets the same answer: all good, except you’re missing a dedicated Video Ram (see screenshot 1).
I thought, “it is what it is! I bought this laptop to keep it as long as possible, so tough luck, you’ll never game”.
However, I’ve tried the a quick search through the forum, and I sense a wind of change. Seems like people are gaming on their Framework 13, nowadays.
Is there an upgrade I can buy or a workaround?
I’m trying to find the answer by myself, but I have trouble understanding all the PC-babble and I’m lost in the timeline with all the history of contradicting answers in the forum. I was hoping one of you could point out the obvious to me. I’m sure many other at-this-point-I’m-too-afraid-to-ask amateurs will be happy to find your answer here.
Screenshot #2 for my system details. Sorry it’s in french.
Yes, you can. The site you are using is unreliable. You can run newer games that Roller Coaster Tycoon, just not the latest ones. Your integrated video card is very weak, but it has no actual memory problem.
Long:
The Framework 13 has an integrated video card. This is part of the processor, and shares the same memory the system uses. Dedicated video cards like the GTX 660 in the minimum requirements are physically separate, and have physically separate memory.
This means measuring dedicated video memory is giving a false number. Some old games might get confused. But most games will have no trouble using 2 GB of your system memory for video memory, if they need it.
The integrated video card of your laptop is very weak, so you won’t run demanding games like Baldurs Gate 3. But modern, not demanding games, like Stardew Valley, should not be a problem.
Framework also released new mainboards with stronger processors and integrated video cards. So if you are seeing people run demanding games on a Laptop 13, they could be using new parts.
You can swap mainboards and keep the rest of the laptop. But it’ll be costly, and you’ll have to disassemble most of the machine. So not necessarily worth it if you don’t need the extra power.
You could also try running it with an eGPU. I did so with my 11th gen board as an experiment and found it could handle games with graphical detail on the level of Risk of Rain 2, although I did experience some annoying frame drops (had to make that Frame"work" - get it?) when there were a lot of enemies on the screen.
The processor benchmarked is 10th gen but the iGPU is the same as 11/12/13 gen core processors so for GPU bound scenarios the performance will be the same between all of them. The most important thing is having 2 RAM sticks installed at the fastest speed possible. That’ll be 3200MT/s. Next is enough RAM so the game can use as much needed as VRAM as possible. Generally 16GB is bare minimum and 32GB is better. Any game that is certified to run on the steam deck will run just fine on any gen FW13
