I’ve been looking into getting the F16 as my new laptop for the spring semester of university, but I noticed that the AI-300 is out of stock and now on pre-order for batch 10 of Q1 next year. Ouch.
The 7040 still seems available, though, but isn’t that a completely different model? If I order that one and replace the main board with the AI-300 later, is that equivalent to ordering an AI-300 in the first place? Are there other compatibility issues like the expansion bay/graphics module, keyboard, etc? The site doesn’t seem to explain it completely.
Each mainboard will fit into the Framework 16. But, buying a 7840 now with the intention of immediately replacing it w/one of the AI models is just making it cost ~$1000 more.
That being said, the 7840 has been more than ample for the workloads I put under it.
Here’s a good synopsis of what Framework hopes to achieve with the releases of new components for their product lines:
Full cross-gen compatibility means your parts aren’t obsolete when your needs change. You can upgrade an original Framework Laptop 16 (AMD Ryzen™ 7040 Series) to the latest generation, part by part.