Feedback on Framework 16

Framework Laptop 16
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I have been using the Framework 16 exclusively for a few weeks now, here’s the good and the bad. I’ll start with the bad:

  1. It gets hot fairly easily
  2. Battery life could be better, and charging could be better, it sometimes discharges faster than it charges, and when it doesn’t, it charges rather slowly.
  3. Some screen/graphics glitches (flickers, things like that)
  4. a few freezes/crashes
  5. also, the little crack between the touchpad module and the rest of the laptop pinches and pulls my arm hair sometimes lol.

But here’s the good:

  1. Love the modularity / hackability
  2. Love how easy it is to take apart and upgrade
  3. Love how fast the shipping was
  4. It’s just cool overall, everyone loves it, it’s a genuine novelty, if nothing else.

What would also be cool is if the barrier to entry was lower, meaning users could build modular laptops like this, but with cheaper components. So basically, sell low, middle, and high-end components, all of them modular.

If someone could start out with a build for less than $1,000, and then upgrade over time, it would be much more accessible. I spent almost $3,000 on mine, which would be unrealistic for many people I know. But then again normal people probably don’t need as much compute as I do.

But a modular low/mid-tier laptop would be good for lots of people.

That’s about it. Overall, I love it, but there are parts that could be better. Would love to see these used more often. But the battery, charger, and heat are the parts that really needs work, more than the graphics and freezing.

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  1. gets hot: fair enough!
  2. battery life and charging: when you say it discharges faster than it charges, are you experiencing that while gaming? if yes, are you using the 180W charger or the later, greater 240W charger? the 240W charger should (for the most part) fix that particular problem.
  3. some screen graphics glitches: what OS are you using? if Linux, it’s very possible that you are seeing some AMD GPU Linux kernel-related problems that can be rectified by setting amdgpu.dcdebugmask=0x410 in your kernel parameters. if Windows, adding some more info might assist with tracking down a particular problem and fix.
  4. a few freezes/crashes: adding more info could help track down a problem and fix.
  5. arm hair pulled in the touchpad/spacers area: yep - I experienced a bit of that. I purchased a full-width 3d-printed touchpad part, transplanted the touchpad electronics, and have been happy ever since. ALSO, there’s a full-width haptic touchpad module that will be for sale in the near future.
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It must be a 7040 CPU issue when it comes to heat. My Ai9 runs as cool as it gets. Normal stuff like browsing runs CPU/GPU (internal GPU) between 43C ~ 45C and no fans running. Run full 4K video or Winboat and it pushes the temps up to less then 50C and fans running between 900 ~ 1150rpm.

Mine lasts 2.5hrs+ using SOC between 30% and 80%. Not the greatest but not terrible either.

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I’ve been using my Framework Laptop 16 since June 2024 and am loving it. I’ve had some issues (faulty mainboard, which support sorted) and it’s genuinely the only laptop I’ve ever looked at and thought “I enjoy using that”. Sure, it’s not perfect, but I’m happy with it.

My first motherboard definitely had more of a heat issue than my replacement - I wonder if the replacement is using the state phase change material cooling pad rather than liquid metal. I certainly wouldn’t want to use it on my lap for an extended period though.

Battery life I can get about 6 hours with the power profile set to “power saver”, which is fine for me unless I’m doing something particularly processor intensive.

If you’re interested in my longer reviews (including an “after a year” post), then they’re on my blog here: Framework 16 - Jonsdocs

  1. Processor: Ryzen™ 7 7840HS (Up to 5.1GHz, 8-core/16-thread, 24MB Cache)
  2. RAM (memory): DDR5-5600 - 64GB (2 x 32GB)
  3. Storage: WD BLACK™ SN850X NVMe™- M.2 2280 - 2TB
  4. Dedicated Graphics Module: AMD Radeon™ RX 7700S
  5. WiFi: Intel 6E AX210 (non-vPro model, a replacement I made after hearing the original unit was poor)
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Hmmm I’m not sure what charger I’m using. I’ll have to look into that when I get home. but I was just using it for ai, not games.

And yes, I’m using Arch Linux.

As for the freezing and crashing, different things happen. Like it would just freeze everything, and I’d have to restart it.

The other day, I was running things in the background while I was watching YouTube, and YouTube started looping the last 1 sec over and over and over and over, and it wouldn’t stop, none of the buttons worked, I don’t think the cursor worked, I had to restart it.

I have used Claude Code to fix the first issue. It hasn’t frozen up exactly like that since, the other day was the first time it froze in a while.

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Hmm I think I do have the 7040. That’s the older, more stable one, yes?

it could be that. I’m not sure. I just know it doesn’t take much for it to get hot.