Framework 16 thermals and noise

Framework Laptop 16
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Hi all,

I believe this to be a well known issue which has been known for a while now, so I’m hoping somehere here has a solution or at least an improvement to the situation.

My Framework has been having thermal issues since the very beginning.

When I first received my FW, I installed some essential software and decided to run R23.
It got me a score in the mid 15k. It was fine for the first time and a half.

After this every run got me a lower score then the one before and I noticed even very light tasks would cause something to instantly jump to 100°C and get the fans spinning at a million rpm’s. All while blowing luke warm air out the sides and cold air out the back.

So I got in touch with FW, shared all the information they wanted, even received a new Mobo, reinstalled all the essentials and all was fine again. For the first time and a half.

The initial score was slightly lower, but the system was quieter and felt better than before.
Until it didn’t. Same exact thing as before, something getting 100°C instantly, fans going crazy and luke warm air out the sides.

This time after very long back and forth mailing they decided to send me a PTM.
After removing the LM and installing the PTM I was very glad with the results.

The system didn’t immediately shoot up to 100°C, fans and noise were under control, warm air was blowing out the sides and the first R23 score was in the low 16K’s.

However, from here on, every run got worse again quickly and it didn’t take long for the system to shoot up to 100°C on light loads again with the fans running like crazy.

It did take longer than the previous situations, but it was clear as day it was happening again.

Present day; I’m currently getting R23 scores in the low 13K’s, the system shooting up to 100°C with light loads and the fans going crazy naturally as well. I find myself putting on headphones most of the time since the noise while watching video’s, playing games or when 3D modelling is just too distracting. And in the case of videogames, I cap the framerate and lower the settings just so it doesn’t turn into a hot, noisy trouser scorcher.

I do believe there has been a slight improvement in the expelled air temperature, but the volume is still low as most air is still blown out the back.

Here is a screenshot of my latest run, let me know if you need more info:

2025-09-30 23_01_09-Greenshot
2025-09-30 23_01_09-Greenshot2560×1600 332 KB

Hope to hear your opinions, solutions and improvements!

Cheers!

2 Likes
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Is no one having similar issues? Has no one fixed their issues? Am I missing something here?

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I haven’t run R23 (so no scores) and I don’t check system temps very often.

My last 2 comparable laptops to the Framework 16 were a 2013 Lenovo ThinkPad W530 and a 2016 MacBook Pro. The W530 is a thick and relatively solid laptop with a plastic over-molded chassis. I still use it for light computing and it gets a little warm, but the plastic is a pretty good insulator. The MacBook Pro is a thin but solid slab of aluminum. It gets pretty hot under heavy use, but I primarily used it on a desk or table and it wasn’t an issue.

My (batch 4? 6?) Framework 16 is in between them in most metrics. It’s thicker than the MBP, but thinner than the ThinkPad. It’s got a metal chassis and frame like the MBP, and therefore seems noticeably warmer than the ThinkPad, though I think the MBP felt hotter. With the exception of the multipiece trackpad, it seems more solid than the ThinkPad which had a little bit of wiggle, but less rigid than the MBP.

Additionally, back when the ThinkPad was new, most CPUs targeted significantly lower max temperatures than the recent chips. The AMD CPU/APU in the Framework is designed by AMD to regularly hit 100C (212F) before lowering voltage (and therefore speeds and temperatures) and will happily hangout at 95C+ for quite some time given a sufficient workload. Given the thickness (or lack there of) and chassis materials (heat conducting metal) of modern laptops, they do get significantly warmer than laptops from previous generations. So, yes, it gets warm, but I don’t think it gets unreasonably hot.

I have installed the rubber spacer material (provided for free by Framework) between the keyboard and the heatpipes/CPU cooler, which provides a bit of an airgap, and therefore some thermal insulation from the heat (Framework 16s manufactured in some batch after mine had this installed in the factory). Similarly, I replaced the liquid metal thermal interface material that came with my Framework 16 with the phase-change thermal compound (again, provided for free by Framework) that they found worked better (and again, at some point they also started doing this themselves in the factory during manufacture/assembly). So if you have an earlier batch of Framework 16 that doesn’t have either of those ‘fixes/upgrades,’ I suggest you reach out to Framework support and see if your laptop qualifies for the free materials.

My only heat related complaint is the location of the cooling fans’ bottom intakes are often blocked by my legs, if using the laptop in my lap. It does also have intakes above the fans above the keyboard, so it still cools seemingly sufficiently. Since I have mental block about blocking the bottom air intakes, I did get a small lap desk for use at home, which I primarily have ended up using while in bed (don’t use any laptop on a blanket or comforter. The air intakes will be blocked and the laptop will overheat).

I’ve been using my laptop for most of today for general web browsing including streaming videos and word processor tasks, and my CPU is currently ~45C with the fans barely audible.