FW 12, Initial Thoughts

Framework Laptop 12
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So, I just got my FW 12, i3, gray. I wanted to test it out in a configuration similar to how a pre-built would com, so I installed 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

It booted right up with my Transcend SSD and Crucial 8GB, 5600MT RAM. Windows install and installing the driver bundle both went smooth, and it’s up and running. Initially, the touchpad was dragging slightly on the left side, and I could see that it was physically hitting on the left, with a slight gap on the right. I was able to quickly and easily loosen the mounting screws for the touchpad about a half a turn, scoot the touchpad over a smidgeon, so it was centered, then snugged the screws. Worked great. The touchpad is still a “diving board” style, but it has slightly easier physical clicks than the FW13, such that I prefer the physical clicks on the FW12 over the 13.

The keyboard is okay. Nothing special, but not bad. It seems recessed slightly further below flush with the palm rest area than I’m used to. Not a problem, but I noticed it right away, and it will take some getting used to before I stop noticing it, I think. On the plus side, this may help prevent the keys from making marks on the display over time when the laptop is transported in a bag, etc.

I literally just received it a couple hours ago, and have done pretty much nothing but get Windows and the drivers installed, and adjust the touchpad. So I don’t have any experience with software or anything yet. But so far, so good. It’s about 3/8" narrower than the FW13 side to side, and about 5/8" shorter front to back. Thickness is similar, but I didn’t measure it. The FW12 seems like it weighs less, but if I really think about it, they seem the same. The plastic feel and smaller size gives an initial impression of being lighter, but ultimately, they feel about the same.

I’ll be digging into it a lot more when I get time, but that’s about all I’ll be able to do with the machine for now.

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Just for curiosity, I tested my display. It tested at 68% sRGB and 52% NTSC. Not impressive, but it definitely meets specs, and it looks fine. Nothing special, but it’s crisp, gets pretty bright, the blacks look nice and black, and the colors certainly aren’t off-putting or anything. Folks may still not want to rely on it for color accurate work, but for general use, it’s looks absolutely fine to me. It looks much better than my cheap Chromebook, lol.

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Hmm, after a bit more messing around, reds definitely don’t appear as deep and “red” as I expect. Some reds look orange.

Not a fair comparison, but here is the FW12 held up to my 4K editing monitor.

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I know, it’s just a stupid freeze-frame of the Netflix logo, but it gives a splash of color that I thought would make show off what I’m seeing. Keep in mind, this was taken by my phone, so that is another variable in the color, but the main thing I wanted to show was the difference between the two displays.

Again, overall, it’s fine. I probably wouldn’t notice the difference if I wasn’t looking for it. But it’s definitely there, lol.

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Can you do me an enormous favour, start it up either from sleep or cold, whatever (just not having immediately just been under load) then do some web browsing for a bit, just nothing like video editing/gaming, your basic standard stuff, and tell me how warm it is if you then place it on your lap after say 10-15 mins?

This is an absolute dealbreaker for me so I have got to know

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So far, it definitely gets warm, but not “hot.” It’s far from painful or scary hot, but it gets pretty warm. But when I stop doing quite so much, the fans ramp down and it cools back off.

I was going through settings, playing a YouTube video, and installing a game, all at the same time. The fan was audible and the bottom was definitely very warm, but not painful. I finished installing the game, closed the settings, and the video remained playing. After just a couple minutes, the fan was no longer spinning and the bottom was only a little warm.

I will do some more general browsing and such and see how warm it averages and let you know. It might be late tonight or tomorrow before I can do any more testing. Have to go do normal, grown-up life stuff, lol. Lame.

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ok, thanks so much for that, it’s something I’m worried about after one of the reviews said it too but I hope for basic browsing etc it won’t get too warm, the literally ‘cooler’ alternative devices to this are way less cool both to look at and stylistically for the most part so I hope it’s not annoying/uncomfortably so

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Windows updates still chugging away?

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Also btw @BigT I saw you say before you have a youtube channel, right now there is a scarcity of hands on framework 12 videos on there, if you fancy hoovering up some views there’s a gap in the market until a few more people get their hands on them / get round to making full videos

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Lol, there weren’t many updates. I made a fresh install USB with the Windows creation tool, so there was only one update.

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Yup, I definitely plan to make a video on it. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how quickly I’ll be able to get a video out. But I’ll be working on it as soon as possible.

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No rush. We’ll be here refreshing the forums all night (Europe)

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Microsoft pushed an updated version of Windows 11 to the Media Creation Tool yesterday. Looks like you got the benefit of the update rollup!

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I just wiped three PCs on Monday :upside_down_face:

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Yeah, it was nice. It was one of the lightest rounds of updates I’ve ever had after installing Windows.

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I’m probably just getting used to it, but the colors look fine. I found a setting in Windows, “Automatically manage color for apps.” I turned that on and I initially thought it helped, because the colors seemed better. But I think I was just getting used to it, because after a bit, I turned it back off, just to see, and it seemed the same, lol. So I guess I’m just getting used to it. Either way, after using it for a bit, the display seems totally fine. I suppose if I switch back to my 4K editing monitor I’ll be like “Oh, right, this is better.” But the display on the FW 12 is absolutely serviceable. In fact, as I mentioned, it’s more crisp with better contrast than the display on my cheap Chromebook.

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It definitely gets warm in normal use. If it was sitting on my lap on a hot day, it might be a little annoying after a while. But it’s not burning hot.

Pretty much the only machines I’ve used that just don’t heat up in use are the Chromebook I have with a 4 watt processor, and my old M1 Macbook Air (now being used by a family member). Much like my FW 13, the FW 12 tends to be warm on the bottom in use.

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Just tried “Tomb Raider Anniversary.” Yeah, it’s an old game. But it runs at a steady 60FPS at native resolution, with all settings (again, old game) maxed. Balanced performance mode.

Also, just FYI. I have tried a Steamdeck charger, random Ugreen 100watt charger, and the Framework charger, and all charge the laptop just fine. I have the charge limit set in the BIOS at 80%, and it’s holding there.

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About as warm as many other machines? thanks so much for checking this, I appreciate it… I am worried it’s a bit too warm to justify the (awesome) form factor… maybe I should get an m1 macbook

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You… Wouldn’t happen to be able to test the game “Prototype” at near max settings, would you…? :sweat_smile:

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hows the touch screen

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