Intel CPU Options on Framework Laptop 16?

Even then thanks to the new size and the presence of 8 more pcie lanes on the board it would allmost certanly require a new cert, I doubt even apple could get away with that.

2 Likes

Yeah, but now the legwork is done and experience is gained, it would take a lot less time/cost…
In any case, many people have invested in expensive TB3/4 docks, and they are now excluded as potential Frame.work customers (like me).

Hello,
When will the 16 in. Laptop be released with an iintel processor?

PS Hopefully I am in the right forum for this question

We don’t know :frowning:

1 Like

i think 2025 but idk anything

Given what they’ve launched this year already, I bet they’ll be shipping Intel 16’s by the end of 2024. They really seem to be working hard, especially for such a small company!

Can we have some official word on when we can expect Frame.work 16" with Intel & full ThunderBolt 3/4 support?

Just a reminder that this is just a community forum and although FW staff may pop in occasionally, official announcements are usually made through either their official social media or blog posts

3 Likes

i wouldnt count on more then 4 ThunderBolt 4 ports

2 Likes

Even 2 ThunderBolt 4 ports would be enough! One for the Dock and one for eGPU. The main requirement is Intel CPU & TB4 supporting chipset, just like the 13" models.

Only if they don’t work with the usb4 on the amd chip (which is a big if) or they choose to exclude themselves because they just can’t live without an intel cert ¯\(ツ)/¯.

Yeah the difficulty and cost jump between using just the 4 you get with the cpu and having to 2 with an external tb controller is pretty huge. There may also not be enough pcie lanes available for both that and the expansion bay but I haven’t looked into intel mobile chipsets too deep lately.

The cost difference to actuall additionaly usefullness there is just not there. Having all ports being (kinda cause of the bandwith share) equal is nice but there are very few usecases that actually need more then 4 tb ports (or 2 full bandwith ones) and most of those probably require macos anyway since mac pros were the only options with that may in the first place. Hell the intel framework 13 is the only laptop I know of that even exposes all the tb ports that come with modern intel cpus, usually you are lucky if you get 1 or maybe 2 (Somewhat understandable since the re-drivers they need are for one expensive and for the other as we have seen not trivial to work with and for actual tb each port needs to be certified).

The utility difference between having 0 tb/usb4 port and having one is huge, having 2 is nice after that there is diminishing returns imo.

Egpus work fine with the usb4 on last gen amd mobile chips and so did most docks, with as many 16s as they presold, I am sure someone that gets one also got the dock you got and with a bit of luck they’ll report if it works.

Having both options is nice but I am glad they are focusing on just one for now. Maybe in the future they’ll make one with one of those meme tier next gen intel mobile chips that have like a brazillion e-cores to cheese multicore scores which would be great for very heavy multicore tasks. Then we have the amd for mid range efficient performance (I am glad they picked the monolithic version, very few people actually need the 16 core and while the performance is amazing it sacrifices a lot of low load efficiency for it) that’ll have long battery life for doing light task but still quite a bit of performance when you need it and the full “I actually need 30 separate cores to fluid simulation in a nuclear reactor or something” and of course the people that just need that sweet sweet tb cert XD intel version.

Considering the mess with USB 4 standards, naming & compatibility and the lack of any testing in the real world with real eGPUs, I would not bet my money on it. Cause a bet indeed it would be. And when it comes to Docks, it’s not even a bet, it’s a loss from the start.

I’ve used a TB3 eGPU & Dock for years without any problems (Razor Core X / Nvidia / CalDigit TS3 / Dell XPS 13 9370) and I don’t want to make bets with nasty outcomes.

Not having an Intel / TB4 option is unfortunately a deal breaker for many people, no matter how much we love the idea of FrameWork laptops or how much faster or better AMD is.

I hope they come up with an Intel / TB4 option soon!

The standard is amazing, the naming is indeed fubar but since there are only a hand full of host implementations at this point (pretty much just the intel tb4 controller, the amd one and the one in the apple m series) and all of those didn’t omit anything critical (like pcie tunneling or tb3 mode though). Biggest thing is the omission of the secondary dp link on the amd implementation which may cause issues with some apple targeted docks and less mature drivers, especially for edge cases like tb to tb networking. I do hope amd adds the second dp link eventually.

While I think there are “deal breakers” that cover a larger number of users (like a 4k screen or touch) for a lot less less effort, I do hope you get your wish eventually. My deal-breaker with the 16 is that it’s a 16 inch XD (preordered the 13 though cause it would be kind of a dick move not to buy one when they suddenly covered most of my wish-list of changes hope that happens to you too).

2 Likes

So for those worried about not the FW16 not working with TB4 docks or eGPU… are there examples of 7x40HS APUs not working with them?

I thought USB4 worked with TB3 at minimum (today’s eGPU) and should also work with USB4 docks.

I was planning on using mine with an eGPU (Akito Node) and USB4/TB4 dock (thinking of the CalDigit TS4). Hoping to daisy chain (i do lose a bit of performance on the eGPU but still worth it for a single cable solution to switch between two laptops).

I felt at ease because I saw YouTube videos of people getting this to work with USB4.

Here’s one:

1 Like

I too will prob wait until an intel version is released. SPECIALLY with the 14th gen coming out next year (EDIT* 15th)

1 Like

Do you mean Intel Core Ultra😉

1 Like

Oops yeah you’re right!

Do you mean Intel Core Ultra😉
Could I ask what the joke here is please? I’m after an f16 but have been following the Intel line some-what as well. I’ve not seen the whole AMD vs Intel descussions that took place with reguard to the f16.

Intel changed how they’re naming CPUs beginning with next gen. The last generation: Intel has new labels for its next major CPU architecture | Ars Technica

2 Likes

Also patiently waiting for an Intel option!