Principles of construction, design and testing of the newly redesigned lid vs the first generation.
Official video guides for screen, speaker replacement, etc.
Any difference in chassis construction from the vPro WiFi models vs the newly integrated WiFi?
Design and difference between the new hinge replacement vs the first generation hinge along with a best practice for doing a replacement or hinge upgrade/swap.
Best practice(s) and tips for new motherboard replacement.
Wouldn’t mind seeing the engineering team walk through the reasoning and philosophy why they made the decisions on the first generation product vs the new models.
Where an ESD strap and keep track of your screws. Framework makes these things very easy, it’s not very hard even for someone who has never done this before. I would trust my fiancee to do this and she is very much not tech-savvy.
What do you mean “integrated”? They’ve been installing the models for users for months now. The only difference is the support for vPro, there is no physical difference between WiFi modules.
I would rather they work on getting the idle battery use down and also we need an easy way to configure the max TDP down to like 15W or something without the performance becoming terrible.
AMD has a much better performance per watt than Intel particularly when running in high performance mode:
Suggesting that Intel is even competitive in power use to performance is a joke if you actually look at the numbers. Yes it performs really nicely, but uses a lot more power when doing so.
I have a desktop for when I want to be plugged into a wall. For me, battery life on a laptop is more important than pure performance. If it’s plugged in, sure, boost the performance to 11. But on battery I would want to see power efficiency and lower max TDP, bigger battery.
I want something more like a repairable MacBook with Linux/Windows support, not a repairable Alienware. I will try to get something to work on that.
This is why I really want to switch to an AMD mainboard. I can use the Framework for like 2-3 hours at most (given that I usually have moderate load on the CPU/GPU from the apps I use) and then I have to find an outlet or switch to my MacBook, which can last an entire 8-hour day even when running applications. But I need Linux for development and Windows for gaming, so even if I use the Mac for everything possible, saving the Framework battery as much as possible, I still often end up forced to plug it into a power outlet due to not being able to do everything I need to do on a Mac. Having an AMD processor instead of Intel could solve this issue.
Have there been any power usage improvements for expansion cards? It’d be nice to be able to use the cards I bought without worrying about how much battery life I lose when them.
If you look at this topic here: Price Difference between the 3 Processor Options
You’ll see that I was more than a little critical of Framework’s pricing policies as well. I was VERY afraid that they could decide to emulate the same BS that Apple does with their insane price gouging.
Now, it is more clear to me that exactly because they don’t have such a big lineup (yet) they really need to practice steeper prices in what they consider their “top category”.
You will certainly find more attractive prices on the market elsewhere (always). I recently bought an i7-1165G7 Swift 3 for $685 ($895 less than the price I would have paid for a similar Framework at that time). But good luck to her trying to find a replacement screen around here if she accidentally cracks it… Good luck replacing the (horrible) trackpad if it stops working… It won’t be hard to replace the battery in a few years, but it will cost much more than Framework’s… And so on…
It helps if we don’t focus so much on pricing right now, specially because Framework has given us plenty of indication that it IS a fair company (just look at most prices at the marketplace, starting with the easiest ones to compare: memory and storage - all pretty reasonable).
Another thing that helps to have in mind is that dreadful fact that most companies (including Intel, etc - not only Framework) like to punish what they call “early adopters”; meaning: “if you want the best and you want it right now, you’ll have to pay for the privilege”.
In a few (or many, depending on the point of view) months we will all be able to have those upgrades at more reasonable prices. What IS more IMPORTANT is that they kept their promise and an upgrade IS possible; in a year, 2 years, 5 years… it will STILL be possible (and that’s pretty awesome and quite unique).
So really, the time to value (return / ROI) is not now…no point in buying into the platform now then…when the ‘upgrade’ while technically possible, doesn’t actually translate to actual benefit as you have to “pay for the privilege”… And it’s not clear when that “in x years” will be. “Lease on the way to the landfill” likely still comes out ahead…dollar-wise, as long as you don’t need to repair. Just buy annually, and sell the old unit.
This ‘upgrade-ability’ sounds more like a niche marketing than actual benefit for the mass consumers at this point in time.
Then Framework will die. Yeah there is an early adopter tax to some extent but then, how else is Framework going to generate the revenue to scale up? Note that Batch systems are still in place for 12th gen. This is indicative that they need the cash from the first batch to pay for the manufacturing of the second.
Only because there isn’t a proven track record. At this point in time, I am still buying into an ecosystem that may or may not survive. If it works then like the AM4 platform for AMD, early adopters will reap the benefits for a number of years.
You pay for quality its the same thing for any other device or appliance. The cheap stuff is manufactured to reach a certain price point at any cost, including cost to durability. I don’t think the tax is too extreme, its not like Apple tax levels.
Is there an estimate for shipping to Switzerland? There seems to be no timeframe public, and with this update I prefer it even more over any other laptop…
The expansion card release button: It feels scratchy as you press / depress the button. It’s rotationally wobbly. Each button’s left and right sides are not actuating the same tactility feedback in the same way…it’s not level. (Think of a cheap keyboard’s spacebar).
Speakers in the human speech frequency range would rattle the chassis.
There’s no automated notification / update system for BIOS and driver bundle update.
The power button is not exactly in the centre of the hole…a matter of assemly tolerance.
That display lift chamfer edge is so small that it’s pretty much useless.
No fn key to enable / disable touchpad.
Still no TB4 certification.
The plastic bazel clearance between the top, left and right edges are different in relation to the lid.
The expansion cards are not flush with the chassis, and visible differences in gap sizes when looking at the cards and the chassis.
Just realised something…looking at the 12th gen mainboard upgrade photos, it looks like it doesn’t come with its own CMOS battery.
Can someone from Framework confirms or deny this?
Also, has there been any improvement made to the battery clip mechanism to improve robustness? Would hate to break the battery clip on day one.
Next, does this 12th gen mainboard now have the TB4 certification?
With regard to the 60W boost, can the 12th gen mainboard sustain the 60W boost for the full duration of the tau…and not thermal throttle down almost within 3 seconds like the 11th gen mainboard? For example, from this video you can see that the 11th gen mainboard wasn’t even able to reach 60W due to thermal thottling in the early tau period.
The Framework is more expensive than an Apple M1 air in the EU and the same price otherwise.
Batch 9 here one of buttons is similar as described.
This is documented and know about Speakers sound quality - #20 by gracefu and they sound a lot worse than my 10 year old tablet and 6 year old phone. Then there is the background static which is prominent with headphones, the speakers such as they are… I have been using headphones.
I wouldn’t worry too much, knowing that you need to be careful is the main thing. When I replaced my mainboard I stressed about it a little but it was fine, not a good connector though…
Edit: just realised you were probably talking about the CMOS? They are always fragile :-/
its the same thing for any other device or appliance. The cheap stuff is manufactured to reach a certain price point at any cost, including cost to durability. I don’t think the tax is too extreme, its not like Apple tax levels.