Laptop 16 - plans for 5070ti, 5080, 5090?

Framework Laptop 16
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Hello,

I’ll cut to the chase: are there any plans to enter the big leagues with RTX 5070ti, 5080, or 5090 expansion cards?

I’ve been a long-time cheerleader of the Framework brand. I even bought my wife Framework 13 three years ago (she loved it and still has it). However, I’m still running ASUS laptops because I have a very graphically demanding job: I run VR demonstrations and live 3D walkthroughs. I got excited once Frameworks 16 was released, but it only had AMD graphics, which lag significantly behind Nvidia in Ray Tracing. I got excited again when I saw Nvidia expansion cards, until I saw that it is RTX 5070 (8GB), which is literally one category behind the minimally required for my job RTX 5070ti (16GB). I wanted to wail in frustration.

It is time for an upgrade, and I would really hate to stay with Asus for 3 more years.

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Short version, no publicly known plans for more than 8GB VRAM.

Long version, Framework is limited to 4 VRAM chips with the current dGPU enclosure thickness. At 2GB/chip, that’s 8GB. With 3 and 4 GB chips in existence now, it’s possible a 16GB dGPU could be built in the future, but I’m realistically expecting a 12GB option next year.

I’m curious how much thicker the dGPU would need to be to have VRAM on the bottom of the dGPU board? I’m concerned that the 16 as is will be limited to low end dGPUs if this isn’t addressed.

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