Apologies if this has been asked / answered, but will FW be releasing a list of RAM modules that have been tested with the new Ryzen-based system?
I did not add memory or an SSD because they seemed overpriced, especially given the many months between the pre-order and expected release date. If you have not been following pricing for these items (DDR5 and SSDs), they have been dropping quite rapidly.
I understand there are other considerations involved for FW (namely, the cost of supporting these items, warranties, returns, etc.), but the steep premium (e.g., the 4tb SSD was around ~$560, if I’m not mistaken, but it has been offered a couple of times at <=$350 on Amazon) and expected drop in price come release proved too much for me.
However, given the issues with the desktop parts in the 7000 family (particularly the burnouts that may be related to the EXPO profiles used to overclock RAM), I’m a little concerned about sticking just anything in there. Will there be a QVL list for RAM?
If not, will we at the very least be told the make/model of the modules FW is offering? Not sure the secrecy tracks… Afterall, FW does disclose the same info for some of the other parts, like the SSDs.
I admit, I would be tempted to do the same, as it will invariably help to drive more purchases of modules through the FW marketplace. But I do hope, at least at around the time I am billed for the remainder of my kit, some official guidance will be offered as to what we can safely install in our new machines. The last thing FW needs is bad press, and refusing to disclose critical info may be read as, “Buy from us or else”. Not a great look (for this company in particular).
The current published RAM compatibility list only applies to DDR4, not DDR5 for the Ryzen CPUs. However, I expect Framework to publish a compatibility list around launch. However, even if they don’t, reviews and/or the community will share details of RAM present so the shipped RAM will not be a “secret”.
Anyway, I sincerely want this company to succeed. Like most people on here, I hope. And I don’t think it would be completely out of the realm of possibly for just the right person to do just the wrong thing. And then go viral with their experience. Just not something a small-medium sized business needs.
There’s a chance this concept could lead to desktop-like upgradeability someday, meaning you could buy a mainboard from any manufacturer and plug it into a chassis made by another. The ingenious problem that FW has solved is in those expandable cards. All we really need now is a mainboard sizing standard, like ATX. FW could and should lead the way there. They’d have a significant lead over the other OEMs, who, just like ICE auto manufacturers, probably won’t do anything to respond until a company like FW proves the concept.
All that aside, I cannot be the only one eager for this release, and I doubt I’m the only one who thought the RAM was overpriced. The sooner the QVL list is known (and made easily accessible), the better. Reduces the chance someone might damage their unit on day one.
For long, you mean? Because at this point, it is. But fair enough. Would be better to know sooner.
I feel like I’ve said this a lot recently, but what makes you think Framework would ever do something like this? They have done so much to encourage their users to not buy RAM and SSDs from the marketplace, that I cannot imagine them starting now.
That said, I would say that if you need details like these, contact support since they may at least be able to give you an idea of when to expect details, but also note that if there were modules that would be incompatible or damage your mainboard that framework knew about, they would let users know immediately. The DDR4 list is memory modules they have tested to work, but I have used the set of DDR4 from my last laptop (not on the approved list) since day 1 and had 0 issues.
Worst case you might run into incompatibility like the lack of XMP support, but I HIGHLY doubt that framework would knowingly allow people to brick mainboards with bad RAM, and if they didn’t know now that certain modules might damage the mainboard, 1. They wouldn’t be able to warn you anyway, and 2. They would definitely be able to get you replacement hardware to make up for the issues.
For what it’s worth, after days of searching… Based on the image in the marketplace, this kit appears to be the closest visual match that I can find:
Crucial RAM 32GB Kit (2x16GB) DDR5 5600MHz (or 5200MHz or 4800MHz) Laptop Memory CT2K16G56C46S5, Black https://a.co/d/1aqupTF
And after a little more reading, given that the recent burnouts had to do with much higher voltages than will most likely be present in the 13v23 and the fact that Ryzen 7000 is purportedly highly compatible with overclocking profiles (both XMP and EXPO), maybe there isn’t as much risk involved as I had previously imagined.
This set is also kind of a close visual match:
Kingston Fury Impact 64GB (2x32GB) 5600MT/s DDR5 CL40 Laptop Memory Kit of 2 | Lower Power Comsumption | Intel XMP 3.0 | Plug N Play | KF556S40IBK2-64 https://a.co/d/hDVzyYt
So maybe Crucial and Kingston are sourcing some of their parts from the same manufacturer.
I went for these:
Crucial RAM 64GB Kit (2x32GB) DDR5 5200MHz (or 4800MHz) Laptop Memory CT2K32G52C42S5 https://a.co/d/2eadOSK
Not the fastest, but I got an extra 2% back on the Prime Day pricing of $175. Wanted to go for the Kingstons, but they were not discounted and I may not have had the extra 2% on the backend.
Might be a moot point. I think I can stretch the return window a bit (e.g., wait until the last day of the window, netting me an additional number of days to actually get the return posted), but I still may not have a device to test with by then. I’m in the first batch, but we don’t have a firm timeline on delivery yet.
We still don’t have a section for the AMD FL13, but they did add a section for the FL16. There is an answer related to memory that states:
DDR5 SO-DIMMs up to 32GB each at up to to DDR5-5600 speeds are compatible with the Framework Laptop 16. While memory that meets that standard should work, the memory we sell in the Framework Marketplace is tested for compatibility. We recommend avoiding XMP DDR5.
Based on that I think a KVR56S46BD8 (Kingston ValueRAM) should work fine too.
I’m personally interested in the Kingston Fury as it has lower timings and it also seems to fallback to JEDEC. At least they mention JEDEC in their specification PDF.