I knew they would be good reviews, but I’m honestly shocked a review unit went to Phoronix. I love Phoronix. Now I know I’ll get decent Linux news about the laptop!
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Nothing has been a deal breaker for me. The iGPU thermals and noise look phenomenal from what I have seen. I suspect a good deal of the GPU fan noise issues might be fixed with changes to the fan curves but I am waiting until there is a 12GB or 16GB GPU available before I order one so that is not an immediate worry for me. I have never used side-firing speakers before and it sounds like those are one of the weaker areas so I will have to see how they sound. The Framework 13 eventually got louder alternate speakers so maybe the 16 will see something in the future. Everything else was about what I was expecting.
The most concerning thing I have see was what they did in the LTT video though. I get they let their laptop keyboard connoisseur make a quick fix to the thing but I REALLY do not think that putting it out there to bridge the hottest part of the heat pipes and the base plate under the keyboard with thermal pads is the best idea. Maybe something like a bit of cardboard or a plastic shim or something that isn’t quite so thermally conductive, but I see their suggestion possibly causing problems with making the keyboard deck too hot when using it while the laptop is under load.
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Disappointed in how the screen measured out in the tomshardware review at 75% dci-p3. The deep dive stated that it’d have 100% dci-p3. The display is super important for the work that I do.
Still considering whether to keep my order.
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It seems Framework made a misstep by sending out models without the fix. While I greatly appreciate their honesty, many customers aren’t following this forum or Reddit, so they’re unaware of what Framework has done to improve the machine. I understand they were thinking about time and deliveries, but a more customer and sales-oriented approach for the reviews might have been better for their image and product. I’m definitely keeping my pre-order and am looking forward to making my first YouTube video review 
. Hopefully if the product is great we can help 
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And that part is going to have to be double checked and I wish more reviews were including that information. There is the review from notebookcheck that shows their review unit was hitting 97.7% of Display P3 which I think has the same chromatic values as DCI-P3.
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Oh good to know! I haven’t had a chance to see that review yet. Thanks
I’m keeping my preorder, nothing was a dealbreaker for me, and many of the issues brought up in reviews were things that were actively being addressed in the Framework Update emails that have been sent out.
I will say that I really hope there is a higher-performance dGPU upgrade available in the future, and considering that the FW13 has had multiple motherboard upgrades available at this point, I think an eventual dGPU upgrade for the FW16 is very likely.
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I’m wholly undeterred by the negative aspects of the reviews. Those things all sound (lol, the speakers are apparently low quality-ish?) like things I can live with or come to love. I’m a Linux user, and I’m used to stuff being quirky. This machine will run Linux and I’m sure there will be bumps, but there always are.
All the standout stuff that the reviewers are calling out make me that much more excited to finally unbox this thing and have it become my daily driver. Laptops are laptops! They don’t need to compete with desktops (different use case, yeah?). All my boxes are checked, and I’m glad to see such a large number of independent reviewers coming up with the same thoughts on the hardware’s triumphs, and highlighting its faults. Most of the nerds just seem stoked to have something they can repair, take apart for fun, and upgrade (hopefully!).
My patience is renewed 'til batch 4!
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I mean, even if I was to cancel, what would be the alternative for me as a Linux user?
- System76? Not with 16:9 screens in 2024. Also, Clevo rebrands are old news. You cant make your buisness off of that.
- Tuxedo or Slimbook? Not with high import and shipping fees and not without ANSI keyboards.
- Installing Linux on Windows laptops? Been there three times; never worked.
- StarLabs? No dGPU option and their 16 inch model is sold out.
- The 13 inch model? No dGPU option, so it may as well never exist.
That leaves me with nothing else. I have to wait, because otherwise my only other option is literally to keep waiting. With no end in sight.
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couldn’t have put it better myself
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To those who considering cancel their order：
Please cancel so I can get my batch8 earlier
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Yeah, I got a Tuxedo, and while I’ve adjusted somewhat, I do want ANSI layout. Also battery life is a lot more disappointing than what I thought I’d get, and thermals are nothing to write home about. Mostly got it because I needed 2 SODIMM slots for 2x32GB on the Ryzen 4xxx in 14" form factor.
This reminds me of the delivery queue for the Steam Deck…many people with sentiments like this lol
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Bit offtopic but there are a number of “Windows” laptops that will run Linux with 95% of the features advertised for that particular model.
I’ve had a few Asus laptops over the years that, after an hour or two of troubleshooting, worked flawlessly. They actually support Linux on some of their gaming laptops, I think.
Still, the problem to me is the anti-consumer customer service practices of mainstream manufacturers. I’d prefer to pay a premium and get something that I can buy parts for or take to an independent shop, than to “get better bang for my buck” (and subsequently needled out of an RMA by piss-poor customer service).
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True, cause my current gaming&windows device is steam deck
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Same. I’m just wanting a device that can play the games that don’t work on Deck. That’s where the FW16 is going to fill the gap for me (outside of it being my work computer as well…minor detail)
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My only worry from the reviews is the keyboard but looks like a fairly easy fix. Assuming Framework doesn’t fix it before i get it.
Dude, which one did you voted to?
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If you mean which FW16 I got, I ordered the Ryzen 9 with the GPU add-on. 32 GB memory
I posted this in a related Reddit thread, but just some more detail:
We’re certainly committed to making sure Framework Laptop 16 is a solid product. For the total list of issues that we’ve resolved on customer units since the press units we manufactured in December:
- High frequency noise from Mainboard - We identified an incorrect capacitor value that results in a high pitched noise during high load while using a 28V or 36V power adapter. This is resolved on customer units.
- Buzzing or chirping noise from Graphics Module - We identified a scenario where the inductors on the Graphics Module can buzz under high variations in load. We’ve updated the Graphics Module inductor assembly on customer units to resolve this.
- CPU thermal module performance - Our thermal module supplier improved their vapor chamber soldering process, which reduced thermal resistance. While this was only intended to improve manufacturing yield, it actually ended up improving thermal performance too. All press units passed the same pass/fail criteria that we use for CPU performance on customer units though, so we consider press unit CPU benchmarking to be a fair representation of what customers will receive.
- Liquid metal barrier adjustments - We made some adjustments to the liquid metal application process to prevent any leakage risk on customer units.
- Cold GPU performance - For GPU benchmarks, on a cold first run the scores may be lower than subsequent warm runs. We resolved this through a BIOS update that we provided to reviewers partway through the review cycle, which some reviewers may have benchmarked on older BIOS. We know that LTT was on the newer BIOS in their benchmarking.
- DPC_Watchdog_Violation blue screen - There was a system stability issue that occurred primarily when scrolling the touchpad that could result in a blue screen. This was the issue that The Verge ran into, and we’ve since resolved it in the BIOS that is on customer systems.
- Speaker weighted to left or right channel - There is a bug in the smart amp DSP in which the left or right channel may be attenuated at certain times. We saw a reviewer specifically call out that audio sounded shifted. We’ve found the root cause of this, and we’ve resolved it in the driver on customer systems.
- Touchpad Module sliding friction - The mechanical structure that the Touchpad Module slides into is slightly deformed on some press units, resulting in higher sliding friction. This is resolved on customer systems.
- Display alignment - On some press units, the display was slightly misaligned in a way that resulted in the bezel covering the edge of the active area. We bypassed screening for this during press unit manufacturing, but are checking this during production of all customer units.
- Minor fit and finish in the Input Modules - There are some mechanical alignment refinements in customer systems that improve the alignment of the pins in the Mid Plate to the alignment holes in the Input Modules, as well as reduce visible gaps along the top edges of Spacer Modules. There are also minor improvements in the flatness of the Touchpad Module and Touchpad Spacers in customer systems.
Remaining open questions:
- Keyboard deflection - This is an unusual one, because we’ve seen pretty consistently positive feedback on the input deck feel from most of the reviewers, but also specifically saw LTT’s video and the workaround they applied. We’re investigating whether there could have been either an issue on that unit, or a scenario that can result in the mid plate not being flat. In either scenario, if we find that there is an improvement we can apply on this, we will do so, and ship out any parts necessary for that to customers.
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