We’re happy to share that we started our mass production ramp of Framework Laptop 16 this week. We received quantities of the final CPU heatsink (after a brief pause sitting in Taiwan Customs), which was the last gating item for getting the manufacturing line moving. Lunar New Year means that both our factory and our fulfillment warehouse will be closed from Feb 8th through Feb 14th, so we’re working on producing and fulfilling as many units as we can ahead of that. For those of you in Batch 1, we’re also sending out the Batch 1 preparation email tomorrow. We’ll be sequencing through the remaining batches as quickly as we can. We’ll continue on additional update emails to keep each of you who have pending pre-orders up to date on production, though we may not stick to the two week email cadence now that we’re up and running.
You’ve probably also seen press reviews go live earlier this week. We flagged in the last email that press units came from an earlier build with some issues that we’ve since fixed. We wanted to share the full set of changes and improvements we’ve made for all customer units for your reference:
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 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 have been lower than subsequent warm runs. We resolved this through a BIOS update that we provided to reviewers partway through the review cycle. Some reviewers may have benchmarked ahead of that time. 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 an issue that The Verge ran into, and we’ve since resolved it in the BIOS that is on customer systems.
Speaker attenuated on left or right channel - There was a bug in the smart amp DSP driver 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 found the root cause of this and 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 for this during production of all customer units.
Display color gamut - In the Windows OS image that was on press units, we did not have the color profile necessary for wide color gamut. We have since added this in the Driver Bundle. Note that the initial batches of pre-built systems also have a Windows image that will not have the color profile pre-loaded, but installing the Driver Bundle loads it.
Minor fit and finish in the Input Modules - There are some mechanical refinements in customer systems that improve the alignment of the pins in the Mid Plate to the 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.
There are also a few issues that we are still tracking, but which we aren’t holding production for:
Keyboard deflection - We’ve seen largely positive feedback on the input deck feel, but also specifically saw LTT’s video in which they flagged keyboard deflection 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 case, 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 whose units have already shipped.
Secondary SSD may disappear - We found that the secondary SSD (the M.2 2230 SSD) may not be visible on some boots or may rarely disappear during sleep. We’ve debugged this issue with AMD, who have traced it back to a bug in the platform firmware. They are releasing the fix to us, which we will include in a BIOS update. We’ll share BIOS updaters for Windows and Linux when this is ready, as well as roll the BIOS into the factory for new system production.
Display frozen after smart MUX switching - We’ve seen instances where after closing a graphics-heavy application, the display will freeze as the display switches from the discrete GPU to integrated graphics on the APU. AMD has root caused this issue, and is preparing a driver update that resolves it. We believe there are reviewers who have also seen this issue, potentially including The Verge. Once AMD provides us the driver, we’ll package it up as part of a Driver Bundle.
Great hearing all the fixes we’ll be getting! And as always I’m sure we all appreciate the transparency from the team on the issues so far, I know I do. Excited to get my hands on it - maybe if I’m lucky I can get mine before the factory closes, but I doubt that being in batch 3. Still great to hear the wait won’t be too much longer, and that a good number of issues have been resolved since the reviews.
Thanks so much to the Framework team for your clarity in communication, frequent updates, and hard work to this point, designing, prototyping, testing (repeat multiple times), getting the 16 to production / updating & fixing observed issues. Excited for my batch 6 order!
I can’t wait to do some 3D CAD & rendering on it.
Somehow I doubt batch 3 will be produced before the break in February. Oh well, I’ll just have to wait. At least I’ll get to vicariously experience the launch through the forums lol.
Their absolute transparency never ceases to astonish me. I’m so not used to this lol. Really really hope this mindset continues long after the shine wears off.
I am fully prepared to weather the agonizing wait for my Q2 ship with meditation videos, comfort food, inspirational quotes, and cute fluffy puppy dogs. But jes wondering is all…
Some here have a sense of how Nirav is running the show internally. Is it at all conceivable any of the ship estimates could be pushed up? Or do you see them adamantly sticking to the plan even if things go well enough to allow earlier delivery?
Great AMD is amazing they providing good support to FW team , Nvidia is arrogant company i doubt they will provide any support to FW like this , that’s why in past even apple ditch them
I think AMD is actually putting a fair bit of prestige behind supporting Framework in this, I think they’re hoping to help distinguish themselves and provide a boost in their laptop ambitions.
I would like to understand why Framework cannot officially support 96GB, since it is DDR5-5600. Is that because of framework motherboard bios compatibility issue? When will this various brand compatibilities will be tested?
I have seen a few only in this page. What DRAM/memory is supported by Framework Laptop 16?
The reason why the FW16 (and FW13 AMD) don’t officially support 96GB of RAM is that AMD doesn’t officially support 96GB RAM configurations on the Ryzen 7040 series processors. That isn’t to say it won’t work (and Framework themselves have shown on an AMD FW13 that it does), without AMD’s blessing that the processor 100% supports it, they can’t officially say that 96GB configurations will work 100%.
Thanks Boden,
I saw it in framework twitter site also. So it is from CPU , Ryzen 7040 series processor, they haven’t officially support it yet. I am trying to find out about that in detail in https://www.amd.com/en/support/apu/amd-ryzen-processors/amd-ryzen-7-processors-radeon-graphics/amd-ryzen-7-7840hs but I can’t find the memory configuration compatibility list also. May I know where can I find it? However inside its full specification max memory is 256GB.
Regarding the DPC_Watchdog_Violation bluescreens. Given this is a problem that has been occuring on several Framework 13s (mine included), does this indicate a more widespread trackpad driver/hardware issue and if this is the cause of it on those laptops, would this be fixed in a BIOS update?
Would like some more communication from Framework on this if that is the case.
However the supported memory will be vary from manufacture to manufacture hence I request you to please reach out to your laptop to verify the memory list of system.
Thank you for contacting AMD.
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I can’t wait to get my very first Framework laptop. The Intel NUC I have currently is thrashing hard with the bad GNU/Linux NVIDIA drivers, overheating issues, and more. Bring forth the upgradable AMD goodness! Also, what gaudy stickers should I put on the lid?
I don’t know if it’s considered “gaudy”, but I’ve placed the emblem of Bass.EXE (from MegaMan Battle Network) on the lid of my previous laptops, and will be doing the same here!
