There’s a new video out by LTT about the framework laptop!
(Caution - Linus sorta fumbles through the upgrades because he didn’t have the guide open making it look kinda hard while it isn’t)
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Thanks for posting it!
Moderators, shall we merge this thread to the LTT-specific thread Great Review from LTT!?
This video is really honest and well-summarized beyond the normal tech reviews, It definitely describes the reality of Framework Laptop very well. It is good info for potential customers. It mentions several points such as known issues, and firmware, and demonstrates the fun part of the DIY things in Framework Laptop. That makes this video unique. And I love this video. I can’t imagine a better video than this video in the current situation.
Including showing how efficient he is at upgrades. RTFM.
Not fair! He has the Ethernet expansion card.
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@3:18 - That’s wrong. The hinge upgrade doesn’t “ships with” new laptops. It’s available as a separate purchase.
No mention of the state of TB 4, but that’s been touched on in the #Shorts.
With the motherboard swap…the old board is now stuck with a plugged-in life. Sure, you’re repurposing it…while losing the self-containing aspect of the functionality that it once had. Granted, people who bought the 12th gen board may not be looking for a full laptop for the price.
Wait: CAD $1400 for a 1280p laptop:
vs
CAD $1364 for just a 1280p mainboard:
Or this for CAD $2100 :
vs the CAD $2669 for the non-DIY Framework laptop.
I’m saying: a 1280p laptop isn’t as expensive as what the video made it sound to be. Pricing of the Framework Laptop isn’t really that competitive…due to the lack of scale.
(I understand that reparability and upgradability has a cost in R&D…but let’s not make it sound like a motherboard upgrade cost with Framework is a ‘deal’. Yes, also aware that there’s more to a laptop than just the processor in it…)
So, here’s a question: The laptop is Linus’ own unit. The mainboard & lid & 2.5Gbps eth dongle …are what…review units? (You can’t buy the 2.5Gbps dongle yet). So, did he just upgrade his own unit review part sent in for review?
The video came across as “Let’s sell the idea that even idiots can upgrade the laptop…”, an attempt to widen up the user base. He’s not an idiot, even when it comes to screws and ribbon cable. Come on…no one is that gullible to believe that, right?
(p.s. My issue here is with the content of the video…not the pricing model of Framework)
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@3:16, Linus’ unit seems to suffer from key caps impression / markings / dirt transfer onto the display panel.
@3:27, the lid / bezel seems to have alignment issue on the top left corner. Has he dropped it?
Even when viewing from the left:
I wonder if they’re confusing the 4kg hinge upgrade with the fact that some laptops got a bad batch of hinges and the new hinges being sold are no longer faulty. Still misinformation, but makes more sense since I feel like a lot of people who have complained about bad hinges are ones who got hinges that couldn’t even hold the lid upright. (note that there are people who still didn’t think the original hinges were sturdy enough, but that’s a whole other issue)
My reading of what they talked about in the video is that they bought the upgrade parts (Hinge Kit, Top Cover, and Mainboard) off of the marketplace (they may have gotten early shipping on these as reviewer/investor) and the ethernet card was a bonus that Framework sent along to get a sneak preview in the video. You’d likely have to ask the LTT team though, as they would be the ones that would know for sure.
While Linus is not an idiot, I feel like I would also struggle like he did if I was not following a guide, and also putting more of my focus into filming a video and entertaining an audience.
Yes, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt, and yes I am a fan of their content, but in all honesty I was a bit annoyed at how much they played up the fact that he was losing screws and struggling to do the upgrade. It made the whole process seem much harder than it would have been if they had followed the guide and taken a bit more care.
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Exactly. And it’s not like they don’t know Framework has various installation / repair / upgrade guides. Linus was the one who mentioned QR codes to guides approach last year.
My best guess is that Linus wanted a fun video of him just going and upgrading his laptop without a guide. I definitely enjoyed watching him struggle as a viewer who knows the channel and content, but was disheartened as a Framework owner and supporter who knows that this could make people think that the Framework isn’t as easy to repair/upgrade as it really is. Hopefully any potential customers are checking more sources than just Linus, as a lot of other reviews I have seen do properly explain the ease of the upgrade, but I’m not going to fault a single video in a sea of content.
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That’s his shtick. It’s worked pretty well for him by all accounts. If some viewers don’t see that, that’s on them. Recalling a video a long time ago, I don’t follow him regularly, of him putting a fan shroud in a 1U server. I wondered if his parents let him have scissors. It’s just how he does it, no harm there at all and no reason to be upset about it.
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One year later and people are still struggling with HiDPI on Linux: State of HiDPI on Linux - #79 by dimitris
Framework could eliminate this entire class of problems (and frustration), if they offered a normal DPI display.
It’s just friction. The title slaps and he keeps the attention of the viewer by persistent struggle
That’s all. It’s supposedly entertaining
Ah, I can understand the point that Linus didn’t see the repairing guide to upgrading. That might frustrate some audiences.
or sell wrenches instead, they’re a class of much better tested tools and they rarely have hardware issues.
hidpi displays are better, very few pieces of software these days have real issues, with jetbrains being one of the few last ones standing.
Better for those who can manage it with minimal user experience issue.
Doesn’t eliminate the fact that Linux landscape, as a whole, still has HiDPI support / coherent related matters to iron out.
I, for one, want to use HiDPI, when I want to use HiDPI…and NOT having to deal with / dive into multiple configuration points on wayland or whatever software to ‘make’ it work. Think about the user experience of a regular non-HiDPI display. If I had to do anything different to make HiDPI to work…then it’s not ready for prime time.
I’m with @fdye on this…there should be a non-HiDPI option…as an option for users. At least have a “to each their own” path. i.e. Having the non-HiDPI option doesn’t stop you from having a HiDPI option…so why would anyone object to it?
sporadic issues are not an excuse to take leaps backward
Relative. Some just don’t want to move forward / backward to sporadic issues from stable grounds.
i.e. Let the trailblazers be trailblazers…and leave the other population alone.
Who are we to shove every single Framework user onto the HiDPI bandwagon, or non-HiDPI bandwagon. An option should exist.
Consciously deciding NOT having an option for others is very authoritarian…
Look at it this way, choice of RAM size, storage size, keyboard locale, processor speed, display viewing angle, performance / power profile…there’s no stone tablet that says “Thy shall only use HiDPI”.
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Nobody is forcing the “other population” (interesting phrase, that) to buy a version 1.0 device from a startup…
Trailblazers worthy of the name should know what they’re getting into.
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I wouldn’t be against them (or a third party) eventually offering a FHD-ish dpi display (it’d be a bit more battery efficient too) as an option, but not before there was say a high color gamut display option. I think if you were to do a cross section of the Framework customer base/TAM, Linux users having lots of HiDPI issues (that they can’t solve) is going to be relatively low on the list.
Also, there’s a number of ultrathin Linux-specific laptops that are FHD in the market (and are specced/priced better except for their display, like the HP Dev One, Star Labs Starbook, System76 Lemur Pro come to mind, also most ThinkPads and Pro/Elitebooks) so I think for the percentage where that’s an actually blocker, you’re going for one of those anyway.
FWIW, HiDPI issues are becoming less and less and the next gen of Linux laptops (Star Labs StarFighter, Tuxedo Pulse, InfinityBook Pro, Slimbook Executive, etc) are all on the HiDPI train. I don’t think this is really going to be a big deal in a couple years unless for most distros/software.
We’re getting into 2.0 territory. This is an “in the future” hardware option maturity matter. Just like we now have a 4.0kg hinge option, 2.5Gbps expansion card option. Widening offerings.
Like I wouldn’t / didn’t expect all display panel options to be available from the get go on day-0.
If you look back at the earlier post…it’s about the “One year later” situation.
If Framework wants to grow its user base…that’s a logical step for additional hardware options…beyond trailblazers, hence ‘other population’.
If Framework doesn’t want a slice of that pie…that’s cool too.
There’s a really easy solution to the HiDPI concerns that would instantly solve 3 different HiDPI-releated concerns:
Simply use a a 3000x2000 panel and ideally include 1500x1000 in the stock EDID (though if 1500x1000 isn’t in the stock EDID then you can always just make a custom resolution whether via CRU on Windows or via xrandr / xorg.conf on Linux)
The three concerns this would instantly solve are:
-
the ability to use a desktop resolution of 1500x1000 and avoid HiDPI altogether; it should automatically use 200% nearest neighbor scaling which will make it look like a native 1500x1000 display (it’s possible that your OS may not use nearest neighbor scaling by default though; in Intel’s Windows GPU drivers it’s called “retro scaling” and on Linux, at least for xrandr, you may need to pass the
--filter nearestargument) -
the ability to use 200% DPI scaling, avoiding the issue where fractional scaling is not always available in certain Linux situations
-
200% DPI scaling tends to give better results than 150% DPI scaling, avoiding the issues that fractional scaling sometimes results in
Technically these things can be done today but an effective resolution of 1128x752 might result in a desktop that’s a bit more cramped than you’re used to (not to mention that more and more websites expect a minimum horizontal resolution that’s somewhere between 1152 and 1280 - in my experience 1188px was the smallest horizontal resolution that did not have have a horizontal scroll bar appear on the websites that I commonly use - Framework forums not included because it’s dumb and always shows a horizontal scrollbar with only a teeny bit of actual “scrolling” no matter what for me)
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