I’m in the market for a replacement laptop (one died a few days ago). The FL16 is thin on details at the moment, but if you’re thinking about the FL16, that likely means the FL13 doesn’t have what you need. On that note, what systems have you been looking at that you think would fit your needs? (I’m guessing faster processor, GPU, more RAM slots, faster refresh rate and better colours panel…etc…)
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My requirements are simple:
- Windows
- 16" screen with at least 2560 x 1600 resolution
- 32GB of RAM (or 16GB with the possibility to upgrade, but it seems that barely exists anymore)
- Reasonably good I/O
- Below $1700
Strangely, there’s only one laptop in my market that meets those requirements, and that’s the Lenovo ThinkBook G4+ IAP.
I am a bit worried about how much the Framework 16" is going to cost, $1700 is already very expensive for my budget, though I’m okay cutting costs initially by only getting 16GB of RAM because I could upgrade it later if and when I need it. Currently I don’t need 32GB, but if I’m buying a new laptop in 2023 I certainly wouldn’t want to go with 16GB soldered and no upgradability, which rules out a major chunk of the market.
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Here in Canada, we have this Asus Strix G16 for $2500 CAD (I assume your $1700 is USD). That’s about $1840 USD. Close but not within your stated limit (…but within 10%).
Really want to see the pricing of the FL16…at least that way, I can ‘plan’ to wait if needed.
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Same thing here @Second_Coming , really want to see the pricing on this before I wait for it, although it can’t be too much longer before preorders open!
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Dell XPS 15 - a couple of factors I don’t prefer (from the '23 version) that I really or reasonably expect the FW16 to address.
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Lack of other port types besides USB-C
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lack of mid-class screen. Only 1920x1200 non touch and then an ~4k OLED Touch.
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Lack of upgrade-ability/repair-ability.
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That’s a big one for me as well. There’s just nothing like what Framework is doing in the market.
…but I’m trying to be more cautious this time around with the FL16…being a first gen product. The FL13 experience was far from what I was hoping for.
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The asus zephyrus line is pretty interresting, as long as you don’t need an iso keyboard (If you do, don’t touch those the layout they do instead is beyond cursed).
You may be able to get a last gen model below your price point.
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Y11, I’d never heard of the Lenovo ThinkBook G4+ IAP. I’ve been trying to look at it on Lenovo’s site but the number of possible configurations gets confusing. What I’ve not been able to find is what “IAP” means. I thought that might have to do with the photos I’ve seen with a secondary screen to the right of the touchpad, but I’ve not been able to actually find which model that is on Lenovo’s site. Would you tell me what “IAP” is?
I was also wondering what IAP means! My guess is that it stands for Intel Alder Lake P, but I might be wrong. Unfortunately Lenovo does have a bit of a confusing line-up, and the different generations with their significant differences don’t help.
I realized I forgot a bit of the model name in my post but it’s too late to edit, the model I’m considering is specifically the Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G4+ IAP.
My main concern with buying anything else than FrameWork is the charging port. I’m on my third or fourth within 7 years of this current laptop’s life, if I hadn’t been so lucky to find a replacement on Aliexpress it would have been e-waste years ago. Unfortunately it seems most models I was looking at don’t currently have spare parts available. So it feels like too much of a gamble to spend even $1000 when I don’t know whether I’ll be able to buy a replacement charging port when it eventually and inevitably gets a loose connection.
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@Y11 Rational or not, that is my fear as well.
I am really averse to buying a machine that doesn’t (also) have a barrel plug style power port.
I like USB-C and use it primarily for charging, but would feel like I’m tempting fate going usb-c exclusively, even if there are multiple usbc ports capable of charging.
I hope the FW16 includes the capability to charge via both.
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Most barrels are not that great either, I had most of them break as well. I think Dell’s large barrel was the only one I haven’t had break so far. There is also the rectangle one from Lenovo, but does that count as a barrel?
On top of that the issue I had with many barrel type adapters is most of them don’t seperate the barrel from the brick. What that means is if the wire gets ripped you have to throw out the entire brick.
The bright side to USB-C is that the plugs are separate from the bricks, so I only need to take out another USB wire if it gets damaged. But also I have more stronger braided USB wires. Also for many of my USB devices, I switched to round magnetic connectors (square ones are less reliable), that puts less strain on the port + wires and is more convenient to plug in too.
In Frameworks case things are easier in general because in worst case you just lose a USB module if you damage the port. I’d take that over a barrel any day
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Y11, I’ll have to look that one up. You’re right about the confusing lineup. I was looking at some ThinkPads on Ebay. The number of different configurations for even one model are mind-boggling. And I still haven’t found which configuration of the G4+ IAP has the second display.
I’m the same. I hate that most new laptops don’t include a separate DC charging port. I love usb-c and certainly want usb-c charging to be an option but the pins in a usb-c port are just so tiny and the whole plug is smaller. On a large, heavy device that can be knocked around, it’s far from ideal. A separate DC charging plug can be much stronger. They aren’t always, but it’s easier to to add strength to a larger plug.
Framework’s solution is the only way that usb-c only charging is acceptable imo.
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@William_Huff Sorry it looks like the Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G4+ IAP may be a European model only. I just gave the price in USD because my local currency wouldn’t be easily understandable to others.
[copied from another forum] LG Gram 17 (1350g for 17" screen) – I need a lightweight large-screen laptop to do work (coding, writing, some admin) while on the road. A current U-class i5/r5 CPU with integrated GPU (60Hz display) should suffice. Swappable SSD is a must, and preferrably upgradeable RAM. And a universal charging port please – while one could debate the merits of USB-C, it is the only de facto standard we have.
The only other laptop I’m considering is the Tuxedo Stellaris 16, but that has an ISO layout (I really don’t want an ISO layout) and no Type-C charging. But it’s the only Linux laptop that fits my needs with a 16:10 screen and I don’t want 16:9…
I do want a AMD Ryzen 7040/7045 CPU, but that seems like it’s going to be tough…
Probably something from System76 but FW16 is still the top contender
@Y11, I think I found the U.S. equivalent on Lenovo’s site, and I finally found a video about the U.S. version with the screen in the palm rest.
Lenovo has so many different models it is impossible to keep up, and then each model has what feels like an infinite number of configurations. Just go to the support site where they give specs for old models and you’ll see countless entries, all with slightly different specs.
I know this because while I wait to see the specs on this FL16, I’ve been toying with the idea of a used ThinkPad. That started with the idea that maybe one of the workstation models would be fun because they’re just beasts, but they have all sorts of slots for hard drives and you can add RAM, and some have powerful GPUs. I’ve since learned that they even have models that use Nvidia’s gaming GPUs, which would be nice. But it makes my head spin.
Given the GPU poll for the FL16, I’m thinking that FW will probably only be able to offer one GPU. Two seems like it might be one SKU too many. If it is only one, I’m guessing that AMD won the poll and that’s fine by me. I just hope we get some specs soon because I’m really wanting to scratch this itch and hope that this will be the one for me.
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Unfortunately, it’d probably be the better business option to go with nvidia, since their GPUs are more popular for applications across the board. The vocal minority of based AMDchads likely aren’t representative (but maybe it’s different for the Framework customer base!). Which poll do you speak of? I hope I didn’t miss a chance to vote against nvidia on something D:
@Matthew_Elmer just scroll up. FW created a poll asking about CPU/GPU combinations. I think AMD/AMD came out on top, followed by AMD/Nvidia, and then Intel/Nvidia. Some anarchists also voted for AMD/Intel.
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