I decided I’ll just limp along until Framework releases their 16 inch laptop. I really need a new laptop with a dGPU, however, nothing on the market meets my needs:
Nvidia RTX 4080 or 4090 GPU.
16 : 10 high refresh rate screen.
ANSI keyboard layout.
Good Linux support.
Nothing meets those requirements; System76 lacks any laptops with a screen aspect ratio other than 16 : 9, Tuxedo isn’t really an option where I live, and the Windows laptops I’ve tried have dealbreakers in Linux (like the speakers not working or working very poorly).
And still, I’m going to just keep waiting. Why should I buy two laptops if I can just wait it out (I can’t, but I must).
I would only consider something that is highly repairable (and the company supports your right to repair) and has very good Linux support. Tuxedo comes to mind.
I would have gotten a Dell XPS 17 which straight up beats the FW16 in terms of screen-to-body ratio - so an option for ultimately portability compared to screen real estate.
In general, I was a fan of Razer before discovering the FW16 - which made framework my favourite laptop company in a single step.
Finally, given the Fractal Terra case, I was also considering a Desktop. But for now I will wait for more details on FW16.
I consider whether I should keep my current Tuxedocomputers (Schenker, Tongfang) Stellaris Gen3 with AMD 5900HX and Nvidia 3070 and maximum 64GB of RAM. Screen ratio is 16:9 and battery is 93Wh. And there is no optimus chip so I can’t shut down the GPU when I don’t use it.
(The keyboard is ISO (and they said they can’t change it to ANSI and it’s very bad. Also support was bad overall.) and its half-baked mechanical switches suck. Also speakers are weak, audiojack isn’t responding immediately upon plug-in, webcam quality is sub-par, mic quality isn’t good, two ports feel loose even when I didn’t use them a lot)
(BUT I can open it and have two sticks of RAM and have two SSDs, it has built-in LAN port)
All ports that I have: Big SD card, 3xUSB-A, 1xUSB-C, LAN, Power cord, Microphone, Audio jack. So in total it’s 9 ports and FW16 will offer 6 ports.
My current power brick is very large and it says it does 230W but FW16 will be 180W out of the box.
Basically it’s quite tough to beat my laptop on performance but it’s easier on IO.
But with 6 ports vs 9 ports… that’s somewhat a downgrade. Though my current one doesn’t have swappable adapters so FW16 somewhat alleviates this as not all ports are plugged-in all the time.
Also my screen has some changing burn-in and I hate it. It would better not be 2K@165Hz but it would be better to not have this burn-in that changes from time to time.
Also regarding GPU – if I’ll take a GPU then I’ll take one with more VRAM than my current one (8GB).
The Legion series is definitely up there for me in terms of features for the price point. Unfortunately, I find the RGB-gaming-brick design and weight hard to swallow.
Unfortunately, if Framework doesn’t open pre-orders soon, I may just have to compromise with buying a System76 Bonobo 2023… I can’t keep waiting forever…
Ended up buying a HP Envy 16 because I wanted a new laptop sooner (I’m tired of replacing the duct tape that keeps my screen from literally falling to pieces…) and I imagine FrameWork will only ship to my country next year.
Sincerely regretting that decision. Laptop arrived, I installed a second SSD in the empty slot. Three weeks later the laptop is dead in the water. I call HP support and stupidly and innocently let them know that I installed an SSD… so of course, fuck you, your warranty is void and congratulations, you now have a $1100 brick.
So to those considering buying anything else but FrameWork… think again.
That’s terrible. I would try calling back, asking for an escalation, and seeing if you can get anywhere. Adding an SSD (presumably to a second SSD slot) ought not to void the warranty.
Thanks, I have tried that now, and escalating it to the complaints department seems to have worked. I happened to buy the laptop with a warranty that includes on-site support and repairs, so someone will be coming out soon to fix it for free, which is nice. If I hadn’t had that upgraded warranty from the seller it would have been sent to a repair centre at my own risk and cost.
I agree, I totally did that upgrade in good faith. I had no idea that something so simple couldn’t be allowed.
In fairness, I should add that I stupidly volunteered the information that I temporarily borrowed one of the trackpad’s many screws to screw down the SSD. I hadn’t thought it through and naively assumed I would just find a screw ready in the laptop, or provided with the SSD. Still, I don’t think that it was plausibly the cause of the issue at hand.
Honestly none. For me the modularity and repairability of Framework products is just a hurdle that no other laptop manufacturer can overcome. At least not as the industry is today.
For this reason, the Framework 16 is in a class of its own.
I wish Thinkpads weren’t a shell of their former selves, but they are.
I have been very happy with my Framework laptops, and being a community moderator has allowed me to peak behind the scenes, and the way they run things and the true passion they have for their missions has just helped to cement my position even more.
Framework is the real deal and I can’t wait for the Framework 16 to roll out.
@Y11 - thanks for the reply, I am happy to hear that you are achieving resolution. It’s fortunate that you had the extra warranty, but I’d still argue that it ought not to be necessary. Thankfully you don’t have to go down that path. Looking forward to hearing your exploits with a Framework when you do pick one up.
If FW went up in a puff of smoke, well… just build a desktop, and buy a little ex-gov laptop for that occasional mobile use.
If mobility was a bigger part of my requirement, System76 has a nice range, but I’m not convinced they ship to Australia. Probably end up going with Asus.
*Edit: S76 do. They’re just all intel, all nvidia, and that would turn me away already. AMD just hasn’t put out enough mobile products for their kit to show up! So, no framework? I’d build a new desktop and get a whatever (cheap) laptop, probably ex-government.
For me, it’s not that the FW13 is missing things I need. More like “Whoa! It’s more customizable? Okay, gimme that one please!”
To be fair, if all of that can be had on the smaller 13 inch model, I’d buy it. I’m not a large laptop gal, but I’ll “deal with it” if I have the option to get a dGPU. The FW16 feels like a portable upgradable desktop. I can upgrade the motherboard/CPU and dGPU separately as needed. And the ability to reuse the previous parts to do something else is nice.
Who knows if I will do any of that in the future… but this was something I always wanted. Framework laptops was my 20-something’s pipedream that came true 20 something years later.
The other was Nexdock - mostly because I wanted something like that for working on computers (building, troubleshooting, etc). However, I don’t do that as much anymore - I still got a Nexdock though and it has come in handy a few times already!
If someone makes a expansion card that can turn a FW laptop into a portable crash cart (like the Nexdock) as needed, it’d be next in line to get it.
