Hello everyone.
I’ve been looking at the Framework 16 for a while, and I’m considering it even more after some of the things my current PC has been doing in recent months. I know there are other blind or visually impaired users here that have shared things about this in the past, so sorry if this topic is a bit repetitive. I have a couple questions before I jump all in and purchase one of these.
First question. Is it better to go DIY or pre-built? I understand how to use the computer in terms of software, but hardware assembly and repairs are not my strengths by any means.
With the DIY, how much of it do you have to put together? I’ve seen some things say you have to connect the display with these ribbon cables, and the wi-fi card has small antennas that have to be plugged in just right.
With the pre-built, I understand all you do is insert your keyboard and expansion cards.
I do have some vision, but not enough to read the small print on components or see what the videos are visually telling me to do.
Apart from that, any other general things I should be aware of in terms of the hardware? I’m already familiar with Windows, so getting through setup with Narrator and installing NVDA isn’t a problem.
Any help is appreciated.
In case of the diy you’ll only have to install ram and the ssd(s), the wifi module with the satanic connectors is pre installed (unless you want to use a different one then you have to deal with them).
DIY is definitely cheaper as you can get ram and ssds much cheaper than what you get in the prebuilt but you will have to assemble it. On the plus side you will know how to do it if you ever need to for some other reason.
There is also the problem of the post codes getting communicated with colored blinking lights which may be a bit of a problem if you can’t see.
How is OS installation handled? OS selection lists Windows Home and Pro as well as some Linux distros and Bring Your Own.
I have AI apps and services that let me connect with people for assistance, so getting certain visual info won’t be a problem.
Like I said I also have some usable vision so that might help too.
For diy you would need to install your own, for windows it should be plug and play, for linux you will likely need to disable secureboot first (and apparently most linux distros are not fun to install blind).
You did say you are capable of installing windows in the original post no?
That won’t be an issue. I did a clean install on my current machine hoping it would fix things and I did an installation for a family member who has a machine that’s not officially supported. That computer still runs Win11 quite well.
Will I run into any issues with parts being stuck in customs or will everything ship together?
If you buy the ram and ssd separately they’ll of course come separately. If you want to buy ssd and ram from framework you may as well get it pre installed. The laptop itself should come as one package
What’s the best option?
You said even if I pick DIY and get RAM and SSD from Framework I still have to install them. That shouldn’t be too painful.
Financially (and choice wise) get the diy laptop and buy ram and ssd somewhere else.
You can get a much fancier (and/or bigger) ssd for what framework charges and more ram for the same price.
Yeah but then you basically get the extra expense of the prebuilt without the prebuilt XD
Thanks for your help.
Will I need something with a heatsync?
What size does it take? I know the major SSD sizes are 22/30 and 22/80 right? 22/30 is the square one that looks kind of like a thicker SD card and 22/80 is the longer one right?
Screen comes assembled too right?
Sorry for all the stupid questions. Thanks a lot for your help.
You specifically need something without. Also no need to get something ultra fancy pcie5, the laptop only has pcie4 and the ultra fast ones tend to be powerhogs. Something like an sn5100 would do fine.
There is one 2280 and one 2230 slot in the 16. 2230s thend to be much more expensive per capacity cause they are smaller, they also only really make them upt to 2tb at this point (that’s almost certainly increase in the future).
The bezel does come separately but even seeing people have to assemble that one by feel XD
Edit: scratch the sn5100, that thing is still waaay to expensive. Very power efficient but not worth nearly that much.
That’s going to be fun trying to connect those small ribbon cables. Well, I guess it’s worth the shot. I can always call one of my services through my Meta glasses for help with that since it’s something I’ll need both hands for.
I’d probably start with just a 2280 then maybe consider a 2230 later down the road to install Linux.
I don’t dislike Linux as an OS, but being a full-time screen reader user I don’t feel the accessibility is all there.
I also rely on Office and other Mac/Windows apps, so Windows is the way to go for me.
I don’t think ribbon cables are involved in a normal asembly.
The text descriptions in the asembly guide are pretty understandable, may be worth checking those out and seeing if you understand what you would be supposed to do. Framework Laptop 16 DIY Edition Quick Start Guide - Framework Guides
If you drop the m.2 screw that may be a bit of a problem but I supposed you are used to dealing with stuff like that. Other than that it’s really mostly lego.
Sounds very reasonable.
I would definitely not be blind using linux (or at all for that matter but linux accessibility has issues)
There are blind people who use it full-time and make it work, so more power to them.
Even though I’m reasonably comfortable with the computer, I don’t have the patience to deal with how Linux is for the simplest things and worrying about if a desktop update will break accessibility tomorrow.
Even with its faults, Windows just works.
No OS is perfect, but Windows fits my workflow. At least FW from what I understand doesn’t bloat your computer with more on top of what Microsoft does with Windows.
Would the WD Black or Samsung 980 be a good SSD choice?
Guess how I know about linux accessibility sucking XD
For non accessibility stuff it tends to be the other way around, stuff mostly just does what you want and you have to get the hammer out to make it work on linux but that isn’t very useful when you can’t use it in the first place.
That’s all it needs to do.
Almost too fancy but bot would work assuming you get the version without heat-sink. Please don’t stick an sn8100 in a framework though XD
What type of SSD should I go for then? Is Crucial a good choice?
That’s a brand (crucial does make some good ones though).
If you want to go really cheap there are dramless qlc ssds like the kingston nv2/3 or lexar mq790 that can get you really cheap capacity at ok perfromance.
Then there is midrange/higher end dramless tlc like wd blue sn5000, wd black sn7100 or lexar nm790 and some of the mid range samsungs.
And then there is the really high end dram having pcie5 ssds like the wd sn8100, crucail t705/710 and samsung 9100pro
I would recommend going either with one of the first 2 categories. Also highly depends on pricing where you are. If you don’t have super write intensive workloads getting some relatively cheap qlc is probably just fine.
I appreciate it. Apparently Kingston also makes RAM so I’ll look into it from them.
Is it worth buying the charger from FW or would you suggest something third-party?
For the 16 it’s probably worth getting the first party charger.
Let me berge in with specific recommendations 
I’m using Samsung 990 Pro 4TB SSD, which right now can be bought for 250€ on sale. This is a pretty performant SSD sold for decent money. Not overpriced like 9100 Pro, and not cheap because they cut some corners.
For RAM I got a pair of Crucial 5600 MHz sticks. The RAM is basic, but I’m under the impression that if you don’t specifically know that you will benefit from higher-clocked RAM, then you don’t need it. And Cricual is a reliable brand. I got two 48 GB sticks, but would caution against going over 64 GB total RAM unless you want/need it specifically - the AMD drivers had some problems with the capacities over 64 GB, and if you want reliability I’d stick to 64 GB or below of RAM total in the system.
I am being generous with capacities for both because the stuff is pretty cheap right now. A 4 TB SSD is 250€, and 96 GB of RAM is 200€. When I got the same stuff for my laptop in August last year, they were 300€ each, and I thought they were cheap back then
If you’re not on a budget, IMO these two are pretty good price/performance+reliability.
4tb 990 pro for 250 sounds like an ok deal. the 9100 pro/sn8100/t710 bracket doesn’t make sense in a laptop in the first place. Most people are likely still fine with still somewhat cheaper dramless tlc or even qlc.