Looks like CPU sometimes gets stuck in some sort of low power mode - #10 by Obasav is recommending to use s-tui to see thermals as well as temps.
And as you can see from other posts in the forum eg 7700S won't go past 35W - #8 by Jimster480, it’s no guarantee that any 3rd-party supply will guarantee full power. There’s even a 240W supply that causes power issues. Only the 180W supply is fully tested and functional, even if most other stuff should theoretically work.
Yes, I ended up returning the laptop unfortunately. Power supplies past 100W are all iffy (even if there are a few good ones on the market today) and they don’t all work with all devices that technically support them. So really with the FW16… you are basically stuck with the power supply it came with, unless one of the newer models from Anker or GearIT or MINIX work in some capacity.
However there is no 240W power supplly I have seen on the market that does 240W in a single cable, only 140W and 180W outside of framework. So please keep this in mind because the laptop will power limit you as my posts mentioned and there is no way around this. It essentially gimps the laptops power down to almost nothing.
I ended up buying a laptop that would allow 100W draw from the USB-C with power controls (to an extent) and that worked better for me… I still dream for a future FW16 model with better compatibility but the USB-C PD world above 100W is really a dice roll still today.
I am using a delta electronics 240w power supply right now.
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I searched for that and didn’t find it until I typed in “Delta Electronics 240W USB-C” and I cannot find any link to buy it. Delta is an OEM for laptop PSU’s and the 2 articles I found which were talking about this PSU have it being the same size / bigger than the factory one that came with the FW16…
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A few examples of where it may be acquired:
I grabbed it off a Reddit post, so I can’t confirm if they have stock or not. The model for the PSU is “ADP-240KB BA”
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It’s possible to manually set settings for the PD controller to help bypass some of the issues. When I run “sudo ectool chargecontrol idle”, the laptop will stop trying to charge the battery and dedicate the charger+ battery to the workload. It prevents the stutter and frame time issues from the DGPU constantly changing power states.
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I requested and received the framework PTM and changed my FW16’s LM to the PTM7985. The process took 15 minutes and went just like the instructions. Most of the liquid metal was pumped out next to the CPU. It was relatively easy to clean, I used a hairdryer on hot to soften and clean both the CPU and heatsink with good effect.
I have a 240W delta charger that I bought from Digikey.
I then used my laptop in the usual fashion without overtly stressing it for a couple of days. Then I ran cinebench R23 and R24 several times. Before the TPM7985 I scored low 14000s in R23. Now I regularly get high 15000s!!! The top score that made me do a take a double take was 16099!!! This stuff is magic. With the LM the CPU package power never went above 45W. Now it regularly peaks at 67W with sustained 45-47W while doing the CB R23 multiprocessor bench! It used to get 100 degrees Centigrade for most of the cores with that well described large delta between the cores. Now they are at most 5-7 degrees between the lot. With the PTM the hottest it gets is 93!!!
I did not run prime95 before the swap but now with the PTM in place, i can run it with the second option (small FFT) to really get the burn going! The CPU never gets above 93-94! The fans goes hard at this stresstest but smoothly ramps up and down.
I know this does not add anything new to the discussion but just let people know how easy the process was and the benefits of doing it!!!
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Running stress (through s-tui), my all-core, full-load performance is locked at 4.1 GHz and 50 W for at least 3 minutes continuously. I haven’t tested anything longer than that.
This is after replacing the LM TIM with the PTM TIM, as I was starting to see thermal issues. Before the upgrade, I would have been closer to 3.2 GHz on all cores. I would recommend doing the replacement. It’s not too difficult–just takes patience.
EDIT: In more practical usage (all-core compiling from the AUR), I see full usage with 4.6 GHz, 94 °C, and 59 W sustained
Folks, don’t try this at home, you’ll probably shorten component lifetimes…
I ran prime95 (small ffts for the burn!) as well a 2 instances of furmark and CB23 at the same time AND STILL GOT A SCORE OF 15500!!! Iknow that Furmark most likely has a small effect on the test but heck, THE TEMPS STABILIZED AT 95 degrees Centigrade!!! For 30 minutes, just to check it wasn’t fibbing! GPU 7700S and the 780m both sat at 76degreees.
The fan was going well and ramped down smoothly after I stop torturing my poor FW16.
FWFTW! Framework for the win!!!
I did contact Framework Support and ran through all the troubleshooting and documentation they had asked for (pics of the mobo, under the plastic covers, a video of the issue, etc) and they sent me a new mainboard even though I was just outside of warranty. I was a Batch 1 though.
It looks to have taken care of my issue. I think probably the new heatsink rather than the mainboard itself took care of it. I’m supposing the shim on the original heatsink wasn’t soldered on well.
The thermals are much more even, and the fans ramp up much more gradually. I’ve seen the cpu package power at 49w and 60w for when it boosts. 3D Mark @ 15706
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What software do you use to produce this?
Using “amdgpu_top” for that.
i just replaced the liquid metal on mine with PTM7950. My Cinebench 23 Multi-Core score jumped from 12,552 to 15,185. And that was with a browser open.
I bought a large sheet from the LTT Store. I measured the CPU at about 12mm X 18mm, so I but mine piece close to that.
Welp, I opened it up to replace and it turns out it already had the PTM. So those results were valid with the new product.
I received my PTM and opened up my device to find it already had PTM (shipped Dec 2025).
I attempted to install the new PTM, but it would not stick in one corner and eventually tore.
Instead replaced with NT-H1. Seeing slightly elevated temps and comparable throttling between NT-H1 and PTM.
I’ll run some more tests while I wait for another replacement PTM.
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Fun fact Honeywell make a version that can be applied like paste, the PTM-7950SP.
Doesnt really matter if you tore the pad or not, the pad will melt on first heat, and hopefully covering and filling all the gaps like a traditional paste would.
Putting these in a freezer allegedly make them tear less.
I have yet to see if it has vastly increased viscosity or not. if it does, it might help with pump out. If not, eeh.
And just like others PTM have the problem where you have to heat it up to remove it.
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Does anyone have a photo of the packaging that the PTM came in, or the part number?
I am trying to source another, and Framework support seems to want to send me Liquid Metal part. Would like a part number to give them so there are no mistakes.
Found one in the corner of a work in progress.
PTM7958 Thermal Pad-Size D
FRAKJC0001
barcode: 810063739737
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