I got a Framework 13 in Oct 2024 - 64GB ram, 1TB disk. It’s been an expensive/decent machine, but has always run hot and the battery life has never been good. Now I see the Panther Lake reports of long battery life, and am ready to cash in on the Framework promise of effortless upgradability. How to I upgrade my Framework 13 to Panther Lake?
Depends on which part(s) you wish to upgrade.
See frame.work/laptop13pro?tab=upgrade-to-pro.
And this page, which provides more details, fr.mw/13_13Pro_Compatibility
These pages are super confusing - wall of text. Grok says that I’ll need a new mainboard and new memory. Cost $900-$1400. Add a larger battery and the upgrade cost rises to $1100-$1700. Wah wah - no wonder the confusing messaging. For that price I can get a new XPS13 running PantherLake.
The battery, being physically larger, requires the new CNC bottom chassis and input cover. At that point, along with the mainboard, you’re upgrading most of the laptop. Regarding the cost vs other laptops, I mean there will just always be cheaper options depending on how much you want to sacrifice. We pay in exchange for the repairability & upgradability. It’s more complicated in design and manufacturing.
If you wish, you can sell your Framework on to someone else. Ebay, r/FrameworkMarket, and the forum community market are some options.
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There are enough upgrades in Panther Lake that it makes more sense to buy a whole new unit instead of trying piecemeal upgrades. Then you can just sell the entire old unit and recoup some cost.
It made sense to just update the mainboard from 11th-13th gen since the touchpad didn’t change, the battery upgrade was ok but not essential. Display the same. FW13 Pro is across the board upgrades. So personally I would do the whole enchilada but it isn’t necessary per se.
@AndyL Looking at the table/matrix provided in the help article…you don’t need as much financial investment as you think you do. Panther Lake is more efficient but the bigger battery is just a bonus. An upgrade you could put off until later if you chose. Same goes for the touch display. You could just drop the new mainboard into your current setup and buy new RAM and be done if you so chose. You have to decide how much or how little you want to upgrade.
FW never advertised being the cheapest option, and I think it’s been evident for several generations that the upgrades aren’t necessarily the most cost effective options. You pay for the repairability and upgradability of the machine.
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I wouldn’t normally trust grok but it seem right enough, this time.
Yes, you are not obliged to buy Framework, and are free to buy any brand you like.
Their exist at this time, at least, a Four month waiting period on the intel pro machine; It’s perfectly reasonable to look for alternatives.
The reason to buy Framework has never been to save money, at least not upfront. I bought a Framework because I can’t afford to send my device away for warranty repair, especially not when I can’t trust the company to fix my device.
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