How/where should I buy used Framework Mainboards to use in a desktop/server build? What model do you guys recommend for a server build that doesn’t cost a large amount per a setup/server. My budget is very low.
For used, either ebay (and other marketplaces) or the Community Market - Framework Community
Framework generally isnt gonna be widespread enough for you to have much luck I’m afraid
Looks like the cheapest mainboard you can get new is here: Framework | Framework Laptop 13 Mainboard (11th Gen Intel® Core™)
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There is also reddit.com/r/FrameworkMarket.
And some Framework Mainboards show up on ebay. Here is a search that I’ve used: ebay - (framework,“frame work”)(mainboard,motherboard,laptop,gen,i5,i7,1340P,1360P,1370P,“Core Ultra”,intel,7640U,7840U,amd,Ryzen,ram,ssd) in Laptops & Netbooks
What boards do you recommend?
It depends on what you plan to do with this desktop/server.
I have a FW 13 with an i7-1165 and (among others) a machine I am using to host a couple of tools including a CI/CD server. I used a Ryzen 5 3600 (because I didn’t want it to consume too much energy) and according to benchmark websites its performances are slightly higher than my i7. But it does its job well as my CI jobs are not very heavy/long, so I didn’t need a more powerful CPU (I have a workstation for that).
If you want a more energy efficient board, you can look at the AMD ones (but they are more recent, so more expensive).
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