The usual stuff have been form factor, touch screen, dGPU…etc. However, now that the 12th Gen laptop has been announced, and knowing its form factor, still with Iris Xe…non-rouch screen, is there any not-so-obvious improvement that you would like to see?
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ECC memory support!
I was only recently made aware that 12th gen actually has much wider support for ECC memory but, at least on the Intel desktop, that still requires a specific motherboard chipset that seems to be a bit elusive…
Laptops and other embedded systems rarely even have a separate chipset anymore due to their SOC nature, and we already know that one can get Coreboot working on consumer desktop Z690 12th gen motherboards, so ECC memory support doesn’t seem all that far-fetched on consumer Intel laptop chips anymore.
And this might be a long shot, but how about some easy way to always preserve the aspect ratio of non-native desktop resolutions on external monitors under Linux? The only fool-proof easy solution I know of thus far is to not use Intel graphics, but I like using integrated graphics since my GPU performance demands are minimal, and Framework doesn’t provide AMD variants (yet?)…
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You won’t see ECC for SODIMMs. (small outline DIMM)
If nothing (mechanical) can change, maybe a touchscreen. Or a updated upper display assembly (and hinge) that make it a 2-in-1.
well, ok. but first of all this is DDR4. second this is 2666.
And third, I don’t think the CPU is actually compatiable with one.
Things I want to see is much better GPU performance and CPU performance so I can edit 4K video without worrying about performance issues as these laptops will never come with a dGPU like my old 2017 macbook pro does.
I also want to see better battery life when I’m not editing videos as I saw a few reviews complaining about the 11th gens battery life with the framework.
Once these are addressed I can finally move away from expensive macs with soldered on storage and RAM where apple charges a fortune to upgrade RAM and storage at the time of purchase.
GPU performance nad battery life won’t be increasing much this generation, you can expect CPU performance to jump by leaps and bounds though.
Ikr… So painful.
Your best bet would be to get a eGPU though if you need better graphics performance. That’ll already be far better then what any mac can get you.
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That wasn’t your point. Here, DDR4 3200 ECC SODIMM:
The 12th Gen board from Framework runs on DDR4.
Yeah, that’s the real limiting factor here. 11th gen has the i7-1185GRE for embedded systems’ ECC needs. I’m not sure what the 12th gen equivalent of that is, if it exists at all.
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/208082/intel-core-i71185gre-processor-12m-cache-up-to-4-40-ghz.html
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I find it interesting that Kingston calls it “server memory” despite it being unbuffered - 99.99% of the time anything ECC that’s called “server memory” or “server RAM” or the like is buffered/registered.
Definitely a 4k/touch Screen
there’s also the buffered dimms (I think RDIMM?). The advantage to that is that you can have much higher capacity, but at cost of I think increased latency or something else.
Why is ECC important, I don’t know. Like it’s certainly something that can be desired for, but in the meantime just plain old UDIMM (unregistered dimm) is also stable enough. More so than perhaps even the connector (or the motherboard).
I have not seen a single computer die because the memory failed first. Or the CPU, for that matter.
In mobile workstations, there are at least a handful of disciplines where you really want to avoid a bit flip without detection and correction: F1 tuning software, accounting / financial audit…etc.
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From a usability stand point, touch screen would make additional sense when it can be done with a flip screen, with minimal wobble / resonance in the hinges. Putting a touch screen into the Framework Laptop as it stands at the moment would minimize its usefulness.
I opt for the following improvements:
- Better speakers, with Atmos support. Better sound overall.
- 100% DCI P3
- Fn-Lock indicator (without hacking the EC or losing Caps Lock indicator)
- Hardware wifi toggle switch as well.
- High impedance headphone jack support…with better DAC as well. (i.e. better DAC/AMP overall)
- Fix / minimize the USB-A and HDMI expansion card suspend drain.
- Battery start charging threshold, and battery calibration.
- Background typing noise cancellation for the built-in mic.
- 120Hz panel and lower latency (for smoother productivity / scrolling) Minimize screen lag / feedback. Looking at this from a user experience angel, not a gaming use case.
- Brighter display, 800nits or more (I have some rugged / outdoor use cases). Think, like the Acer Enduro N3 line (not fully rugged, but good for everyday urban use cases)
- Non-apple world: Please, do something about that awful trackpad.
- Higher energy density battery…when the tech is there. I’ll settle for hydrogen fuel cell here: Hydrogen Adds Longevity to Laptops, Phones, and Drones, But Is It Practical? - IEEE Spectrum
- 2 x m.2 NVMe slots
- Built-in NFC / Smartcard reader options.
- Built-in colorimeter option.
- Liquid drainage design and liquid damage prevention input cover.
- Vehicle mounting option.
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It’s a … “Interesting”. shall I say. user experience. Yes, having the screen lay completely flat is more convenient, but on the other hand, it’s much better than nothing, especially for those non-handwriting cases (Excel, for example. Or Word. or simply navigation).
What’s the resolution of framework laptop? The current one I use is 2160x1440.
A 4K on a 13 inch is massive massive overkill. I have a 3K touch on the dell (3200x1800 I think) and, if you use 100% scaling, is just absolutely insane. Requires good eyesight and very careful brightness control.
Also, the screen size discussion we had over on another topic extensively.
Here.
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2256x1504, pretty nice
Not if your focus is content creation / consumption. For office type productivity, sure 4k is likely overkill.
e.g. 4k displays for 6.5 inch phones has been around for awhile now…so 4k for 13.5 inch 3:2…not that far fetched / unreasonable really.
20/15 visions are there in the population.
we have also requested for a tablet form factor which would eliminate the whole hinge thing & reduction in moving parts is a + point in my opinion,
even tho i’ve been using the same laptop for around 8 yrs without any physical failures except for the battery
for content creation u r right
But for consumption it definitely is an overkill as u’ll probably be enjoying the content instead of checking out each pixel
also, if u occasionally plan to consume content at lower resolution if won’t be a pleasant experience
as for example 1080p on 1080p panel will have better quality than the same on 4k & i guess difference will be more noticeable than 1440p vs 2160p on 13’’
Then the same argument would also apply to phones.
Essentially, you’re saying the quality seen during content creation can’t be consumed and be appreciated on the same device.
A matter of content upscaling quality. You’re saying…720p contents would suck on a 1080p panel, and so one should purchase a 1080p panel. The argument has an implied bias / assumption that lower quality content is THE ONLY content you consume?
Here’s the thing about ‘overkill’…and potentially subjective: It’s a ‘readiness’ question should you have additional use cases / requirements / scenarios that you want to handle. It’s like buying a 2TB drive vs 500GB… Some people would never use beyond 1TB. It’s about have the option for those who do.