Will Framework 13 get any gpus.
This is is the new AI392 that can be a game changer. Hoping there will be upgrades that can push the Framework to be motivated to upgrade the 13 lineup.
It already has an iGPU, albeit not an incredible one until you get to the AI 9 board. But this isn’t what the 13 specializes in and would represent substantial mission drift, IMO. The 13 isn’t a gaming laptop and doesn’t really cater to that niche.
1 Like
Thank you for getting back to me. I dont fully agree with that especially since I have been using 13/14laptops. The Asus px13 and tuf14, g14,razer 14 are great examples of how you can push gaming laptops into small form factors with minimal compromise besides battery life. The only reason im holding off in getting a framework is I have alot of 3d work but do the occasional gaming. Most people have second screens to link their laptops to and with the option of portability like a 13 would make the ideal gaming/productivity laptop while ensuring the small form factor for travel purposes. The igpus already on the lineup are slightly underpowered and are fine as this is there second iteration. But its been proven that more and more people are looking for a small laptop but not too small. The framework 12 is arguably a non gaming laptop. Mine is over 6 years old and even then can say I cant go big and dont want to support another company that requires e-waste.
I hope there will be new updated modules in the near future.
1 Like
The company is just in a tight spot these days GPU wise. The 16 finally got a dGPU upgrade and people are calling it underwhelming. Some people are clamoring for the Panther Lake series (I think?) to come to FW, but I don’t hear anyone talking about the iGPU being a major draw. Maybe someone here with more knowledge of what’s going on with this kind of stuff can chime in.
I’d guess because of the size of the framework 13 doing a GPU module wouldn’t be possible, so you’d have to put it on the main board. Another problem is the framework 13 is even smaller because of the input modules making this even more challenging if it would even fit at all. Add to that the fact that the case was never designed for that kind of thermal load if you got a dGPU at all it would be nerfed to an incredibly low TDP. The biggest reason why they probably would never do it is because it is there is almost no demand for it. Probably not enough to invest engineering time into designing and then maintaining it. It would also increase the SKUs they’d have to stock and for a small company this isn’t great, you’d have 4 versions of the board, guessing like i7/r7 i9/r9 one with a dGPU and one without.
But on a side note, iGPUs have come a long way over the years and just keep getting better and better with every generation as more resources go into making better APUs. However I do remember hearing rumors that intel and Nvidia might be working on building a “APU” together, mostly just an Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU on the same substrate but it would still lead to most of the same issues I mentioned above.