Modular laptop - Framework

[Eban]

This is a little older tech but hey I never knew about it so maybe someone else would like to know.

As a laptop I'm not sold on it. I like the idea but it seems a bit too.....yuppy (is that still a word? sorry I'm old)

 

 

https://frame.work/

 

 

 

 

 

[saturnotaku]

Framework released motherboards that have Intel's 12th-gen processors on them so the tech is hardly "older."

[Eban]

2 hours ago, saturnotaku said:

Framework released motherboards that have Intel's 12th-gen processors on them so the tech is hardly "older."

 Split hairs....you know what I mean. 

They been around since 2020 and I only just heard about them. So no not ooooold...just not latest 6 months as in "tech news".

[Reciever]

Chassis is the same right? Then you're both right :D 

 

At work atm, but I assume its 2P + 8E ? Its what I am seeing in the Latitude 5430's and 5530's 

[Eban]

oh.. sorry @Sandy Bridge I didn't see this post before.

 

 

[cylix]

AMD chips for the framework and also a gpu module.

 

 

[saturnotaku]

I'll believe what I'm seeing when they actually have more than one generation of support for the upgradable GPU modules.

[Sandy Bridge]

What saturnotaku said - and also, not just the GPU itself, but also the heatsink needs to be easily swappable.

 

I have an older laptop with an MXM 3.0b module.  Great, so it's upgradeable!  Well, from a GPU standpoint, yes, it is.  From a heatsink standpoint, it's not so straightforward.  It meant grinding down heatsinks to fit new GPUs and different VRM layouts, or conversely adding new materials so it maintains contact when the GPU or VRMs aren't as tall.  If a straight GPU swap was something 20% of people might try with supporting documentation, the GPU swap + manual adjustments to the heatsink takes it down to 2%.

 

I'm sure Framework is aware that they need to have the heatsink aspect also be plug-and-play to really deliver on the promise, but the proof is in the pudding as they say.

 

Now if they can deliver that, and the specs are compelling (which based on the 13 I'm cautiously optimistic they will be), this looks really cool.  The 16 would be essentially what I wanted to buy last fall in that case.  I'm also really happy to see the 16 will have 6 expansion cards instead of 4.  That'll make it a lot easier to use as a DTR.

[ssj92]

MXM was pretty standard up to 980M. I upgraded a M15x recently (260M gen) and the 980M was basically plug n play heatsink wise. 

 

Quadro's were also pretty standard (up to P5000). If you got lucky like me and found a official nVidia partner Quadro MXM like my RTX 3000, it was also standard and needed no mods. 

 

I saw the framework needed a new motherboard to go from 12th-gen to 13th-gen. To me this is not properly "upgradable" you are literally having to replace the whole motherboard. I could replace CPUs in my older laptops. 

 

It's a nice concept but unless the whole industry accepts it and mobile CPUs go PGA again, this ain't going anywhere far. 

[Aaron44126]

12 hours ago, Sandy Bridge said:

I'm sure Framework is aware that they need to have the heatsink aspect also be plug-and-play to really deliver on the promise, but the proof is in the pudding as they say.

This has been addressed directly. The heatsink is in the expansion bay with the dGPU. You don't detach the heatsink separately from the GPU card; they swap in and out together as one unit (in a way, similar to desktop GPUs). This allows for a different size heatsink depending on the dGPU, and you don’t even have to repaste anything when swapping the dGPU.

[Sandy Bridge]

On 4/2/2023 at 7:53 AM, Aaron44126 said:

This has been addressed directly. The heatsink is in the expansion bay with the dGPU. You don't detach the heatsink separately from the GPU card; they swap in and out together as one unit (in a way, similar to desktop GPUs). This allows for a different size heatsink depending on the dGPU, and you don’t even have to repaste anything when swapping the dGPU.

Oh, that is good news.  I didn't find it earlier when looking at their website, but their GitHub seems to describe it at https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/ExpansionBay - it looks like the Expansion Bay includes GPU, heatsink, and fans (which answers the question of how is the heatsink connected to the fan).

 

That is nice as it really would be plug-and-play.  Like eGPU but integrated into the laptop.

 

It's also good to know that Quadros were pretty consistent with MXM.  I had an ATi FirePro card and going from FirePro to Quadro would not have been straightforward heatsink-wise, at least on my HP.  No idea whether FirePros are heatsink-compatible, maybe they are but HP's BIOS whitelisting shenanigans meant upgrading to a newer FirePro wasn't feasible.  Shouldn't have to worry about that with these Expansion Bays.

 

I would be happy to see socketed mobile CPUs again, but in the short term the "whole mobo" approach is the only viable one, unless it's using a desktop class CPU.  I would be interested in "Framework 18" with a 65W AM5 CPU, but they probably are making the correct progression for the market by going for a 16-inch dGPU option first.

 

Any reports on which CPUs the Framework 16 will be using?  I see they've added an AMD option on the smaller one but haven't found info on the 16.  I still favor AMD for power-efficiency reasons, even though I know Intel isn't as far behind on that front as they used to be.

[Aaron44126]

They haven’t announced any specs for Framework Laptop 16 yet, but are promising a full reveal later in the spring.