[HN Gopher] Framework 12th gen laptop review
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Framework 12th gen laptop review
        
       Author : pabs3
       Score  : 179 points
       Date   : 2023-03-13 09:42 UTC (13 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (anarc.at)
 (TXT) w3m dump (anarc.at)
        
       | pmontra wrote:
       | > in a bizarre twist, they somehow sent me the URL with the plus
       | (+) signs escaped, like this:
       | 
       | > https://guides.frame.work/Guide/Framework+Laptop+DIY+Edition...
       | 
       | > ... which Firefox immediately transforms in:
       | 
       | > https://guides.frame.work/Guide/Framework/+Laptop/+DIY/+Edit...
       | 
       | > I'm puzzled as to why they would send the URL that way, the
       | proper URL is of course:
       | 
       | > https://guides.frame.work/Guide/Framework+Laptop+DIY+Edition...
       | 
       | In a bizzarre twist the blog software unescaped the first URL (I
       | checked the page source) and turned it into the last one, which I
       | confirmed to work
       | 
       | :-)
        
         | anarcat wrote:
         | yeah the irony... i have just fixed this, i think.
         | 
         | i have also _just_ scanned the URLs underneath the left-wise
         | expansion slot and it 's still a 404 on my phone.
        
       | fulafel wrote:
       | Is the suspend and power managment problem a OS independent HW
       | flaw or is there still something to fix in Linux?
        
         | f_devd wrote:
         | It's hard to know for sure without being involved in the
         | development of both sides (the line between new features being
         | unimplemented & hw/firmware being buggy is often blurry), but
         | here is some context: * Linux 5.x does not support most 12th
         | gen power-management/igpu, >6.1 does * According to a few
         | (unconfirmed) sources, there were workarounds required that
         | first came from clean-linux >6.x (intel's linux fork).
         | 
         | So most likely it's a mix of new hw breaking existing
         | functionality, and new features not being implemented yet at
         | release
        
         | Rebelgecko wrote:
         | Some of the power management issues have been fixed
         | semirecently with a firmware update for the thunderbolt
         | controller IIRC
        
         | insane_dreamer wrote:
         | this is the biggest problem I have with Framework. I would not
         | have bought a 12Gen for Linux had I realized it was an issue.
        
       | formerly_proven wrote:
       | > consider buying 4 USB-C expansion cards, or at least a mix of 4
       | USB-A or USB-C cards, as they use less power than other cards and
       | you do want to fill those expansion slots otherwise they snag
       | around and feel insecure
       | 
       | > in particular, beware that the HDMI, DisplayPort and
       | particularly the SSD and MicroSD cards take a significant amount
       | power, even when sleeping, up to 2-6W for the latter two
       | 
       | > you have to do some serious tuning to get proper (10h+ idle, 10
       | days suspend) power savings
       | 
       | Why is the Framework so much worse at these than e.g. the LG gram
       | series? HDMI, 2x USB-C/TB4, 2x USB-A, micro-SD out of the box, no
       | serious tuning required...
       | 
       | > 296.63mm X 228.98mm X 15.85mm, 1.3Kg
       | 
       | > Battery: 55Wh
       | 
       | Why does such a relatively big and heavy laptop have such a
       | comparatively small battery?
        
         | heavyset_go wrote:
         | > _Why is the Framework so much worse at these than e.g. the LG
         | gram series? HDMI, 2x USB-C /TB4, 2x USB-A, micro-SD out of the
         | box, no serious tuning required..._
         | 
         | I could be wrong, but I don't think anyone at Framework is
         | hacking on Linux and upstreaming drivers that implement
         | efficient power management correctly. I also don't think
         | they're hacking on custom firmware for components, either.
         | 
         | Looks like System76, for example, puts a lot of work in to get
         | white label Clevo laptops working pretty well with Linux.
         | Framework is likely working with whatever the kernel already
         | supports, and often times it's hard to implement good power
         | management for components because the documentation isn't
         | available, so you're lucky if someone spent time trying to
         | reverse engineer anything at all.
         | 
         | Also conjecture: I don't think Framework is designing low-level
         | hardware, either, and the boards they design/buy aren't
         | optimized for power saving versus actually shipping a product.
         | 
         | I'd assume that LG has more resources dedicated to power
         | efficiency when it comes to time, money and manpower, and they
         | have kernel hackers on their payroll, as they roll and deploy
         | their own Linux-based OS.
         | 
         | It could also just be chance, where the LG gram just happens to
         | be built with well supported components.
        
           | kitsunesoba wrote:
           | The trade off with system76 laptops, though, is that you're
           | stuck with underwhelming Clevo design decisions like 16:9
           | screens.
           | 
           | I know system76 has had their own laptop designs in the works
           | for a while now, I wonder how that's going... being tethered
           | to Clevo is kneecapping them in a few ways IMO.
        
           | zdragnar wrote:
           | The gram doesn't have an option to come with Linux installed
           | (at least mine didn't). If they were doing custom Linux work,
           | I would have to imagine that they'd offer Linux as an OS too.
           | 
           | In any case, I'm incredibly pleased with mine, the battery
           | life really is fantastic and knowing it can be this good is
           | probably the only reason a framework wouldn't be my next
           | laptop.
        
             | formerly_proven wrote:
             | I suspect the grams are just very close to Intel's
             | reference platforms which is probably why they work so
             | well.
        
           | lhl wrote:
           | Framework is in fact are working on the firmware to improve
           | battery life, primarily with the Intel TB4 (Burnside Bridge)
           | retimers. Here's the work to reduce power consumption w/ the
           | DP expansion card: https://community.frame.work/t/beta-
           | displayport-expansion-ca...
           | 
           | And here they talk about what they learned working on the
           | Chromebook version:
           | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32927094 that they've
           | been working on in the latest (beta currently) BIOS updates:
           | https://community.frame.work/t/12th-gen-intel-core-
           | bios-3-06...
           | 
           | For anyone interested, you can take a look at their community
           | forums - they're doing as much Linux support as anyone else
           | out there I think: https://community.frame.work/
           | 
           | The LG gram has a few things going for it:
           | 
           | * Soldered LPDDR memory is lower power than SODIMMs
           | 
           | * Not having the extra retimer, not needing it to be active
           | unless the TB4 port is used
           | 
           | * A lower res display (1920x1200)
           | 
           | * A 72Wh battery, which is 30% bigger than the 55Wh in the
           | Framework
           | 
           | That being said, LG (and other ODM/OEMs) have been making
           | laptops for almost 20 years, and Framework is on year two on
           | basically their first design, so it's probably to be expected
           | that they have some stuff to learn/improve.
        
         | mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote:
         | I kind of wish they had version without the modular ports. It's
         | a neat gimmick, but I really don't need it for anything. I just
         | need the same 4 connectors: Usb-C for charging/docking, some
         | USB-A ports, ethernet and a 3.5mm jack. I don't see those needs
         | really changing. Faster USB speeds I can take or leave, but
         | that would be limited by the underlying Thunderbolt at some
         | point anyway.
         | 
         | I guess it improves repairability and all. But eh, I never had
         | a laptop where those parts failed before any other parts. So if
         | I can just pay someone to help me solder on a new port the once
         | pr decade one might fail, I'm ok with that. Or maybe they could
         | make it easily replaceable without the modularity, that'd be
         | great.
        
           | trinsic2 wrote:
           | Yeah this is a good insight. It's likely this lines up with
           | what most customers of laptops would think if they learned
           | about the framework laptop for the first time.
           | 
           | When I first heard about the port changing feature I thought
           | it was cool and useful. But i am now starting to wonder how
           | often it would be used even by myself if I had one.
        
             | aquova wrote:
             | I have a framework laptop, and one of the deciding reasons
             | I bought one was due to the modular ports. I'll admit that
             | 99% of the time, I leave a USB-A and USB-C ports in on each
             | side, but the ability to move the ports to whichever side
             | of the laptop I need, as well as having the ability to swap
             | in ports that I only seldomly use is great. Another
             | understated benefit is being able to use any expansion
             | cards they add in the future. They didn't have ethernet
             | ports at launch, but now I'm able to get one if I so need.
        
             | Dalewyn wrote:
             | I imagine the point isn't for you to keep on switching the
             | ports out every day.
             | 
             | Rather, it's so _everyone_ can get the ports _they_ want
             | with minimal overhead for Framework the company (fewer
             | SKUs, less spare inventory, etc.).
             | 
             | It's like LEGO: You can put together exactly what you want
             | using exactly the bricks you want, and you aren't expected
             | to take it all apart and build something new the next day
             | just because you could either.
        
               | mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote:
               | I think one model with the bog standard stuff and one
               | with the modules is a good compromise, or will be when
               | they're more established and can afford the overhead you
               | correctly point out. Right now they're very much a
               | startup, and so I agree with you that it makes sense for
               | them as a company right now.
        
               | Dalewyn wrote:
               | >bog standard stuff
               | 
               | That's the question, though: What is "bog standard"?
               | 
               | Apple will tell you bog standard is two USB-C ports.
               | 
               | A tech enthusiast will tell you bog standard is at least
               | 10 mixed USB-A and -C ports, at least three DisplayPorts,
               | at least one ethernet jack, and a headphone jack.
               | 
               | Jane Average over there will tell you bog standard is a
               | power button.
               | 
               | A DIYer will tell you bog standard is GPIO and serial.
               | 
               | USB-IF will tell you bog standard is USB4.11 For
               | Workgroups Revision 5 Type D 50gbps 2x4.
        
               | djur wrote:
               | Well, the Framework doesn't give you most of those
               | options. You get 4 total of any of the following: USB-A,
               | USB-C, DisplayPort, HDMI, MicroSD, Ethernet. (In practice
               | a USB-C is mandatory for charging.) Plus built-in
               | headphone. If you want any more than that, or anything
               | different, you're gonna need a USB dongle like any other
               | laptop.
        
               | mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote:
               | Pretty sure Jane Average would also include a charging
               | port ;)
               | 
               | Joking aside, to my mind bog standard is by definition
               | not given by Apple, enthusiasts, hardware hackers, USB-
               | IF, or someone who never needs a port ever. My mom is
               | very tech illiterate and even she uses a cheap wireless
               | mouse, and other USB stuff.
               | 
               | It's obviously something Framework would have to research
               | and think about. But I don't think it's unreasonable to
               | say there is some definition of bog standard that should
               | be able to serve 80% of customers. Where the 20% is made
               | up of various niches that are happy to pay a premium for
               | the modularity because they really need it.
        
               | tracker1 wrote:
               | At this point, for better or worse, and I know some may
               | not like it... would be almost all USB-C. With
               | thunderbolt, power delivery and video adapter options
               | over the port, there's really not much reason to go
               | otherwise, noting that some ports are not the same.
               | 
               | One option might be to have a backplate adapter similar
               | to ATX motherboards, where that just slots into the case
               | itself attached to the motherboard... so Gen 3 could have
               | 3x usb-c, 1 usb-a and a 4-pole headphone jack... Then all
               | usb-c + headphone a generation after... but the
               | horizontal spacing pre-defined like ATX backplane.
        
               | regularfry wrote:
               | The problem with forcing everything over USB-C is that
               | you end up overloading hubs. I have four laptops in front
               | of me, and I've got a setup in front of me that _just
               | about_ works tolerably, but:
               | 
               | 1. None of the machines I have to switch between have
               | remotely enough sockets for the USB devices I actually
               | need to use. Mouse, keyboard, headset, external webcam,
               | yubikey are all USB-A. For the machines I've got that are
               | USB-C only I need at least two hubs daisy-chained if I
               | want to have the first in the chain be something I can
               | put in my bag.
               | 
               | 2. If I try to power some of them through the hub, they
               | complain that they can't get enough power.
               | 
               | 3. If I plug those same ones into the power directly, I
               | don't have enough ports to also have a USB-C monitor
               | connection, forcing that over onto HDMI.
               | 
               | 4. Only one of the machines I use has an HDMI socket, but
               | the hub I tend to use has one so that's usually fine.
               | 
               | 5. It's not fine on my XPS13, which for some reason can't
               | power both its own screen and the external screen when
               | plugged into the hub, and it goes into a flickery loop as
               | it tries, fails, and resets. So that's either lid-closed-
               | only, or is the only device connected over USB-C as a
               | direct connection, which means an extra plug to plug in
               | for only that laptop, and I end up fiddling with the
               | screen controls every time I switch to it.
               | 
               | This is supposed to be a unified ecosystem but it just
               | falls apart in practice, and my desk has never had more
               | wiring all over it. I get that I'm an outlier here: two
               | work laptops, two personal laptops, and regularly needing
               | to use any of them, but there's nothing I'm trying to do
               | that's outside what USB-C claims to be within its sphere
               | of capability. Maybe the problem is the hub I've got but
               | if that's the case I can't see how you're supposed to
               | make better purchases. The ecosystem just seems to be
               | broken.
        
               | tracker1 wrote:
               | Sounds like you would be better served with a Thunderbolt
               | dock.
        
               | rhaway84773 wrote:
               | It's also standardized, so you don't have to only pick
               | ports that Framework decides are valid. You can also add
               | 3rd party ports of your own choosing.
        
               | TomK32 wrote:
               | Bricklink list 76527 unique Lego parts, including Duplo.
               | So much for the "fewer SKUs". There's also 15155 mini
               | figures.
        
               | aqfamnzc wrote:
               | I agree with your point, but generally when people say
               | "like LEGO" they mean "modular". Not that you can build
               | literally any shape the way you can with actual LEGO.
        
               | cstrahan wrote:
               | Compare 76527 unique Lego parts to number of elements in
               | the power set of those 76527 Lego parts -- imagine if
               | each combination also had its own skew. That's the sort
               | of comparison being made -- providing simple components
               | and letting the user combine them as they see fit means
               | managing fewer SKUs than otherwise. This logic does not
               | change with respect to the number of simple components --
               | if Framework wanted to provide module for 76527 distinct
               | peripherals, that's 1 SKU for the laptop plus 76527 SKUs
               | for the modules... which is a lot less than selling
               | 2^76527 distinct laptops for every set of peripherals
               | (leaving aside size constraints, and the fact that many
               | people actually want more than one of the same
               | peripheral).
               | 
               | Additionally, fewer is fewer, regardless of scale.
               | 999,999 of something is fewer than 1,000,000 of
               | something.
               | 
               | So yes, the "Lego approach" would mean fewer SKUs.
        
               | warner25 wrote:
               | My wife and I each got an 11th Gen Framework in late
               | 2021, and I think it's mostly this - e.g. my wife wanted
               | an HDMI port and I didn't - but I've also found reason to
               | switch ports around a few times. It's certainly not
               | everyday, but I've had a few different workspace
               | arrangements where sometimes it was better to have my
               | charging port on one side or the other; not strictly
               | necessary, but nicer for cable management. Next month I
               | might borrow my wife's HDMI port when I need to give a
               | few presentations.
        
               | jefurii wrote:
               | I occasioanlly set my Framework down in a place where
               | it's more convenient to have power and/or HDMI on the
               | other side and it's simple to rearrange the modules.
        
             | agloe_dreams wrote:
             | This is pretty much my angle.
             | 
             | My 14inch macbook pro has a power jack(magsafe), three
             | Thunderbolt ports, an SD card slot, HDMI, and a really low-
             | noise, high-power fantastic 3.5mm. About the only thing I
             | really would ever want is ethernet but even then I probably
             | would rather dock the machine over TB anywhere I would use
             | that. It is just is so much better than plugging in 4
             | cables.
             | 
             | (Side note: It's kinda surprising that mankind has not
             | invented a smaller RJ45)
        
               | goosedragons wrote:
               | There's loads of laptops with RJ45 jacks that fold up to
               | take up less space when not being used. There were also
               | PCMCIA ethernet cards where the jack pops out and you
               | insert the cable downwards. I don't think Apple cares
               | enough about ethernet on laptops anymore to bother.
               | Personally I find the choice of SD card slot puzzling.
               | USB A or ethernet would have been far more useful IMO. I
               | have exactly one device with full fat SD and it's a 10
               | year old Wii U.
        
               | djur wrote:
               | Regular SD cards are still common in professional
               | cameras, and I heard a lot of loud griping from
               | photographers when the built-in card reader was removed.
        
               | tcmart14 wrote:
               | This is a confusing part for me since professional
               | photographers are one of the demographics that Apple
               | tries to target. Seems like they would have never gotten
               | rid of it. Granted, I could also say that it may be
               | ridiculous for cameras to still need SD cards in them.
               | But it is easier for 1 smaller set of devices (Macbooks)
               | to support the other (cameras) than all of the others to
               | support the smaller subset of devices.
        
               | agloe_dreams wrote:
               | > Seems like they would have never gotten rid of it.
               | 
               | Like HDMI, or USB-A, or MagSafe.
               | 
               | The 2016 macbooks were...something.
               | 
               | FWIIW though...Modern Mirrorless cameras tend to have
               | high-performance USB-C. Some also have internal storage.
               | But the value of swapping media in a camera is critical
               | for organization however. Many Cameras also have dual SD
               | slots for mirroring.
        
               | agloe_dreams wrote:
               | >There's loads of laptops with RJ45 jacks that fold up to
               | take up less space when not being used.
               | 
               | I've had one, thing was pretty flimsy and required
               | finagling to use. Meh.
               | 
               | > Personally I find the choice of SD card slot puzzling
               | 
               | Something like 90% of the photography market uses a Mac.
               | 
               | I heard probably more hoopla about that SD card slot than
               | anything else when it was announced.
        
           | dehrmann wrote:
           | When you look at the options, they would have been better off
           | just adding all those ports. 2x USB-A, 2x USB-C, SD, HDMI,
           | and maybe ethernet. Sure, you can do more in theory with the
           | modular approach, but aside from USB-C, those are all decade-
           | old ports, so there just isn't much need for arbitrary
           | expansion.
        
           | aidenn0 wrote:
           | > never had a laptop where those parts failed before any
           | other parts
           | 
           | HDMI port is first thing to die on last _two_ laptops. Thanks
           | to thunderbolt, I didn 't have to junk the more recent
           | laptop, but I do need a dongle for HDMI which is mildly
           | infuriating.
        
             | mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote:
             | Yeah, HDMI is a notoriously failure prone connector I've
             | found. I avoid it if I can, though I don't have any use for
             | it on my laptop. My Thinkpad has one, could be dead I
             | suppose since I never use it :P
        
         | graeber_28927 wrote:
         | I don't actually know, but the FW "abuses" splitted thunderbolt
         | connections to get to those features, which I must imagine
         | needs beefier controllers and is more energy intense, than
         | solving e.g. microSD in a more direct/integrated way, without
         | thunderbolt in the middle.
        
           | rowanG077 wrote:
           | microSD cards are often just using USB that's routed on the
           | PCB.
        
             | tracker1 wrote:
             | I'm frankly surprised that audio doesn't do this, even for
             | more desktop. I'd much rather if desktop case mfg's put a
             | $10 usb dac on the front of the case to a USB 2 header on
             | the motherboard. Would definitely sound better.
        
         | yunohn wrote:
         | > take a significant amount power, even when *sleeping*, up to
         | 2-6W for the latter two
         | 
         | What... how, why? I think it's unacceptable for a laptop in
         | sleep mode to be draining energy at that rate. Must be a bug, I
         | refuse to believe they tested this and though it's ok?
        
         | agloe_dreams wrote:
         | Because, as I kinda expected when this first was launched, The
         | replaceable modules come at a cost of not just internal size
         | but also structure. You can't just cut out the corners but
         | actually need to re-enforce everywhere you cut out. Then, where
         | they put the card slots normally contains speakers in this
         | category, so they needed to move those down to the battery
         | area. Finally, every internal component needed to be packaged
         | for repair. (Also, I'm not sure about the choice to go dual
         | 2280s on a 13 inch)
         | 
         | https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2021/07/framework_5...
         | 
         | Note how remarkably large the speakers are, how much structure
         | is around the battery, and how much the logic board is pushed
         | down. We all hate the reduction in reparability in modern
         | macbooks but look at the outcome:
         | https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2021/10/macbook-pro...
         | 
         | This is a 14 inch Macbook Pro. It fills every last inch with
         | equipment that, each on their own, are best in class. The
         | battery is 30% bigger. The Speakers are louder and have more
         | bass, the system is designed to handle far more wattage from
         | the SOC.
         | 
         | The Framework laptop is a great first attempt, but I'm not
         | really convinced they are quite there yet. They really need to
         | drop the Macbook Air design and go for boxy here to maximise
         | volume. It absolutely needs a dedicated GPU option.
         | 
         | Having a laptop a lightly technically minded person can repair
         | easily makes little sense if it isn't targeted at their niche.
         | Generally you start deep in the niche and move mass-market as
         | you expand.
        
           | SkyMarshal wrote:
           | _> Then, where they put the card slots normally contains
           | speakers in this category, so they needed to move those down
           | to the battery area._
           | 
           | Does Framework even need embedded speakers? Why not just rely
           | on external wired or Bluetooth speakers, or headphones,
           | instead, and use the space for a larger battery.
        
           | m_0x wrote:
           | > Having a laptop a lightly technically minded person can
           | repair easily makes little sense if it isn't targeted at
           | their niche.
           | 
           | I disagree. There's value in a laptop that can be easily
           | repaired/upgraded for non tech people. And I mean that.
           | People that will only use their laptops for zoom, lightweight
           | internet browsing and stuff like that.
           | 
           | Because, they will fucking break something and better to have
           | it easily repaired than having to go a specialized center.
           | 
           | Keep in mind I'm not talking about people that can afford new
           | iphone every year but people that can afford a mid-budget
           | Android phone every two-four years.
           | 
           | > Generally you start deep in the niche and move mass-market
           | as you expand.
           | 
           | Isn't that how you piss away your niche market?
        
             | asoneth wrote:
             | > There's value in a laptop that can be easily
             | repaired/upgraded for non tech people
             | 
             | How does the price of a Framework today plus upgrade
             | modules in three years compare to a cheap laptop now and a
             | new cheap laptop in three years? Obviously the former is
             | better for the environment, but if you don't break even on
             | your investment in a Framework laptop by the first upgrade
             | then it's going to be a very, very hard sell for most
             | consumers.
        
             | agloe_dreams wrote:
             | I totally get the upgrade angle for non-technical
             | people...but you need to convince them that they want
             | it...and that it is worth Framework's frankly large
             | premium.
             | 
             | Then you get to the fact that this machine is incredibly
             | poorly sold if that is your market. The pre-configured
             | options are almost insane. $1050 for a machine with 8GB
             | ram..or $400 more to get 16GB because they paired it with
             | CPU and Storage upgrades? Of course you can go DIY but keep
             | in mind this is for lightly-technical users. Then a user
             | needs to pick their port loadout.
             | 
             | It is overload and a lot of money for anyone who isn't
             | technical...but if you ARE technical...this thing is
             | basically a bad ultrabook in use. You can get a like-spec
             | (1240p, 8gb, 256) Asus Zenbook 14 OLED...for $500 dollars
             | less!
             | 
             | That's my gripe. I love the repair angle. The expansion
             | cards are downright silly for most users. The money is
             | basically nuts for prebuilt. And, ultimately they made a
             | non-touch Surface Book 3..rather than a Macbook Pro.
             | 
             | > Isn't that how you piss away your niche market?
             | 
             | Well yeah. It's also how you continue to exist outside a
             | niche. Some companies manage to do both. I would argue that
             | the current top-end Macbook Pro is a downright niche
             | product compared to the rest of their lineup. See also: The
             | Mazda Miata. Niche, well loved, technical, co-existing.
        
               | okasaki wrote:
               | > It is overload and a lot of money for anyone who isn't
               | technical...but if you ARE technical...this thing is
               | basically a bad ultrabook in use. You can get a like-spec
               | (1240p, 8gb, 256) Asus Zenbook 14 OLED...for $500 dollars
               | less!
               | 
               | And 8gb is all you will ever have on the Asus, since it's
               | soldered to the board.
               | 
               | So the comparison between the two is completely dishonest
               | because the Framework is an upgradable computer that can
               | be used for decades, and the Asus is a toy which will be
               | rusting in some 3rd world landfill in two years.
        
               | agloe_dreams wrote:
               | The 8GB is fair...but the Framework being upgradable for
               | decades is...uh...pretty absurd. You don't even know if
               | the company will exist next week. The only actually
               | standardized upgradable part is the Storage and Memory.
               | The Zenbook also has upgradable storage. The CPU is
               | soldered to the proprietary board with their own battery
               | design and own display. The battery is roughly as
               | upgradable as on the framework if not less convenient.
               | 
               | Personally, the idea is all pretty oversold. If the
               | motherboard was standardized and had a swappable
               | CPU..maybe..but this is just a laptop with marketing. The
               | Dell XPS 15 has the exact same upgrade path as the
               | Framework..but also a 15 inch display and dedicated
               | graphics. Any number of MSI laptops support upgrading
               | ram. The idea is nobel...but not novel.
        
               | okasaki wrote:
               | Ultimately, RAM capacity is what makes old computers
               | usable for light use, or junk.
               | 
               | There are still people using the thinkpad x61 (2007)
               | today. It came with 512MB-2GB ram, but you can put up to
               | 8GB in it. 8GB and a SSD is enough to comfortably run the
               | latest Linux and Chrome and is pretty decent on such a
               | little computer.
               | 
               | If it had a soldered 1GB it would be junk.
               | 
               | 8GB soldered ram will make your Asus junk in 2039 (2023 +
               | 16 years), but 64GB in the Framework has a much better
               | chance of being usable.
               | 
               | Laptop manufacturers (and clueless crony reviewers) say
               | that the ram is soldered to make the laptop smaller, but
               | units like the Framework clearly show this is bullshit.
               | They're just doing it to stop you from extending the life
               | is old hardware.
        
               | endemic wrote:
               | I agree with this. My personal laptop is a 2010 MacBook
               | Pro, which is way past its expiration date, but was kept
               | usable because I maxed the RAM (8GB) and installed a
               | hybrid SSD. I was/am annoyed that Apple laptops no longer
               | have user-serviceable parts, but I'm coming to terms with
               | investing up front for that same longevity.
        
               | csdvrx wrote:
               | > Laptop manufacturers (and clueless crony reviewers) say
               | that the ram is soldered to make the laptop smaller, but
               | units like the Framework clearly show this is bullshit.
               | They're just doing it to stop you from extending the life
               | is old hardware.
               | 
               | Totally! Also for on die/soldering being allegedly the
               | only way around hardware issues "requiring" the RAM to be
               | physically as close to the CPU as possible, Dell CAMM
               | standard shows that there are other way!
        
           | ClumsyPilot wrote:
           | > We all hate the reduction in reparability in modern
           | macbooks but look at the outcome
           | 
           | There are two diffetent problems with repairability - one is
           | making it easy for a dilebtante to replace parts.
           | 
           | The other, is making parts and schematics avaliable so that a
           | specialist can repair it. You don't actually have to change
           | the design. This is what Luis Rossman is talking about
           | 
           | > Dedicated GPU
           | 
           | Yeah I only buy laptops with GPUs. Honestly laptops outside
           | power user/gaming niche rarely need things replaced
        
             | agloe_dreams wrote:
             | > There are two different problems with repairability - one
             | is making it easy for a dilebtante to replace parts. I
             | would probably argue that this is framework's primary angle
             | on it, which is why the cost in internal volume is so high.
        
         | hk1337 wrote:
         | > consider buying 4 USB-C expansion cards, or at least a mix of
         | 4 USB-A or USB-C cards, as they use less power than other cards
         | and you do want to fill those expansion slots otherwise they
         | snag around and feel insecure
         | 
         | The connectors for the expansion cards are all USB-C too, so if
         | it's beneficial to have connection further in instead of right
         | at the edge, you could go without an expansion card for a slot
         | at all.
        
         | giancarlostoro wrote:
         | > Why does such a relatively big and heavy laptop have such a
         | comparatively small battery?
         | 
         | I hope they provide a beefier battery.
        
       | kayson wrote:
       | I would love a 15" framework with the power issues resolved that
       | I can use an egpu with. It would be a great replacement to
       | hauling an SFF pc around.
        
       | Palomides wrote:
       | whoever designed the SD card module should be embarassed by that
       | sleep power usage, it's totally possible to drop into microamps
       | during idle periods
        
       | sourcecodeplz wrote:
       | 30k words but not one picture of the laptop smh.
        
         | re-thc wrote:
         | A picture is only worth a 1k words. I ask for 30 pictures to
         | make up for it!
        
       | sneak wrote:
       | > _On the downside, there 's a bit of proprietary firmware
       | required (WiFi, Bluetooth, some graphics) and the Framework ships
       | with a proprietary BIOS, with currently no Coreboot support.
       | Expect to need the latest kernel, firmware, and hacking around a
       | bunch of things to get resolution and keybindings working right._
       | 
       | > _Like others, I have first found significant power management
       | issues, but many issues can actually be solved with some
       | configuration. Some of the expansion ports (HDMI, DP, MicroSD,
       | and SSD) use power when idle, so don 't expect week-long suspend,
       | or "full day" battery while those are plugged in._
       | 
       | Meanwhile, the M2 Macbook Air is $1200 and does run all day
       | (literally 100% more battery than this thing). It's screamingly
       | fast, has a better display, better keyboard, WAY better GPU,
       | insanely better speakers, better proprietary boot firmware, is
       | smaller and lighter, and runs Linux well now thanks to the heroic
       | efforts of amazing hackers.
       | 
       | Yes, you must put $3 pigtails on all your USB-A connectors in
       | your home and office (but the upgrade means you can never plug
       | them in backward ever again).
       | 
       | Unless you're into masochism or work at Intel, why would anyone
       | buy this machine?
        
         | rejectfinite wrote:
         | >Unless you're into masochism or work at Intel, why would
         | anyone buy this machine?
         | 
         | People dont want/cant run macOS?
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | roughly wrote:
         | I mean, you're asking why anyone would buy a pickup truck when
         | a sports car is so much faster and holds the same number of
         | people. I've got both, they're different devices.
         | 
         | To answer more directly, though - the Framework is both a hobby
         | and a market signal for me. I wanted a repairable laptop with
         | an OS I can control and I don't particularly care about the
         | rough edges that come with that. Call it masochism, but that's
         | pretty much what any hobby looks like in the modern age of
         | plenty.
        
           | sneak wrote:
           | These are both sports cars; they are both sub-15", sub-4K
           | 8-ish core all flash notebooks ("ultrabooks", in the
           | parlance). They run the exact same OS. It's the exact same
           | product category.
           | 
           | One is slow, chonky, and inefficient, however, for basically
           | the same price.
           | 
           | They sell a v6 automatic transmission ICE Mustang, too.
        
             | [deleted]
        
       | varispeed wrote:
       | I wish there was something comparable to Apple when it comes to
       | performance and battery life.
       | 
       | Are there any corporations working on something that could
       | compete with M1/M2 in laptop space?
        
         | esskay wrote:
         | IIRC a lot of the issues with competitors and battery life are
         | an issue for Windows, and not their hardware. As long as
         | Windows remains a hunk of junk they can't get close to Mac
         | battery life levels without you having to cart around a much
         | heavier battery.
        
           | tomnipotent wrote:
           | > are an issue for Windows
           | 
           | Nope.
           | 
           | https://www.phoronix.com/news/Windows-Linux-Power-Dell-XPS
        
           | princevegeta89 wrote:
           | ThinkPad X13s (Snapdragon ARM) either meets or even beats
           | Apple Silicon Macbook battery life. We need to note that it's
           | the CPU making all the difference here. The intel Macbooks
           | always had mediocre battery life.
        
         | yamtaddle wrote:
         | It's not just the hardware--it's the software. Apple gives more
         | shits about power efficiency (and general respectfulness toward
         | system resources & maintaining responsiveness) in software than
         | anyone else building major consumer software
         | platforms/ecosystems/operating-systems does. Apple Silicon is
         | indeed near-magical, but iOS and macOS/OSX devices have been
         | beating the competition on UI responsiveness and battery life
         | _often while having smaller batteries_ for years and years,
         | including in the Intel Mac days. I became a convert in part
         | because I was issued an Intel Macbook for work around 2011 and
         | it was the first time I 'd ever felt like I didn't need to
         | carry my power brick everywhere.
        
           | solarkraft wrote:
           | I maintain that most manufacturers just don't give a shit
           | about quality - probably because they compete on price, not
           | user experience. I can't think of any manufacturer that seems
           | to actually care about issues that people who use Apple
           | devices would consider glaring and unacceptable.
        
       | xd1936 wrote:
       | I'm super excited about Framework as a company. They're doing all
       | the right things imo. Their next product announcement is in ~10
       | days.
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccpsyRipHlk
        
       | shaicoleman wrote:
       | Regarding the Shipping Trivia section, the "How Overnight
       | Shipping Works" video by Wendover Productions is a good resource
       | to learn more
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3qfeoqErtY
        
       | t344344 wrote:
       | > Cons the 11th gen is out of stock
       | 
       | I really wanted to like Framework laptops. I travel a lot and
       | break laptops frequently. I really liked IBM Thinkpads, was all-
       | in on Dell onsite warranty when it actually worked...
       | 
       | But I just got the cheapest MSI Modern. It has ok hardware, 64GB
       | RAM, two SSDs, bunch of ports... Repairability is nice if you
       | actually can get support and spare parts next day. Without that
       | its just a marketing BS.
       | 
       | Today laptops are just disposable consumer goods. "Repairability"
       | is a freedom to swap SSD from laptop #12 to laptop #13. Now all I
       | need is a screwdriver and credit card to buy next laptop.
        
         | sanitycheck wrote:
         | What's happened to the Dell onsite warranty? I last had a next-
         | day on-site part replacement 2 years ago and it all went as
         | smoothly as usual.. (UK)
        
         | izerik wrote:
         | MSI Mosern are really good bang for the buck. I did some
         | research about some budget laptops for a friend under 500$ and
         | MSI won, not only by the specs but also from an extensibility
         | standpoint (non-soldered RAM slots).
        
         | mschuster91 wrote:
         | > Today laptops are just disposable consumer goods.
         | "Repairability" is a freedom to swap SSD from laptop #12 to
         | laptop #13. Now all I need is a screwdriver and credit card to
         | buy next laptop.
         | 
         | Not really, if you're using Bitlocker chances are high that
         | it's tied to the TPM keyset and depending on what's broken it
         | is difficult to recover them.
        
           | t344344 wrote:
           | I run Linux. I have microsd card with bootable Linux kernel
           | and encryption keys. Laptop has fake bootable livecd and luks
           | partition.
        
           | doubled112 wrote:
           | This is a big reason to prefer password based drive
           | encryption, or at least something that doesn't tie the key to
           | your hardware.
        
             | mschuster91 wrote:
             | Sadly, impossible to do on modern Apple machines (where the
             | T2 co-processor handles all the crypto), and difficult to
             | do with Windows as Bitlocker uses a TPM module by default
             | [1] if it's available and modern enough. You'd need to
             | manually mess around to disable TPM usage.
             | 
             | (Side note, does anyone know if there is a workaround to
             | allow multiple passwords for Bitlocker?)
             | 
             | [1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-
             | us/windows/security/informati...
        
               | bootsmann wrote:
               | I think you can do PIN + password by fiddling around with
               | the group policy settings iirc (similar trick for PIN +
               | TPM maybe you can find results for that first and then
               | build on it)
        
             | kitsunesoba wrote:
             | To me the bigger takeaway is that if it's important enough
             | to encrypt, it's important enough to keep backed up
             | regularly. Even with password-based encryption, if your
             | drive/laptop is stolen you're no better off than you
             | would've been with key-based encryption (potentially worse,
             | as password-based may be more practical to bruteforce).
             | 
             | On the other hand if the data is backed up properly, at
             | worst you've lost between an hour and a day of work
             | regardless of if the laptop gets lost, is stolen, bricks
             | itself, or is subject to a highly localized short-lived
             | black hole. You restore and go on with life.
        
           | bootsmann wrote:
           | BitLocker has a recovery mode, either through your Microsoft
           | account or through a 48 digit key that unlocks the disk on
           | any hardware. If you have a dual-boot you will run into this
           | from time to time, its not a big issue.
        
       | al2o3cr wrote:
       | [flagged]
        
       | starkparker wrote:
       | The review makes a lot of hay over needing DP and HDMI cards for
       | a multimonitor setup, but even on Linux the USB-C expansion card
       | supports DisplayPort altmode, MST hubs, and power delivery
       | passthrough on all four ports. Each port has its own Thunderbolt
       | 3 and PD controller. (The DP expansion card is just an altmode
       | pin converter, and the HDMI card is an HDMI-to-DP converter,
       | which is probably why it constantly consumes power.)
       | 
       | You might need a dock if the other three ports aren't enough, but
       | you can connect power and two external monitors on one port.
        
       | e-Minguez wrote:
       | Meanwhile, they cannot be purchased in Spain :(
        
       | darthrupert wrote:
       | Those idle energy usage stats look pretty damned good. If the
       | numbers are correct, they're beating Apple Silicon.
        
         | selimnairb wrote:
         | But only after spending how long tuning things. This is what
         | keeps me on macOS. I'm not a 19yo with time to compile kernels
         | and tweak my XFree86 config anymore. Maybe when I retire in 20
         | years...
        
           | selimnairb wrote:
           | I should mention that I like what Framework is doing and have
           | been tempted to buy one. Don't mean to take anything away
           | from them. It's just not for me right now.
        
           | input_sh wrote:
           | It's author's choice to run Debian on a laptop that provides
           | first-party OS.
           | 
           | It'd be like blaming Apple for Asahi Linux issues, but with
           | even less of a substance (at least Debian doesn't have to
           | reverse engineer Pop! OS improvements).
        
           | tankerkiller wrote:
           | It looks like a lot of the "tuning" was specific to Debian. I
           | did not have any of the issues with things like the touchpad,
           | scaling, etc. with Ubuntu or Pop_OS. And most of the power
           | related tweaks are the same tweaks most people running linux
           | have to do anyway for laptops because the Distro's almost
           | never come configured with the libraries required and setup.
        
             | starkparker wrote:
             | Ditto with Fedora. The 6.y kernel line fixes a lot of
             | problems that aren't Framework-specific but generally Intel
             | and Alder Lake issues. (A lot of those problems, configs,
             | and tuning, even on Debian, aren't relevant on the 11th-gen
             | Framework.)
        
           | heavyset_go wrote:
           | Buy a machine with first class Linux support the same way
           | you'd buy a machine with first class macOS support if you
           | want to use macOS but don't want the hackintosh experience.
           | 
           | System76, for example, ships laptops with custom power
           | management daemons that tune things for you automatically,
           | and provide you with power saving/performance profile buttons
           | in the system tray if you want control.
           | 
           | GNOME ships with a similar power management daemon that
           | handles things automatically, as well.
           | 
           | I'm also in the "I don't want to tweak my computer" camp, and
           | in my experience, modern Linux is much more sane and stable
           | than it was in the XFree86 days.
        
             | esskay wrote:
             | >Buy a machine with first class Linux support the same way
             | you'd buy a machine with first class macOS support
             | 
             | Genuine question: Does such a machine exist that isn't a
             | heavy lump of plastic with a very stupidly positioned fan
             | intake under the laptop right where your knee would be?
        
         | lhl wrote:
         | Idle power consumption is good, but sadly as soon as you get
         | into near-idle/light usage (eg, listening to Spotify in the
         | background, or even running a bash script echoing to your
         | terminal, the power jumps a lot (I place the blame mainly on
         | Intel 12th Gen). In my experience, despite also having
         | extremely long idle battery life, for regular web browsing,
         | watching YouTube, light typing tasks, my 12th-gen Framework
         | tends to get about 5h of battery life (I tested a number of
         | scenarios including seeing how little load was required to
         | reduce battery life here for those that are interested:
         | https://github.com/lhl/linuxlaptops/wiki/2022-Framework-
         | Lapt...)
         | 
         | On Notebookcheck's standardized WiFi v1.3 test, the Framework
         | gets 447 minutes while an 8C MBA M2 gets 910 minutes (just over
         | double).
         | 
         | On my most recent trip, I ended up throwing the towel and
         | getting an MBA M2 since my Framework's battery life really
         | wasn't cutting it and for my use cases, MBA gets _over_ double
         | the runtime, making it a lot more suitable for all-day travel
         | days /transcontinental flights, media offloads, etc.
        
       | jonathantf2 wrote:
       | I really like the idea of mine but the terrible battery life in
       | both Windows and Linux make it basically an unusable portable
       | machine.
       | 
       | I've just ordered a MacBook Pro 14" (even though it was
       | horrendously expensive) and I hope I can eBay the Framework.
        
         | princevegeta89 wrote:
         | As much as I hate macs or any other Apple products, I admit
         | that the MBP 14 or any mac with the Apple Silicon is simply
         | irreplaceable.
         | 
         | I searched to the end of the earth for a comparable Linux or
         | Windows laptop with no vain. If it's Windows (+WSL), then I
         | have to deal with Windows as a platform that I find awful.
         | Adding to that, the poorer battery life and screen, keyboard,
         | touchpad and speaker quality compared to Macbooks. Coming to
         | Linux, brands like Framework haven't seemed like they've fully
         | gotten over the reliability issues as of yet, and the battery
         | life is a huge problem.
         | 
         | I took the eventual jump into an M1 Pro MBP 14", and I like
         | every bit of time I spend with it. It's a stellar all-in-one
         | device. The OSX platform is clean, versatile and removes a lot
         | of headaches and manual overhead I would have to deal with if
         | using a Linux desktop from time to time. And the battery? Lasts
         | the entire day.
        
           | jonathantf2 wrote:
           | I'm a Windows admin by day - I tried to daily drive Linux for
           | a while on my main home PC but had issues and ended up just
           | going back to Windows 10 which I've never had any issues
           | with.
           | 
           | I (as of the past year) now own an iPhone and AirPods and
           | have been quite impressed with the experience so I'm going in
           | hoping I'll enjoy using macOS - having seen it from my
           | perspective at work (managed without MDM/ABM, hopeless
           | issues) it's been a pretty bad experience but for home use
           | that shouldn't be an issue at all.
        
             | princevegeta89 wrote:
             | Trust me, Windows 10 with WSL is just great in a lot of
             | ways - I just found myself really shooing away Windows as
             | an OS platform, but I also saw that it came a really long
             | way compared to 10 years ago.
             | 
             | I would say the hardware on Mac is what takes it the extra
             | mile for now, if Windows laptops end up catching up, it
             | will be an interesting fight to watch.
        
               | jonathantf2 wrote:
               | I plan to get a VM up (or RDP) since I'll need lots of
               | Windows only utilities and I usually just SSH into a
               | Linux server if I need that toolset.
               | 
               | I see Windows get a lot of flak all over the internet and
               | while I agree that the Home version is an ad-riddled mess
               | I've never had it reboot automatically on me, delete my
               | files or install apps without my permission on Pro/Ent. I
               | know that macOS has it's annoyances and quirks but I'm
               | willing to power through those if it means a better
               | device as a whole.
        
               | princevegeta89 wrote:
               | Oh great, I still have my Win 10 Pro License I bought
               | years ago, but never really used it much. Is there any
               | other difference from the Home version that makes it more
               | developer-friendly?
               | 
               | BTW, for the UX gaps that I saw in OS X vs Linux/Windows,
               | I was fortunate enough to have found some apps that will
               | help there, and I've been quite happy with the quality
               | they offered as well (albeit being paid software)
        
               | jonathantf2 wrote:
               | It seems Microsoft locked a lot of the stuff I use down
               | on Home, a lot of registry keys that you can tweak don't
               | work and MMC is useless. You also can't remote desktop
               | into it.
               | 
               | This script [0] is part of our deployment process at work
               | and I run it on my home machines as well, the Pro version
               | has helpful ads for Office instead of TikTok etc, this
               | removes them all and sets some sane defaults.
               | 
               | I've noticed the paid apps thing about Apple - even on a
               | jailbroken iPhone the tweaks cost 99p here and there as
               | opposed to rooting an Android phone where all the modules
               | you'd use are FOSS.
               | 
               | [0] - https://community.spiceworks.com/scripts/show/4378-
               | windows-1...
        
       | qudat wrote:
       | My review that I keep updating: https://bower.sh/framework-vs-mbp
        
       | mixmastamyk wrote:
       | Great laptop in general but the glossy screen drives me crazy
       | every day. Instead of focusing on work I'm checking my hair and
       | teeth. :-/
       | 
       | Also the near-necessity of 1.5x scaling is problematic is some
       | situations. In short, the screen is the Achilles heel of this
       | machine.
        
       | netsharc wrote:
       | The QR code bit interested me, but the issue he describes has
       | been fixed, you can test it by scanning the QR code on this
       | image:
       | 
       | https://yeokhengmeng.com/2021/09/review-usage-and-repair-of-...
       | 
       | The encoded information goes to a URL shorterner
       | https://fr.mw/[removed_extra_characters] that redirects to a
       | human-readable URL (e.g. guides.frame.work/Guide/Framework+Laptop
       | +DIY+Edition+Quick+Start+Guide/57 ). fr.mw seems to be owned by
       | Framework so the chance of them independently disappearing should
       | be low. And making it a redirect means if they ever do a
       | restructuring of their website, they can just update where the
       | redirect target of the fr.mw link.
        
         | starkparker wrote:
         | The line in the review about not bothering to tell them about
         | the QR code issue because they interpreted "filing a support
         | ticket" as corporate codespeak for "throwing the feedback away"
         | is sad, because Framework's tech support is about as thorough
         | and good at following up as I can remember, going back to at
         | least IBM-era ThinkPad days.
        
       | Brajeshwar wrote:
       | I definitely like to like Framework, but more for experimentation
       | and fun - something I can have that is OK not to be reliable. I
       | might, in-fact, get one just for keepsake but in all honesty, who
       | is the target audience for Framework?
        
         | Dalewyn wrote:
         | >who is the target audience for Framework?
         | 
         | Linus Sebastian and Louis Rossman.
        
         | jna_sh wrote:
         | FWIW on the reliability front, I've used mine as my daily
         | driver for over a year now and haven't had a single issue.
        
         | ncallaway wrote:
         | I've been using a Framework as a daily driver on Fedora for
         | over a year. I've had one (pretty minor) issue with the device
         | over that time. The lid spring was slightly lose, and it would
         | slowly close over time when holding it on my lap. They were
         | quick to send a replacement, that was easy to install and
         | totally resolved the problem.
        
         | freedomben wrote:
         | I can't speak for Framework but if I had to guess: everybody
         | who needs a laptop is the target audience. With Windows and
         | ChromeOS being first-class options, the only unserved class
         | would be macOS users.
         | 
         | It's not just a laptop for tinkering, it's a laptop that can
         | easily be repaired/upgraded. Even non-technical users benefit
         | from this should something break, or after a few years when the
         | processor is a little slow and they can upgrade it without
         | throwing out a perfectly functioning laptop. It also helps
         | reduce e-waste by not requiring discarding perfectly fine
         | components, which is better for everyone on the planet. If
         | you're somebody who discards laptops like kleenexes and
         | wouldn't even bother taking it in to a repair shop if it
         | breaks, you could still donate it and give someone else an easy
         | shot at a repair.
         | 
         | As far as reliability, I've been using one for daily driving
         | for a year and a half and have had no reliability issues
         | whatsoever (besides a webcam that broke, but that's because it
         | fell 6 feet onto concrete, but that's hardly the latpop's
         | fault). On the contrary, I was able to buy just the little
         | webcam module and fairly easily replace it, so now my webcam
         | works again!
         | 
         | I can't think of any demographic (that needs a full laptop) for
         | which I wouldn't recommend a framework.
        
           | slaw wrote:
           | Linux is still not first-class option.
        
         | warner25 wrote:
         | When I was looking for a new laptop in 2021, the price and
         | availability of Framework was very good compared to other
         | laptops with similar specifications at the higher end, like 32
         | GB of memory. The ability to repair and upgrade was icing-on-
         | the-cake for me; not worth paying a _big_ premium, but I didn
         | 't feel like I was paying a premium at all for it.
         | 
         | Then my wife was frustrated when her three-year old laptop
         | started having battery problems, and our attempt to replace the
         | battery failed. The ability to repair became appealing to her,
         | because buying a whole new laptop seemed so wasteful and
         | inconvenient.
         | 
         | I know we're a sample size of two, but we haven't had any
         | issues with reliability (setting the aside the time when I
         | beta-tested a new BIOS version, but that was my choice and I
         | knew it was a beta-test).
         | 
         | With that said, I do think that Framework should just double-
         | down on serving the niche tinkerer and Linux crowd, because
         | normal consumers have no interest in choosing and swapping out
         | components for themselves, nor understanding what BIOS version
         | they have and how to update or rollback.
        
         | cassepipe wrote:
         | After I had to replace all the plastics and keyboard and
         | battery of my laptop, and each time it was a time consuming
         | let's hope I won't break something moment, I decided my next
         | laptop would either super-repairable or super solid. (ie. no
         | brittle plastics)
         | 
         | M1 being too expensive + Asahi Linux not being ready, I went
         | for the Framework. Even though the M1 seems like a wonder
         | machine, I would have had to choose the cheapest options with
         | no possible upgrade ever and be satisfied with it. I'd rather
         | spend my money on a company that shares my concerns. Fuck
         | luxury.
         | 
         | So I guess I am the audience ? I paid more than what I was
         | willing to spend for it.
         | 
         | And works just great. The screen size is a bit small for my
         | taste but hey it's also more portable now.
        
         | mfer wrote:
         | I'm typing this to you on a daily use machine that's running
         | pop!_os, has a CalDigit hub connected, and is driving two 30
         | inch displays. My only issues are what I do to myself with my
         | Linux setup.
        
       | Max-Ganz-II wrote:
       | I have a 12th Gen.
       | 
       | It's the best laptop I've owned.
       | 
       | (I've had a Samsung ATIV book 9, and before that a high-end Sony
       | Vaio, both 13 inch).
       | 
       | One thing I must mention in particular : the keyboard is _die
       | for_.
       | 
       | I had no idea a laptop keyboard could be like this.
       | 
       | I used my Samsung keyboard for many years, perfectly happily -
       | but now I can't use it. It is now so unbelievably flat and
       | lifeless. I am now forever spoiled for lesser keyboards.
       | 
       | I worked on power management, not much work was needed, and I get
       | 11 hours battery life on a 90% charge.
       | 
       | (Basically, use powertop to figure out what processes were using
       | a lot of power (turned out to be Tor and WINE), and then also
       | realise anything plugged into the USB ports took a lot of power,
       | and finally that the powertop power optimization needed to be re-
       | run after a reboot. That got me down to under four watts, but it
       | means no mouse - mouse adds about three watts, which is too
       | much.)
       | 
       | I'm very happy also that reduced battery charge levels (I keep
       | mine at 50% these days, now the power cuts are a thing of the
       | past) are available in the BIOS, and also full battery disconnect
       | (I'd like it even more if I could change battery charge level in
       | software - but the key issue is the functionality is present).
       | 
       | I love the exchangable ports - currently I have 2 USB-C and 2
       | USB-A, which will in time change to 4 USB-C. I also have an
       | ethernet port, should I need it, and HDMI.
       | 
       | The screen resolution is not 4K, which I had on my Samsung, and
       | thought before I bought it could be a problem, but it simply
       | isn't.
       | 
       | I also love the community. That it's a niche laptop with a highly
       | computer literate community makes it really pleasant.
       | 
       | FYI, I'm running XFCE on Debian.
        
         | jancsika wrote:
         | What's wifi like?
        
           | Max-Ganz-II wrote:
           | Seems fine. I don't know what the theoretical max is from the
           | router (it's not my router), or the wifi in the laptop, but
           | I've seen 1mb/sec coming down, so it seems to be doing
           | everything it should be doing.
        
           | insane_dreamer wrote:
           | works well for me
        
         | teruakohatu wrote:
         | > mouse adds about three watts, which is too much.
         | 
         | Have you tried a different mouse?
        
           | Max-Ganz-II wrote:
           | No. It's also three watts for a USB stick - I think it's not
           | the device.
        
         | insane_dreamer wrote:
         | I have one as well, running Ubuntu. ~~Very~~ happy with it.
         | (edit: maybe not "very happy" but "happy")
         | 
         | I agree the keyboard is excellent. But the trackpad is crappy
         | -- the one blight on this otherwise good laptop, IMO.
         | 
         | Actually, the second issue I have with is the power drain when
         | in sleep mode. Apparently this is fixed on Windows but not
         | Linux. You experience that as well?
        
           | ceiphr wrote:
           | There are two solutions to the sleep problem right now:
           | 
           | 1. Change from s2idle to deep. The tradeoff is slower wakeup
           | times but less power drain when sleeping.
           | 
           | 2. Sleep then hibernate. After a certain amount of time
           | (maybe 2hrs), the system will go into hibernation from
           | s2idle. This is nice because there's almost no power drain
           | when the system goes into hibernation, but you can have quick
           | wakeup times when the system is still in s2idle. The tradeoff
           | being, it can be a bit of work to implement and you can't
           | have secure boot/kernel lockdown.
           | 
           | [Fedora35 hibernation](https://gist.github.com/eloylp/b0d64d3
           | c947dbfb23d13864e0c051...)
           | 
           | [Fedora 36+: Hibernation with enabled secure boot and full
           | disk encryption (fde) decrypting over
           | tpm2](https://community.frame.work/t/guide-
           | fedora-36-hibernation-w...)
        
           | Max-Ganz-II wrote:
           | Trackpad crappy in what way?
           | 
           | It seems utterly normal to me?
           | 
           | Yes, the power drain is sleep mode is abnormal - I've read
           | that the USB ports are to blame, and it will be fixed in
           | upcoming firmware.
        
             | Rebelgecko wrote:
             | 1. The force needed to "click" varies depending on where
             | you put your fingers. Clicks near the top of the track pad
             | take more oomph
             | 
             | 2. AFAICT you can't change the scroll speed on Fedora (not
             | sure if that's Framework's fault but still super annoying)
        
             | insane_dreamer wrote:
             | Gliding is okay, but clicking is not responsive enough, and
             | click-drag is hard to execute (particularly compared to the
             | Macbook).
        
               | Max-Ganz-II wrote:
               | Ah, I understand.
               | 
               | Yes, I can see all of that.
               | 
               | I don't have trouble with it, but I do know what you mean
               | when you say it :-)
        
             | tomnipotent wrote:
             | > Trackpad crappy in what way?
             | 
             | I like it less than my Macbook, but more than my Thinkpad.
             | Find it just a bit too sensitive, so I'm always
             | accidentally dragging things when scrolling.
        
       | jeffbee wrote:
       | That kernel compile time is pretty respectable. On the top-of-
       | the-line Intel desktop CPU the allmodconfig build takes 11
       | minutes, twice as fast but drawing 5x the power.
        
       | jckahn wrote:
       | As soon as Framework offers a 3.5K+ touchscreen and DDR5 RAM, I'm
       | in. Without those I'll probably go with another Dell XPS 13 for
       | my next machine.
        
       | loufe wrote:
       | I just bought a new laptop, almost went Framework. It came down
       | to size and screen quality for me, given my use case. The one-
       | size-fits-all 13,5 is a little small for my taste, and now that
       | they're available I couldn't justify NOT going with a non-OLED
       | screen. I want modularity, good repairs, the option of a FR-CAD
       | keyboard and I'm okay with paying more, but I'm not willing to
       | sacrifice those other aspects. I hope they catch up in time for
       | my next laptop in >6 years.
        
         | peanuty1 wrote:
         | Wow, I wonder why they went with a 13.5" screen size over 14.5"
         | or 15".
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | tracker1 wrote:
           | Popularity... 13.x" is the most sold. Using an M1 air for my
           | personal laptop, and my work laptop always runs docked at
           | home (thunderbolt). Larger laptop sizes just don't sell as
           | many, though the Framework niche (currently) might be skewed
           | a bit from the general population.
           | 
           | Though, would have liked a 3:2 aspect ratio that a handful of
           | laptops have moved to.
        
           | numpad0 wrote:
           | It appears LCD procurement is one of hardest task in making
           | any consumer devices. Anything else can be bought or
           | outsourced with an email and a payment, but LCD seem to need
           | a connection.
        
         | foxandmouse wrote:
         | Which one did you end up going with? I'm in the market for a
         | new laptop and as much as I love MacBooks I want to be able to
         | boot into Linux
        
           | akvadrako wrote:
           | Not the top-poster, but I'm also looking for basically the
           | best OLED laptop for Linux, and I think I'm going to get the
           | ASUS Zenbook 14X (UX3404).
        
             | loufe wrote:
             | Indeed it was a 14X! I bought the M5402 last night which I
             | believe is a little beefier. It's on sale right now in
             | Canada for CAD$999:
             | 
             | >https://www.amazon.ca/ASUS-VivoBook-OLED-
             | Laptop-14-5/dp/B09Y...
        
               | akvadrako wrote:
               | Looks nice, and the AMD CPU is preferable. I'm going with
               | the Zenbook over this solely because it has 32GB of RAM.
        
       | webdevver wrote:
       | > This blog post has been maturing for months now. It started in
       | September 2023 and I declared it completed in March 2023
       | 
       | Now _thats_ dedication - a review from the future!
        
         | ChuckNorris89 wrote:
         | _> a review from the future!_
         | 
         | Hope the reviewer also got the sports almanac.
        
           | anarcat wrote:
           | I did, and Marty, you will be my slave now.
        
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       (page generated 2023-03-13 23:02 UTC)