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How are Framework Laptops?
We had this topic a couple of months ago where Framework was mentioned in a few response threads, but the overarching discussion was across a wider subject.
My 2016 (I think? It was snagged from e waste) era thinkpad is struggling to keep up with my usage of it. The screen is small, the keyboard sucks, the touchpad is not quite right, it is beyond its useful life.
I like the idea of a Framework laptop. I am leaning toward getting one on principal. It seems like this company is going to survive for a while. I think the last thing I am looking for is anecdotes.
If you use or have used a Framework as a daily driver, what are the pros and cons that you have with them compared to a similar less-modular system? How is support?
I haven't needed to use support yet, but I heard it has gotten better. I really really like my framework 13. It fits every use case I have out of a laptop at it's size. The biggest downside I have is the battery life is not as nice as something from a Macbook, which I don't know how fair the comparison is. I really enjoy the trackpad, I have a lot of problems with non-apple trackpads, but I can't say I have any of those with Framework's trackpad. The battery life on my framework isn't even that bad, especially with GaN chargers making 100w "cheap".
The ability to switch out the modules (usb stuff, I can't think of the words) is handy, but not very different from having a dongle. I usually just have a set few that I use (usually three usb c, and one usb a, though recently I've switched out a usb c for an hdmi) though having them with me (especially ethernet) has been very useful. While I haven't had to, I do genuinely feel much better knowing if something breaks I can easily replace it.
My use case is very general. I play light games on it, use word processing and similar software (onlyoffice, and libreoffice). I run nixos w hyprland on it and the processor keeps up with everything even when i have upwards of 7 workspaces open (i usually have at least 3 browser windows open, though most tabs get unloaded from ram). The keyboard is nice and fits my use cases.
I really do recommend the framework, especially if you are willing to pay the premium. I've been seriously considering picking up a 12 inch, because sometimes I don't need the full size and specs of my 13 inch, and I like the idea of a touchscreen.
I hope this answered some of your questions, let me know if you want to know anything else!
Oh, I see, another NixOS chad on Tildes. Glad to know I'm not alone.
Jokes aside, I'm glade NixOS performance on the framework laptops is nice. I run it on my old Asus Exepert book and the battery life is pretty bad. I'm chalking that up to it being an old machine and not so much NixOS's fault.
I'm more of a used laptop guy, but if I ever bought new. I'd do a Framework.
This is basically my same use case (including Nix and hyprland), plus some light development work so I am really happy to hear this.
I bought a Framework 13 last year and overall very happy with it. (AMD Ryzen 7040 Series)
The case is pretty nice. I'm sure there are better but it's metal, inflexible/light enough to carry one handed by the corner, and I've never had any hot spots or anything.
The keyboard is fairly nice. Not as good as my daily driver mechanical. Not as bad as a mushy cheap netbook keyboard.
I bought an SSD and RAM separately because their markup is excessive IMO. It's not that out of line with industry standards and there's some overhead I'll tolerate for them having to have it in inventory, etc. But they ship the laptop partially disassembled anyway as part of their schtick to make it less threatening to open yourself. I just think it's rough that the same model hardware was ~1/2 price on Amazon/Newegg at the time.
It's had a few flavors of Linux on it. Settled on Garuda for now but that's more personal taste that anything. Haven't really had any issues though I vaguely remember people had some initial trouble getting the fingerprint reader working for unlocking.
Massive fan of the modular ports. If for no other reason than I don't remember ever having had/seen another laptop where you can charge it from either side. Have a few modules in my laptop case and swap them out as needed. The storage ones are pretty useless personally but I guess its nice to have the option.
Camera's serviceable, apparently the v2 is better but haven't bothered to upgrade it.
Pleased with how it comes apart, though I haven't had reason to since putting it together the first time. Nice to have a device not depending on glue to hold it together.
At some point going to upgrade the mainboard and get an enclosure for the old one to do something with but it's still too new for that. Very happy to have the option.
Like you said, I bought it in large part because of the principle of the thing. Had a trip coming up and needed a laptop and they seemed as good as anything if a bit pricier. Would buy again.
Don’t have a Framework but interested in the comments. In particular, your use case and if it was worth the price for you. Or if assembling your own desktop would have been better.
Which of their models are you interested in? I have the 16, and a family member of mine has the 13, and now there is the new 12, which I'll probably give in to temptation and buy one once they sell the stylus with it
Another thing to consider is how willing to do repairs and upgrades are you? If you don't plan on keeping it for the next decade and replacing a part here or there, the premium pricing on Framework means that unfortunately, it makes more economic sense to buy a last generation laptop on sale, or a refurb than to buy a Framework.
I would also suggest to people that aren't tinkerers, that they may prefer to wait for the second generation each time Framework launches a new product line. I hear that the new 16 has ironed out a lot of issues that my first generation unit had, and my sister's second generation 13 missed out on some obnoxious issues the first one had with the RTC battery (though it has a hinge issue that was fixed in generation 3, iirc)
I am very much not shy about tearing electronics apart to tinker, so this is a non-issue. I am glad to hear that the new 16 has ironed out some issues, but I am also kind of interested in what those issues were.
I've had a Framework 13 for about three years, and I've been pretty happy with it. I got the "DIY" version that comes without an OS, and put Arch on it (btw).
I've been pretty happy with it; performance is good (though the fans get quite loud under load) and I've not really had to do anything terribly strange to get, for example, the fingerprint sensor working.
Biggest downside is definitely battery life, I get around four hours, maybe 5 if I'm lucky or use it lightly, usually less. That's after using some power managenment tools to tweak things and swapping out the HDMI port (which apparently had/has some kind of firmware issue that keeps it awake and using power even if there's nothing plugged in, this may be fixed in newer models).
There's also no dGPU of course, so many games won't run great, but that's to be expected. I'm not sure if it would support an external GPU or not. Dota 2 works more or less acceptably, Deadlock not so much (the last time I tried it anyway).
It works well for my school and development needs, but I'm hoping some day there'll be an ARM mainboard that I can upgrade to...
My sister has a framework 16 from one of the later launch batches. She absolutely loves it. I personally am hooked on macOS; if I was not, I would probably have a framework 16 also. She hasn’t needed to repair it yet, but she has been inside a few times to upgrade the storage. As far as I can tell, the only downside is the size. It’s not a very small laptop for the components you get. I haven’t seen their other sizes though, so they may be fine.
I enjoy both my fw13 and new fw16, and would echo most of the positive sentiment others have already posted. I do have a complaint, though... It's been years and a Japanese layout keyboard still has not been produced for the fw16. Basically unusable for me without an external keyboard, which is... annoying, to say the least.