Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Framework Laptop 16 Review

phoronix.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

281–290 of 404 posts

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Review

#281

Post by Rebelgecko »

jakamau wrote: post #190

I have the DIY FW13 Intel 11th Gen with Fedora. I've had an overall positive experience and have enjoyed tinkering with it. My only negative with it has been the issue specific to 11th gens where the CMOS drains and eventually dies if the laptop is left unplugged for days-to-weeks at a time. On the whole Framework handled the issue well, there was no permanent fix without soldering or replacing the board. The company…

I have mixed feelings. I bought mine hoping Framework would improve the SW (especially firmware and drivers) over time but that hasn't been the case.

My 12th gen has issues with abysmal battery life while sleeping (not just the regular Intel 12th gen sleep complaints, but batt life varies greatly depending on which expansion cards you have on the laptop while sleeping eg USB-A vs -C). Framework has been beta testing a FW update to partially improve this since 2022 and last I checked the beta still had side effects like bricking the left USB-C ports under certain conditions.

Even though Fedora is (afaict?) the best supposed Linux distro, there's still known issues that have persisted for years like the brightness keys not working (there's technically a workaround but it breaks a different feature that I would like to use)

If the laptop as it is today meets your needs, go for it... but one shouldn't buy it assuming that known issues will be fixed later on.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Review

#282

Post by NotSammyHagar »

askonomm wrote: post #65
esskay wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OOf thats a tough sell, two hours is pretty pathetic. I can't imagine how any laptop maker can be selling a laptop in 2024 with anything shorter than 8 hours and keep a straight face. This surely has to be a software issue, I can't imagine they'd have been silly enough to fit such a tiny battery!

Yup, comparing to a similarly priced MacBook that goes for ~20 hours it's ridiculously bad.

Pretty much every other index and amd laptop suffers with poor battery life. I get about 4-5 hours on the chromeos variant of this laptop.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Review

#283

Post by m463 »

csdvrx wrote: post #276
natrys wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any chance we can get Japanese keyboard? You asked for feedback on it a while ago: https://community.frame.work/t/request-review-of-korean-belg... (am not even Japanese, just have bad habit of using thumb clusters a lot, and this is the only layout with small space bar)

> (am not even Japanese, just have bad habit of using thumb clusters a lot, and this is the only layout with small space bar) Same, the 106/109 keys JP layout is wonderful! I use the Ro key as a quick desktop toggle (right next to PageUp on my Thinkpad keyboard) and the Yen key as a full-word erase (like Ctrl-W on bash) The extra left and right thumbs are also extrely helpful to have Home and End in an easy-to reach…

these are interesting hacks, glad you let people know about this possibility.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Review

#284

Post by MostlyStable »

_odey wrote: post #234
postpawl wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No modular GPU makes Tuxedo Pulse 14 a pretty different product?

Maybe, for my personal purposes it does not. Considering how I use, and intend to use a laptop, I wound not purchase the GPU module. I'm judging the two as a replacement for my current laptop, and the GPU does not really affect that. The soldered RAM on the Tuxedo Pulse 14 laptop does indeed give me doubts, I'm not saying it's flawless, only that, at least to me, it provides a better overall justification for the pur…

If you don't need the modular GPU, and are considering a 14 inch anyways, then why is the FW 13 not your reference machine anyways? But yeah, it sounds like the FM16 probably isn't the product for your needs.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Review

#285

Post by conqrr »

There's definitely an audience for Framework. But for a laptop/mini-pc user who likes to keep their tech for 7+ years and usually opt for no special graphics. A mini-pc works great for me. Lot of them have good Linux compatibility too. ~70% of the cost is the CPU/motherboard which cannot be swapped. I don't care much about specific ports etc. As long as I can extend RAM and SSD, that's enough customization. So a framework feels overkill.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Review

#286

Post by m463 »

nekoeth0 wrote: post #124
nrp wrote: post #2

I'm happy to answer any questions folks have on this product.

Any plans of doing OLED displays? It's the only reason why I got my XPS13; but if given the choice, I'd have jumped immediately to the F13 OLED.

Is OLED really that interesting? I've watched OLED tv's and in rooms with any sunlight the dark parts become unusable. I've also seen reviews for OLED computer monitors, where people are annoyed that the screen will auto-dim at inopportune times.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Review

#287

Post by snvzz »

_odey wrote: post #230

Honestly, this article ended up being more of an endorsement for the Tuxedo Pulse 14 laptop than for Framework, at least to me. The price difference between the two is noticeable (more than the 5% geometric mean result) and Tuxedo as a company officially supports Linux in their machines, as opposed to Framework which don't. Yes I know about Framework laptops working with Linux installed, and about Framework drivers e…

In contrast, I see no value in preinstalled Linux.

Because, each and every time, I'd rather install it myself.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Review

#288

Post by oDot »

nrp wrote: post #49
esskay wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there any plans to offer larger batteries and/or improve battery efficiency? From what I've read battery life is still an issue many seem to be having. With the greatest respect it's 2024, a laptop should be capable of 8 hours at the very minimum for a mid range model but I'm seeing a lot of people getting sub 2 hours. The 16 ticks all the boxes for me but I've held off for now as having the possibility of worse…

For reference, here is Notebookcheck's review stating 9 hours of real world battery life in web browsing (though on Windows): https://www.notebookcheck.net/Radeon-RX-7700S-performance-de... For Linux, when following our installation guides for power optimization, power consumption with integrated graphics should be similar. Edit: Tom's Hardware similarly reports 9 hours on Windows (with Graphics Module installed): ht…

Can you elaborate more about the tradeoffs here?

I'm in the same boat, looking for as light as possible with a much battery as possible, was banking on the 16 yet we get 9 hours instead of (an assumed) ~10-11, and 2.1/2.4kg.

Somehow the Thinkpad Extreme X1 and the new Zephyrus G16 have similar CPUs, dGPUs, a >90Whr battery and they weigh less than 2kg.

Where's most the weight going? Will I be able to buy a FW 16 and eliminate weight to achieve similar specs? Literally asking about using a "stripped down version".

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Review

#289

Post by m463 »

RomanPushkin wrote: post #7

I wish they deliver good keyboard as well, like Thinkpads X201 or similar have. I am happy owner of modded X201 with updated screen, motherboard, and so on. It's not on a cheap side, but I'm happy to pay that price _only_ for the keyboard option. It's so cool. Folks back then knew what was important.

I would love something like that. Something with curved keys that fit the contour of your finger instead of the "everybody-copy-apple" flat key nonsense.

Curved keys are more comfortable, putting even pressure on your finger instead of high pressure in one place.

They also give tactile feedback to help center your finger on each key, making typing more accurate and faster.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Review

#290

Post by csdvrx »

m463 wrote: post #283
csdvrx wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (am not even Japanese, just have bad habit of using thumb clusters a lot, and this is the only layout with small space bar) Same, the 106/109 keys JP layout is wonderful! I use the Ro key as a quick desktop toggle (right next to PageUp on my Thinkpad keyboard) and the Yen key as a full-word erase (like Ctrl-W on bash) The extra left and right thumbs are also extrely helpful to have Home and End in an easy-to reach…

these are interesting hacks, glad you let people know about this possibility.

It is a very nice keyboard layout. I'm very happy I discovered it (even if it was by mistake!)

Another example I can think about: remap the Ro key to toggle between international layout while it's pressed, so you can switch between layouts with a key right next to the shift key.

For example, on a US/RU settting, press Ro while pressing the 6 keys to the right of Tab in a sequence and you would get ЙЦУКЕН, don't press Ro and do the same: you would get QWERTY. Mixing and matching in both upper and lowercase would be very easy.

Post reply on HN