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Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

arstechnica.com

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Re: Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

#221

Post by samtheprogram »

h14h wrote: post #139
samtheprogram wrote: post #68

Wait, so I’d have to use ROCm for compute? That sucks. I’ve had better luck with Intel’s drivers for their first series of dGPU’s. If this works with tinygrad’s AMD driver, that would then interest me.

My hope is that the popularity of this hardware creates pressure to improve ROCm software support. Me & my 7900 XTX will be quite grateful if it does.

Same, would love that. TinyGrad’s driver would be pretty awful to use if it would even work since I think it would prevent using the GPU simultaneously, though I may be wrong there.

Otherwise as it stands the 128 GB configuration seems pretty niche.

EDIT: looking deeper it seems like the "Ryzen AI" is it's own thing with a different implementation than ROCm, so it could be interesting but might not help with ROCm.

Re: Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

#222

Post by rstat1 »

simpaticoder wrote: post #169
GuB-42 wrote: post #163

It is a weird product for the Framework brand. The pitch for the Framework laptop is that it is repairable/upgradable/modular. Something that is uncommon for laptops nowadays. This is the opposite. Desktops are modular by default, so much is that my computer is like the Ship of Theseus, I never changed it, but upgrade to upgrade, it is a completely different machine than it once was (it started off as a 486!). This o…

I agree. I was an early adopter and have a Framework 13 11th gen intel (batch 4) and have been generally happy with it. Except the keyboard stopped working and I had to replace it, ~100 tiny screws later (and one stripped screw). And the battery drains fast (~24 hours) when suspended. And except that it won't turn on anymore without plugging into a particular USB-C port with a "dumb" USB cable (the basic 5V 900mA typ…

I had that issue on my batch 5 11th gen. There's an issue with the rechargeable CMOS battery they included (that isn't present on the later 12th and 13th gen) that when it stops taking a charge your laptop stops turning on unless you do some arcane process to reset it.

They provide a "repair" kit that's basically a dummy CMOS battery that hooks in to the normal power system that prevents the issue from occurring again.

Also just FYI, there was a BIOS update in June of last year (3.20).

Re: Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

#223

Post by znpy »

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #208
coldpie wrote: post #22

Two other Framework announcements: New 12-inch laptop form factor with 360 degree hinge (ie "tablet mode") and a touchscreen. No price announced, but it is aimed at students: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/02/frameworks-laptop-12... New mainboard upgrade options for Framework 13 models: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/02/framework-gives-its-...

I don’t quite get why framework focuses so much on Intel and AMD. ARM laptops are in the rise, and don’t need active cooling. It’s hard for me to think of upgrading to another laptop with fans when so many fanless (I.e.: silent) options are available.

They are a fairly small company, and going for amd/intel means reaching the widest audience.

Linux on arm is very mature, but windows on arm not completely.

That being said, other companies could very well develop and sell boards for the frameworks laptop. So much so that iirc sifive did release a risc-v laptop board to use in the frameworks laptop case.

Re: Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

#224

Post by cosmic_cheese »

skyyler wrote: post #149
Agingcoder wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with the point about noise. I’ve been looking for a powerful, compact and silent gaming pc for a while ( with silent then compact being more important than powerful ). I don’t need a laptop - a Mac mini-like or slightly bigger box is good enough . When I look around, gaming pcs are mostly about big and visible, sometimes reasonably silent, almost never compact, inconspicuous and silent. To me there is a marke…

>To me there is a market for this kind of product, and it hasn’t been addressed properly yet. Because the market you describe has very heavy expectations, and very exacting taste. (And critically, the capability of building one themselves.)

> (And critically, the capability of building one themselves.)

Kind of but not really. Any SFF build that’s anywhere close to similar in size and capabilities to the Framework is probably going to be making considerably more noise, even with an AIO liquid cooler.

Re: Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

#225

Post by tomnipotent »

GuB-42 wrote: post #163

It is a weird product for the Framework brand. The pitch for the Framework laptop is that it is repairable/upgradable/modular. Something that is uncommon for laptops nowadays. This is the opposite. Desktops are modular by default, so much is that my computer is like the Ship of Theseus, I never changed it, but upgrade to upgrade, it is a completely different machine than it once was (it started off as a 486!). This o…

I know very few people that do anything other than upgrade their GPU or SSD during the entire lifespan of their computer. Maybe when I was younger I'd upgrade the RAM after saving up, but am fortunate enough now to be able to buy what I want up front.

This product is for me.

A few years ago I tried to repurpose a desktop with a bad motherboard, but it was impossible to find a replacement for the 7-year-old CPU. eBay prices were more than the original MSRP, and at that point it was cheaper to buy new parts for the oldest still-selling generation.

I'm already replacing everything except the SSD and GPU with every upgrade anyway, now it will just be the SSD but I can keep the case.

Re: Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

#226

Post by Tijdreiziger »

mlhpdx wrote: post #153
ortusdux wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good! Strange that their photos don't show this off. Lenovo ad-spend showcasing tablet mode was enormous. https://frame.work/laptop12

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a CloudFlare “wait time” screen at “15 minutes”.

Looks like their entire website is behind a waiting room at the moment.

You’d think they could make their most popular pages static for now and serve them out of the CloudFlare cache, though.

Re: Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

#227

Post by AshamedCaptain »

6SixTy wrote: post #209
AshamedCaptain wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet another 1080p garbage screen. Please! I had tablets with higher DPI 10 years ago!

It's likely chosen for cost. There's a couple of brand new fairly cheap laptops with exactly the same screens on paper and a few other similar sized laptops that are in the ballpark. Skimming Google, there are pretty much are no laptops 12" and higher resolution than 1080x1200 that's current nor made by Apple.

On sibling thread I already mention the Surface Pro (convertible) at 12'' and it's 2880 x 1920. The next 2025 convertible that I found, Latitude 7350, is also 2880 x 1920 (at 13'', though). In fact, most of the 12'' convertibles with 1080p are either sub$800 (which I doubt this thing is) or come from Lenovo (whom you really do NOT want to compare with regarding screen quality -- https://www.notebookcheck.net/Enough-with-the-cheap-screens-... ).

And let's not get started on 12'' Android tablets...

Re: Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

#228

Post by xnxn »

wasabi991011 wrote: post #152
tencentshill wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having seen how students treat school-provided Chromebooks, those IO modules will get lost and damaged at light speed.

I interpreted "students" to refer to university students. Seems more likely to be Framework's target audience.

Patel mentioned in the announcement presentation that the device was originally developed with a very clear focus on high school students.

Re: Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

#229

Post by znpy »

roxolotl wrote: post #52
coldpie wrote: post #22

Two other Framework announcements: New 12-inch laptop form factor with 360 degree hinge (ie "tablet mode") and a touchscreen. No price announced, but it is aimed at students: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/02/frameworks-laptop-12... New mainboard upgrade options for Framework 13 models: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/02/framework-gives-its-...

I still think very fondly of my 11” MacBook Air. The idea of a 12” framework laptop is very appealing.

Unironically i went looking at 11” MacBook air listings on ebay earlier today.

Nowadays i don’t do much heavy computing on my personal laptop and i have an external 34” display anyway.

So yeah, a 12” would be very interesting.

Also i have fond memories of coding everyday on my 10” netbook when i was 16 :P

Re: Framework's first desktop is a strange–but unique–mini ITX gaming PC

#230

Post by katmannthree »

mlhpdx wrote: post #153
ortusdux wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good! Strange that their photos don't show this off. Lenovo ad-spend showcasing tablet mode was enormous. https://frame.work/laptop12

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a CloudFlare “wait time” screen at “15 minutes”.

Was over an hour earlier today.
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