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Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – Enclosure

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Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – Enclosure

#41

Post by seabrookmx »

cowpig wrote: post #3

I find the battery life on my framework 13 really bad (ubuntu installed). There's some issue where the battery drains fairly quickly in suspend which requires enabling "deep sleep" mode, but it still drains a lot faster than other laptops I've had. And then the battery life in general isn't very good; I'd say ~2 hours at full brightness with some video streaming mixed in with normal browsing. I wonder if that's the s…

I'm running Fedora with the i5-1240p, but I can squeak out maybe 4.5hours max if I'm just in VS Code and don't have my brightness maxed out. With max brightness and Google meet running in Firefox, I barely get 2. And that's with the "Power Saver" profile enabled in GNOME.

I really love the machine otherwise, but I can't say I haven't considered just getting a Macbook Air (especially now that they have the 15").

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – Enclosure

#43

Post by bboygravity »

hellcow wrote: post #5

This case looks great. Love that we have replaceable graphics on this one. I’m most excited for the ortholinear keyboard attachment. That makes it a must-buy for me, since after switching to a Kinesis Advantage I just can’t type on a staggered layout anymore.

Oh wow, I didn't know that I needed a Framework until I read this.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – Enclosure

#44

Post by claytonwramsey »

buildbot wrote: post #2

Good detail hear about the process if making the case - really interesting to read. Injection molding semi-liquid magnesium seems…quite difficult to say the least! Tangentially, I wish there was some online resources for learning how best design for manufacture for things like laptops and cases. Contract CNC fabrication is really inexpensive these days until you need 10 iterations to fix your dumb mistakes.

The fastest way to learn how to make machinable parts is to machine them yourself :). DFM is often a hard-earned skill.

Unfortunately maker-spaces (the only kinds of places where you could get cheap access to good 3+ axis CNC mills) seem to have gone out of fashion. CNC mills in general cost about 5 digits just for the machine, and usually that again for the tooling.

I think the closest one can get to learning some DFM without working on a machine would be watching machinists on YouTube. Back in the day NYC CNC was great, but I think they post more hype content these days.

I'm far from an expert on the topic, but I spent a decent amount of time designing for and then fabricating stuff on CNC machines over the last couple years. To my knowledge, operations are cheap while setups are expensive: if you can design a part around a fixed orientation in a machine, it saves a lot of operator time.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – Enclosure

#45

Post by bboygravity »

rfwhyte wrote: post #13

Still waiting for the other shoe to drop with a pricing announcement. I keep getting almost excited about the Framework 16", but then I'm remember it's probably going to be well over $2500USD for a decently specced model (without a GPU even) and my excitement quickly dissipates.

What's the alternative high quality laptop in that price-range though?

A Dell XPS that comes with a lose trackpad, massive coil whine, batteries that drain when plugged in and so on?

Or an LG Gram Pro (more expensive than Framework) that isn't sold outside of the US and maybe some Asian countries where the only thing you can upgrade is the SSD?

Or maybe some Apple laptop?

I personally feel the price of a Framework is fair, even if it is 2500 USD (or more). Not necessarily because Framework is great (I would prefer 17"), but more because the alternatives are worse or don't exist.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – Enclosure

#46

Post by Triangle9349 »

nrp wrote: post #37
accrual wrote: post #29

I thought this line was interesting: > with no externally visible fasteners I wonder if it was easier or thinner to do that way, or if it was a deliberate design choice for a more minimal appearance. Personally I don't mind seeing fasteners. After swapping LCDs on my old Thinkpads a couple times, I stopped replacing the screw covers and embraced one fewer step for future maintenance.

Amazingly enough, we didn't go in with this as a design goal from the start. The Framework Laptop 13 has exposed fasteners on the Bottom Cover, and we went in assuming we'd go the same direction. As we designed the Input Module system, it became clear that the best way to design it was installing everything directly down into the Bottom Cover, meaning you don't need to flip the system over to unscrew anything. The re…

Sorry for the stupid question, what is the advantage of your new connection for gpu? why not oculink or pcie riser or thunderbolt?

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – Enclosure

#47

Post by mynameisvlad »

mrtranscendence wrote: post #40
mynameisvlad wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does that matter? Most people buying them will likely use their own RAM, storage and OS anyway. And either way, you'd ostensibly want to make sure your computer is supposed to work once you assemble it yourself.

I'm not sure I follow you here. I'm not saying that it should necessarily come with RAM, storage, and OS, which can be removed without disassembling the entire laptop. And I'm not making a statement one way or the other on whether you'll have to ensure your computer works. I'm only saying that it's funny to learn that Framework undergoes some effort to assemble and test the laptop only to undo that work so the buyer…

> It might be for entirely good reasons, but that doesn't make it a bit funny prima facie.

It might be funny, but your argument wasn't just that, it was that you wouldn't buy it because of this fact, which seems absurd.

They're using known good hardware to make sure the parts they do send you will work. The hardware they're putting in and taking out prior to shipping will likely not even remotely be the parts you actually use since it's BYO. They're just there to make sure that what they do ship will work once assembled.

As another commenter said, would you rather they didn't perform QA and just let the customer figure out that their mainboard is actually busted after spending time assembling it? That would be an exceptionally bad user experience.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – Enclosure

#48

Post by stavros »

I really love my Framework. I love that I can hack it (I made a Yubikey adapter so I could always have it inserted: https://www.stavros.io/posts/making-a-security-key-for-the-f...), I love that I can trivially repair any component that breaks, and it feels great as well, it's very light and solid.

The only issues I have with it is battery life (though I have the battery set to charge to 70% max, which leaves a lot on the table), and the fact that Intel processors heat up very easily.

I really hope Intel and AMD get their shit together and release a processor as efficient as Apple silicon, I don't want to end up using my MacBook more than my Framework.

Re: Framework Laptop 16 Deep Dive – Enclosure

#49

Post by nrp »

Triangle9349 wrote: post #46
nrp wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazingly enough, we didn't go in with this as a design goal from the start. The Framework Laptop 13 has exposed fasteners on the Bottom Cover, and we went in assuming we'd go the same direction. As we designed the Input Module system, it became clear that the best way to design it was installing everything directly down into the Bottom Cover, meaning you don't need to flip the system over to unscrew anything. The re…

Sorry for the stupid question, what is the advantage of your new connection for gpu? why not oculink or pcie riser or thunderbolt?

PCIe is too physically large, Oculink is too thick and doesn't have enough pins for power, and Thunderbolt has protocol overhead and throughput limitations.
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