Asklemmy

Hi, Framework laptop owner here!

I love my laptop. I got it back in June (13th gen Intel) and have used it near-daily ever since. It's got a nice build quality, I like the way it looks, and the modular slots are a nice concept (though I haven't seen a need to swap out mine- I elected for 2 x USB-C and 2 x USB-A. You also need to pay attention to which ports go where because not all the slots support USB charging). I bought the barebones laptop, and added my own RAM and SSD to it which was significantly cheaper than getting it from Framework. I currently dual boot Linux Mint and occasionally Windows 11 and have had no significant issues with either, but there are a couple of little annoyances with Mint- the light-sensor to automatically adjust the brightness and the brightness keys conflict, so one or the other or both may not work correctly.

To your real question, is it worth it? Honestly, if performance is your sole metric, then no- there are cheaper alternatives out there for comparable performance. The premium you pay for a Framework is an investment in repairability and customizability- investments that may not pay off if the company doesn't exist in the long term. All the promises and commitments in the world to letting users have the right to fix or modify their own hardware mean nothing if there's no one to supply parts. I was aware of this before buying mine, so I was fine accepting that risk- after all, at one point in time Tesla was risky too but now it seems they're poised to be the charging standard for EVs- and there are a couple of higher-ups at AMD who like the concept and are invested in Framework, which means it may be around for a while. But that's still something you should keep in mind.

That said, you said you were looking for a $500-ish laptop, and are now asking about one that will cost you over double that? It's not for me to tell you how to spend your money, but it sounds like you saw a cool idea and want to jump on the bandwagon. You should be extra sure that what you're looking for fits your needs within your budget and you're not just trying to "keep up with the Joneses."

TL;DR: If you have the money, and are okay with the risk of a small company existing long-term, and it has the performance you need, then yes, I think they're good buys.

To be honest you probably won't save money as you'll be more likely to upgrade regularly. I bought my Framework 13-inch last year and already bought a gorgeous new matte screen for it, and I'd been eyeing upgrading the mainboard with the new AMD one now. In the past with laptops I'd hold onto them for years until they couldn't perform, and now I'm considering upgrading my device a second time within only a year?

I really do love my Framework, but the easier upgradability makes upgrading more likely, which means more expenses - unless you can restrain from upgrading more often than you would on a laptop. Since budget seems to be a concern for you this may be worth keeping in mind. On the other hand though, I'd be concerned about how long a $500 laptop will last you anyway (the ones I used for years were more like $1200).

One final thing - some parts can't necessarily be carried over when upgrading to a new generation. For example, to upgrade to the AMD mainboard I'll also have to buy new RAM as the generation upgraded to a newer variant. If I want to use my old mainboard as a home server, I'll also have to purchase replacement parts for what it loses in the upgrade (new hard drive, new expansion ports, cheap case). It's great if you had an existing need for a home server, not so much if you didn't. Since I hate throwing out electronics I'll end up buying more to keep it operational, even though in practice I won't use it very much.

TL;dr - Framework makes upgrading and reuse cheaper and easier, which if you're like me makes you spend more money and upgrade more frequently.

Hi. Let's set the table here. Context: What future advantage or benefit do you expect to get by investing?

• Your budget was initially $500.

• The absolute cheapest you can have a brand-new complete Frame Work 16 is $1,621 and 5 to 8 months (Ships Q2) assuming you get the cheapest of everything and don't purchase secondary storage. You will have a low-end laptop with the ability to trivially upgrade it later.

For an additional $1,100 what do you expect to gain? In reality you can get an equivalent performance for $200, so the question then becomes $1,300 for what?

For $2,187 you can have an equivalent to this $1,100 ThinkPad that will likely last you 7-10 years unless it breaks first. What are you investing in for $1,087?

For $2,734 and ~8 months, I can have a high-end laptop, not the most expensive options, but my personal preference to tide me over for 10 years. Is whatever I'm looking for worth $2,200? Possibly.

• For hardware I can have schematics to, after signing an NDA.
• For hackability.
• For a laptop I won't void the warranty for fixing.
• For never having to remove 17 screw, 5 stickers, 5 more screws, an excessive amount of plastic tabs, and possibly adhesive.
• For almost indefinite access to parts. Parts that won't disappear from the market in 1-3 years, unless the company goes under. (Yay Cali for the 7 years of parts... we'll see how toothy it is and how long it can withstand legal and technical sabotage. Like Apple's software locks.)
• For a laptop with parts I like. (AMD open-sourcing like mad-lads, but not quite FLOSSing.)
• For a company that I can trust for a decade before they see the dollar dollar bills. Like Google, Facebook, Reddit, etc.
• For sustainably sourced parts.
• To support a company that won't put me through a hoop circus just to tell me I have to buy a new product because they screwed up?

If I could get it in 30 days, maybe. If I have to wait a financial quarter, or 2, and a half... maybe I'll wait until they ramp up production, and see what innovations they have in a year. (Related: The week I decided to buy, was legitimately the day they opened for Framework 16 orders, which I would've sworn was Framework 15. Must be losing my mind. In any case, maybe I'll still get the 13 and save $500.)

Is it worth it for you? Depends on your financial situation and what you value.

framework is VERY worth it.
modular slots on the side mean you can choose your inputs and where they go.

everything inside the laptop is easily replaceable so if any individual part breaks you can replace it instead of the whole laptop. you can also easily make upgrades if better hardware comes out instead of waiting for a newer model if one ever comes out.

bought a refurbished 5 year old Thinkpad via Amazon for $150. put linux on it, no regrets

i was planning on getting a new laptop cheaply for about 500ish

What are you hoping to do with it? I got a used Thinkpad T480 that was like new for €180 and added a couple of upgrades to it (1TB NVMe, 64GB RAM, Intel AX200 Wi-Fi card) that cost me €137, meaning a total of €317, and I'm very happy with the laptop right now, it's very responsive with Arch Linux and an i3 desktop and I think this baby will be good for many years.

i was planning on getting a new laptop cheaply for about 500ish

You should plan for what you need, not for what you're willing to pay. If you need a mobile workstation then this 16 inch laptop would be too large and heavy. If you aim for a desktop replacement, then a 13 inch laptop might be too small (docking stations exist, but still ...).

The Framework laptop is a nice idea, though. But to be honest: how often did you change the components of your laptops before? One usually changes the SSD and maybe the RAM or the battery or - if you're really adventurous - the heatpipe and/or the fan. All of this is already possible with most common laptops. If you're unsure, get a ThinkPad.

No.

I don't trust a single modern platform to last long enough to justify an investment - the company will be acquired and shuttered or the base platform will be upgraded and the current deprecated. The company today can full-throatedly promise you the world, but they know they won't be here tomorrow to answer for those promises and there are no consumer safeguards in place to hold the future leaders accountable should framework show profit potential and therefore become a target of acquisition to exploit that potential or to squash competition.

Framework is a fun, marketable idea, but Phonebloks / Project Ara me once, shame on you...

For me the deal breaker is to wait for so long before getting it. They have to step up the production. I'm fine with waiting for one month and can understand. But, the actual waiting time is ridiculous.

I'm seriously thinking about investing in one..I really like the idea of being able to upgrade and change the system and I/O ports. I also am beginning to think I want to switch to Linux over Windows as it gets more and more invasive.

For 1600 hopefully you get a frame and a long term use repairable machine you can upgrade as needed for years.

You can look online at what the upgrade parts cost. If you were upgrading to the AMD main board you're looking at $450-$700, versus $1200-1550 buying it new. The Intel i5 components are similar but i7 are a bit more expensive. Thus far they have been consistent about releasing upgraded components. You are locked in to buying from them though - so if they stop releasing upgrades you're out of luck.

If you don't need the latest and greatest, going used is going to still be a better value proposition.

I'm interested in a framework laptop for the environmental perspective, but I also think a pre-owned high end device would be faster and with smaller impact.

Not trying to poopoo on anyone here, but it seems neat... But at double your budget it's just a neat toy. Can you afford that? If so, hell yes.

Otherwise you can find second hand laptops with great specs and upgrade that your self for cheaper.

I wish I could pull the trigger on one of these, but here I am just surfing eBay lol

Simple answer yes long answer maybe

The only downsides of framework that I have heard about are all software related bugs, meaning it just needs an update once a fix is released. As an example I heard it had some power management issues where the expandable slots drained the battery even is sleep mode, not sure if it was fix yet, but regardless it still sounds like a solid investment.

For me, it's looking to be a good choice. I enjoy hardware hacking/tinkering so, the 16 inch is going to be a great platform for me to tinker on (planning to extend the hinges and put a bunch of fun stuff on the top/kb area.