Framework Provides New Details On Its Upgradeable/DIY AMD Ryzen Laptop

[rommyappus]

It still fundamentally has shitty IO density... and less IO than a netbook. Being able to swap IO is not helpful if you MUST swap IO to even have as much IO as a bottom tier laptop.

What 13 inch laptop are you comparing this to? My dell has hdmi, usba, usbc, and microsd slot on one side and only one usbc and headphone jack on the other. My macbook m1 air has 2 usb c and 1 headphone jack only. The dell technically has 1 more port than framework can have but that's it. and no flexibility.

[cb88]

What do you use those slots for?
I personally have a charger connected and probably 1 to 2 usb devices. I don't use a external display though.

I frequently use the HDMI port ( I would not mind if this was swappable to HDMI/VGA/DP or Extra USBC)

1 USB A goes to a mouse (since the unifying reciever is often better than Bluetooth reliability wise).

I have a dock supplying power through 2 USB C + External display + Ethernet. The laptop has ethernet also and I use that when on the go and I need to plug into a device to set it up etc... routers, modems what have you.

I often use 2 USB a for programming etc... arduinos etc, so 3x USB A is a minimum viable number. If there are 1-2 USB C thats fine also for faster needs or power. If there are less USB A I have to convert a USB C to USB A.... non negotiable.

So basic requirements are RJ-45, 3x USB A, HDMI or Displayport, and power (or USBC or dual USB C depending on the power profile). To date I have no requirement for USB-C, but don't mind if there are some and have found them to be finicky as some external portable displays miss detect the cable as Alt displayport even if it isn't there whereas they work fine with USB A or a dumber USB C cable, and then fail to work at all when it doesn't connect when it works fine with displaylink mode.

Displayport is slightly peferable to HDMI or USB-C due to the multi display link capabilities.

[cb88]

What 13 inch laptop are you comparing this to? My dell has hdmi, usba, usbc, and microsd slot on one side and only one usbc and headphone jack on the other. My macbook m1 air has 2 usb c and 1 headphone jack only. The dell technically has 1 more port than framework can have but that's it. and no flexibility.

X131E ... VGA dual USB, ethernet + 3.5 audio one side The other side has SD card HDMI, USB (with power while off), DC jack and kensington lock.

So that meets my minimum requirements of 3 USB A ports, ethernet, and one or two display outputs and power intput that does not infringe on the minimum IO ports.... in an 11.6in laptop, honestly they could still fit even more on this thing in a modern version of it since it wouldn't have a 2.5 drive in it blocking half of one side of the IO.... instead you'd have 2-3 m.2 ports and a couple extra USB C ports in addition a dockable USB C hub would be a sweet trick... so I could move my IO out of the way when at my desk and re dock it when on the go so its not another thing crammed in my bag.

My old Sager NP6110 / W110ER had Ethernet, VGA, Mic in Line out, 2x USB on one side, 1 USB on the other side, and a 9-1 SD card slot on the front.... a larger laptop with less than either of those or requiring me to use dongles is preposterous.

[rommyappus]

X131E ... VGA dual USB, ethernet + 3.5 audio one side The other side has SD card HDMI, USB (with power while off), DC jack and kensington lock.

So that meets my minimum requirements of 3 USB A ports, ethernet, and one or two display outputs and power intput that does not infringe on the minimum IO ports.... in an 11.6in laptop, honestly they could still fit even more on this thing in a modern version of it since it wouldn't have a 2.5 drive in it blocking half of one side of the IO.... instead you'd have 2-3 m.2 ports and a couple extra USB C ports in addition a dockable USB C hub would be a sweet trick... so I could move my IO out of the way when at my desk and re dock it when on the go so its not another thing crammed in my bag.

My old Sager NP6110 / W110ER had Ethernet, VGA, Mic in Line out, 2x USB on one side, 1 USB on the other side, and a 9-1 SD card slot on the front.... a larger laptop with less than either of those or requiring me to use dongles is preposterous.

Ah the thinkpads. that explains it lol. The 16 inch model will have more ports (6) but probably still not enough compared to what a bigger workstation laptop could have.

Personally I use my desktop environment for both my personal laptop (framework) and my work laptop (dell) so I have usb dongles with everything plugged in and just switch that between the laptops. Display wise they each have a dock for that as well in that the dell uses a dell dock while the framework has an egpu enclosure.
On the go I don't have a keyboard to use, only a bluetooth mouse. So I don't really carry much besides the expansion cards and a hdmi cable

[cb88]

Ah the thinkpads. that explains it lol. The 16 inch model will have more ports (6) but probably still not enough compared to what a bigger workstation laptop could have.

Personally I use my desktop environment for both my personal laptop (framework) and my work laptop (dell) so I have usb dongles with everything plugged in and just switch that between the laptops. Display wise they each have a dock for that as well in that the dell uses a dell dock while the framework has an egpu enclosure.
On the go I don't have a keyboard to use, only a bluetooth mouse. So I don't really carry much besides the expansion cards and a hdmi cable

Even my decade old gateway had this many ports... it should be what i considered the norm but the Mac Air broke people's brains especially in the design field.

[sarmad]

Wait, they will give me a discount for the fun of assembling it myself?!

And it's quite a big discount, 200$. Definitely worth assembling it yourself.

[stormcrow]

I think I'd wait and see if the 7040 series has the same thermal problems as the X3D CPUs especially in a laptop form factor. Number one problem I see out of PC laptops these days is they overheat and damage other components because of insufficient thermal dissipation designs and notoriously hot C/GPUs (including my old Dell G5 which developed a keyboard fault under warranty).

[stormcrow]

And it's quite a big discount, 200$. Definitely worth assembling it yourself.

Unless you find working on laptops only marginally less annoying as soldering surface mounted components. I'd have to think on it.

[brucethemoose]

I think I'd wait and see if the 7040 series has the same thermal problems as the X3D CPUs especially in a laptop form factor. Number one problem I see out of PC laptops these days is they overheat and damage other components because of insufficient thermal dissipation designs and notoriously hot C/GPUs (including my old Dell G5 which developed a keyboard fault under warranty).

That's entirely up to the OEM.

TBH this is the only reason I am thinking about a G14\G15 instead of a dGPU framework for my next laptop. ROG has some QC issues, but the cooling system over the CPU/GPU is hilariously beefy. I haven't seen the Framework 16 innards, but there is no way they can cram that kind of heatsink into a module, even with more Z height.

[darcagn]

Even my decade old gateway had this many ports... it should be what i considered the norm but the Mac Air broke people's brains especially in the design field.

It's not Apple, it's the fact that improvements in connectivity allow users to use a single USB-C for all but a few use cases. I love having a small laptop with a single small detachable multi-hub. I love being able to choose to have the ports with me when I need them or have a smaller, more portable laptop when I don't. I love being able to put the hub on a table and plug everything into it via a single cable instead of being stuck with an unmovable burdensome octopus with a million cables sticking out of it.

Maybe you have a good reason for everything being directly connected but from your description you'd be just as well off with a single multi-hub.