I have been looking at them a lot recently and they have a premium price is it worth it?
What does it look like when you want to upgrade? Like can you just swap out all parts over time and essentially it’s like having a custom desktop, but in small form factor.
Can you buy a base model and upgrade components over time?
Would it suit my use cases for it? Which are to run Linux, I have to use Windows as a Software Dev and so can’t do it on my main. Can I run Minecraft on Linux? I know, but I like that game it makes me happy to unwind.
I want to get more into cyber security related tasks and most likely increase my Darknet activities using Tails.
We hang out at !framework@lemmy.ml
Awesome. Thanks.
I’ll answer what I know:
Yes, you can run Minecraft on Linux. There are both official and unofficial, paid and free versions.
For Java Edition, there’s an official launcher.
For Bedrock, there’s an unofficial bedrock launcher that uses a Google Play account with a Minecraft License.
For Java for free, there are cracked launchers that download as jar files and work great.
For Bedrock for free, I just wouldn’t bother. I’m big into piracy, and even I just gave up and bought a license from Google Play Store. If you want to give it a shot, you can find a launcher that takes x86 apks, but it’s near impossible to find x86 apks that work, and the only ones I found were from super old versions, like pre-1.16.
Thanks. I already own Java Edition and someone else said you can get a third party launcher too which is cool.
Prism Launcher is easily the best third-party launcher, hands down. It’s really useful and intuitive, with instances (basically it lets you make seperate game installs for different modpacks or versions or whatever) and lets you easily install any mod, modloader, modpack, resourcepack, or shaderpack from all the major platforms (CurseForge, Modrinth, FTB, Technic, etc.)
I prefer MultiMC as it does the same while being extremely lightweight. Or does prism have any special features that multimc doesn’t have?
Well, Prism is forked from PolyMC, which is forked from MultiMC. Prism lets you download directly from Curse and FTB, while MultiMC doesn’t.
Ty
Yes, multimc only has a repository of finished modpacks you can download.
I did just order one to replace my MacBook, so I’m interested in hearing from others as well. The upgradability was a big plus for me beyond being able to have a mobile Linux machine for dev work.
We got plenty of replies.
I love mine I’ve had it over 2 years. It was a first-gen DIY Framework 13 and I ran into a faulty fan early on. I worked with their tech support and they sent a replacement fan under warranty. Took 5 minutes to put it in and all parts inside have QR codes that take you to the marketplace for replacements and repair instructions.
They do have official Linux support for Ubuntu and Fedora. I can attest to Linux Mint working well on it although I don’t use the fingerprint reader, which I’ve read has some issues on some distros.
As for upgradability, I’ve not needed to yet but you can just order a new motherboard and any other parts off their marketplace and drop it straight in. Should take around 20 minutes or so. I suspect this would take longer on the 16 since it is more complex.
Also, here is a link to the marketplace if you want to browse the parts. I think you could build one from scratch from here, but I think it would cost more that way. https://frame.work/marketplace
Thanks for the reply. I have made my mind up and it will be my next machine.
Thanks for pointing me to the marketplace too.
Fingerprint reader working perfectly on my FW16. Not sure it’s the same reader module, but getting it set up on Arch was easy, pretty much worked out of the box in Plasma 6. Adding fprint to
pam.d/sudoalso worked right out of the box for fingerprint sudo.
I have been running one for 2 years and next generation am going to do the thing they were designed to do and upgrade my laptop without throwing away the whole laptop. So for less than $1000 I will be upgrading to something that is faster than my desktop, and it’s portable.
The price tag is premium, at first, then it actually saves money.
What will you do with the old internals?
Probably turn it into a dedicated mini pc for the 3D printer. It’s still decently powerful I just don’t need it anymore. I might gift it to someone as a mini pc, depends on if I see someone who needs a computer but doesn’t have one.
Sell them
Thanks for the reply.
That makes sense on it being premium at first but then the options are there to upgrade and repurpose old parts.
Totally, I’m not buying a new monitor, keyboard, speakers, webcam, or chassis. Just a new CPU and in this case RAM, as we made the switch from DDR4 to DDR5.
Imagine having to buy a new keyboard, mouse, monitor, and speakers, every time you wanted to upgrade your desktop. It’s the same thing.
Framework 13. Had to RMA the first one I had for a battery issue. The one I currently have has a bad memory controller, so one of the ram slots periodically fails. I decided it wasn’t worth it to RMA the second one. So I’m living with a single stick of RAM.
Overall I’m impressed. It’s a good system. You can upgrade RAM, hard disk, and the motherboard/cpu combo if you want.
It’s a sturdy device, I’ve had no issues with the battery life, Wi-Fi is good. It’s a good laptop. Great compatibility with Linux and qubes
Thanks for the reply. I think the consensus here is overwhelmingly positive which is nice to see. I’ve not had one comment say anything particularly bad about them.
I got an Intel 12th Gen laptop but wanted an AMD 7040 gen CPU. I was going to live overseas for a while so shipping laptops via air is questionable.
So I bought the 12th gen and then a year later upgraded the main board. No issues other than VeraCrypt being annoyed.
Thanks.
Really loving all the comments on how it is very upgradable.
You can upgrade literally everything on it.
They just released a new high refresh rate screen for the 13 inch. I’m seeing if it’s worth buying.
Wonder if the old display can be used as a portable monitor? I would assume so.
I could be mistaken, but I’ve used old screens from laptops before. You just need to buy an LCD (or whatever display type) controller board.
I may have missed it, but as of now, framework doesn’t offer the controller board by itself just yet.
Knowing them, it’s probably not too far away.
So you can just find these on eBay or something. I would say Amazon but fuck those guys.
You just need to check the model number for the display, then search for a board that is compatible with that.
I’m very very lazy. Id rather have the OEM supply their own model than to get a 3rd party.
Then again I’m one of those heathens who pay for OEM camera batteries rather than wasabi power (which are amazing in their own right)
To each their own.
I like the tinkering and learning how to do things outside of OEM, even if they are amazing.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
This YouTube video should help you udnerstand
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Typing this from an 11th gen intel framework right now –
I’ve upgraded a few things (namely the CNC shell, the hinges, and the speaker) and it’s pretty painless. I have some experience repairing electronics though – but not a ton – and it’s been generally pleasant. I had some issues with my batch that required more work than I think it probably should have, including an RMA at one point, but that was a few years ago and it seems most of the problems have been ironed out. You can swap out any parts you want and the compatability has been really good, both for hardware and software. You can upgrade any model with any of their components, it’s a whole ecosystem, so buy a config that’s accessible to you and upgrade it then. Everything you asked about being able to do you should be able to do no problem, there’s nothing unique to the framework computers that would stop that from being the case. If gaming is your usecase though, get an AMD machine (or get one of the new 16 inch notebooks, I have a 13 inch one which doesn’t have the space for a dedicated graphics card, so gaming performance has taken a hit accordingly). Hopefully that helps!
Thanks for the reply.
To clarify you’re saying an AMD 13 would be good for gaming or any 16?
I love the idea of Framework and I buy laptops that do what they do. But from MegaVendors™
For example my Dell has socketed RAM, now with 128GB in it. It has a socketed CPU and GPU “card” with a mobile Xeon and Quadro rtx 5000. 5 M2 drives inside and a 2.5in area. Battery is pluggable and changeable. The trackpad and keyboard are held in place by a few screws and ribbon cables like everything else. With a small Phillips screwdriver I can replace anything. WiFi card is socketed. Antennas are SMA connectors. I’ve replaced the shell even after a security inspection dropped and damaged the metal enclosure…
I buy it because I can upgrade it within limits as long as the upgraded parts play nice with the main board. A framework promises to do the same except allow a mainboard upgrade. But at that point you’re probably buying everything. How many times, going back to desktop days, have you upgraded the entire system’s motherboard and not the CPU, GPU, RAM, etc…
And at that point you’re really only reusing the shell and screen and battery. The stuff you interact with everyday that will deteriorate or get dirty. And battery has a finite lifespan. Makes sense to upgrade the package when those need upgrading.
I view the framework as a great solution for a picky system user. It’s not for upgrading. It’s for customizing while you have that system. Allowing the maker of 2 or 3 SKUs to sell 1000 different laptops. Versus a Dell that sells 1000 different SKUs doing that internally and some of them allow you to do it externally like mine.
I wish them the best and I may buy one next time I need a beefy laptop. But their current specs don’t come close to matching what I can do. And their parts don’t work for my use like physical 3 button trackpad for example. When they do, awesome. But then, why not just go with the Dell? Who will send a guy to me anywhere in the world for free to fix or swap hardware… ANYWHERE. And no it’s not a corporate purchase, I own it personally and the warranty is standard.
I may buy one to support them once their margins go up and the demand cools. But until then, unfortunately it doesn’t seem to solve an actual consumer problem. It solves a corporate SKU problem that fixes itself as you become a big company.
As a heads up, you can swap the mother board in a Framework. It is expensive for the newer higher end ones, but it is an option.
Yes I know. My point is that’s the ONLY benefit over a big brand that is socketed and upgradeable already. And having bought hardware capable of that for 20 years+, I’ve NEVER done it. Anytime I’m ready to upgrade the CPU or GPU, I generally upgrade both and the motherboard minimally. And for a laptop that is everything. The drives are standardized and socketed. The only thing you keep is the enclosure, screen, and battery. Battery dies with age. Screens die with age. All 3 are cheap and I don’t think worth keeping at the expense of just buying a new one when the upgrade comes.
And I love upgrading my desktops and laptops. Just in the real world of doing it, usually components are replaced generationally at the same time.
I think the GPU being separately upgradable on the 16" pokes a tiny hole in your argument. But I generally agree, there’s not too much that is saved or retained when upgrading. But for some people it’s worth it, if they’re reusing the ram, SSD, Wi-Fi card in addition to the parts you mention, AND they’re not too rough on the case, screen, and keyboard/trackpad.
can I run Minecraft on Linux?
You’re a software developer you answer that.
As for everything else, yes it’s worth it. Upgrading isn’t as easy as a desktop, but it’s much easier than other laptops.
Just because you’re a software developer doesn’t mean you know how everything in software is.
I was more asking for the performance on Linux.
Yes, I imagine it more fiddly than upgrading a desktop. I’ve never really been in to buying laptops as they don’t have good upgrade options. I did have an M1 MacBook Pro and that was amazing, but they hold their value so well and I got it almost have price on discount it was a no brainier to sell it after a year for about the same I got it for.
The performance depends on how powerful the laptop is. Get an AMD model.
Is the Intel + Nvidia performance on Linux worse than on windows?
Maybe. For most things Nvidia works fine I think. Its just proprietary, and they come with arbitrary restrictions. Nouveau is an open source solution probably bad with games. I use AMD + Lutris (Linux game organizer) and its great. The only games that don’t work well are almost all AAA games.
Which kind of restrictions?
Switching to AMD isn’t an option, I don’t want to spend money to switch to Linux.
You’re a software developer you answer that.
lol. What a shit take.
I’ve had my fw 13 since early Feb 2022. So far, I’ve replaced the hinges and upgraded to a new mainboard. (11th gen i5 to 12 gen i7 when it became my main PC).
I’ve redone the thermal paste on the 12th gen 2 times already to clean the fan out and have not had any problems opening things up. I open it up so often to tinker that the pull loop on the keyboard cable finally broke on me a few weeks ago.
My old mainboard is currently running my entire homlab. Opnsense, pihole, Plex, Kavita, audiobookshelf, foundry vtt, *arrs, unifi controller. I threw it into a 3d printed case and its been running fine without any issues.
I thought about upgrading to the fw16, but it’s too expensive for me to justify it. If I want to game I just plug into my eGPU. I don’t need my gaming system to be ultra portable.
I’ll probably upgrade again when they release a new ryzen mainboard that has USB 4 2.0 support so I can take advantage of the additional pcie bandwidth for my GPU.
I would reccomend the fw13 to anyone who is into customizing PCs or is passionate about repairability in the electronics they own.
I have a framework 13. Bought it with 12th gen intel mainboard, upgraded it to AMD when that came out. Also upgraded the battery, RAM, and soon the screen when the 120hz one ships. It’s super easy to get into, just five screws and then pop the trackpad/keyboard cable off. I honestly love it.
Framework has fantastic support for windows and Linux. There used to be some minor fixes needed on certain models but they’ve since resolved them and my experience on Fedora and Arch have been plug and play. On windows they have a driver install script that installs everything in one go, that’s nice too. And yes Minecraft does run on Linux, at least the Java version does. Idk about bedrock though
Thanks for the reply. It will be my next purchase.
Is it better to go AMD in my use case then?
You’ll have just as good of an experience on either Intel or AMD. Framework is releasing a new generation of intel models in August so if you want the most cutting edge model and can wait those are a good bet. But personally I’m very happy with my current gen AMD model’s performance and efficiency so I’ll be waiting a while before another upgrade. There really aren’t any major downsides for any of the current options though, just personal preference.
It’s made for user reparability/upgradability and has great linux support.
Thanks.
Just got my Framework in the mail today. I’ll report back soon and let you know how it is!
I am excited for you. Hope you have a great day with your new toy.
I have a first Gen core i5 Framework 13. I’ve upgraded a couple components that weren’t so great on those units (hinge and speakers) and the upgrades were easy. Otherwise I’ve been pretty happy with it and haven’t felt a need to upgrade the mainboard yet
So you really can upgrade many parts. I never would have imagined hinges would be upgradable.
Yup, they took feedback from customers and have provided modified components for customers that want to purchase them. Speakers, hinges, screens, stiffer chassis. All able to be replaced with the included screwdriver and guides online.
