In January, I spent two weeks working on the most modular notebook ever: Frame Notebook 16. It’s a gadget dream: you can replace its keyboard, trackpad, ports, and even the entire discrete GPU. In just two minutes, you can transform it from a stylish work laptop into a decent gaming machine, and it charges with the world’s first 180W USB-C power adapter.
But at the time, I gave Framework Laptop 16 a 5 out of 10.
Six months later, with a new device and new firmware, I feel much better! Not enough to give me a full recommendation, but enough to bump it up to a 6 out of 10, We define it as: “Okay. While there are problems, there are also saving graces. While the laptop is more stable, most of my other annoyances remain.
I’ve now spent another month with the Laptop 16 and replaced various parts of it, as the company eventually did Completed the pre-order and Comprehensive promotion of laptops. I’m happy to say that I’ve only seen one glitch with the computer all month – the “Looks like Windows didn’t load correctly” error, but I can’t reproduce it. Aside from its incredibly annoying habit of not being able to sleep when its discrete GPU wakes up, it’s been a loyal companion for both work and play – including edge Live blog, editor Videos on our social media channelsand write stories, including this one.
We even solved my mysterious issue where the brilliant 2560 x 1600 screen seemed to suddenly disappear – this was due to AMD’s Vari-Bright setting, which attempts to save battery while the integrated GPU is running. I turned it off and it’s been bright and colorful ever since. (Jedi: Survivor Looks great.
But the heat and noise! In my original review device, I saw the AMD Ryzen 7940HS heat up to over 90 degrees Celsius. Although this replacement comes with the slightly weaker 7840HS, I measured peak temperatures of 100.8°C while gaming, and one day as high as 92.5°C while writing a story in the web browser. The keyboard and trackpad don’t get that hot, but my fingers often get sweaty while working on this machine. Laptop 16 runs quieter when you unplug it, put Windows into power-saving mode, or remove the discrete GPU. But the complete dGPU kit doesn’t seem to have enough cooling solutions for daily use.
The fan noise still overwhelmed the laptop’s below-average speakers, enough to make my wife come over again to see what I was doing. “Oh, that’s your laptop. For a second, I thought you were using the living room vacuum,” she told me. Just browsing a few websites with the laptop plugged in was enough to get the temperature over 70°C and spin the fan to the point where the noise is audible.
While some issues have been resolved, such as the possibility of larger SSDs disappearing when you resume from sleep, there are still some minor issues to look for. On two occasions, the trackpad suddenly stopped scrolling and stopped accepting button presses until I physically removed it from the system and reinstalled it. I’ve gotten Windows messages multiple times saying my “USB device may have limited functionality when connected to this port” even when I just plug in the charger.
After a month, I decided I could live with the flex of the lid and the uneven surface created by the Framework’s modular spacers and trackpad. They’re both slightly straighter in my new rig, and they’re a small price to pay for the unprecedented moddability and repairability you get here. But I also want you to know that the flex and gaps are not completely fixed and will occasionally result in rough edges on the fingers and wrist.
But I don’t know if I can tolerate the heat and noise, or if this laptop has weird issues when the discrete GPU is active and I try to put it to sleep. (Spokesperson Eric Schamcher confirmed via email: “If there is a program keeping the dGPU active, the system will not pause.”) I came back one morning to find the battery was completely drained because the laptop was on my I’ve seen similar behavior multiple times when I plug it in after waking up with the lid closed. sleep state.
This is a groundbreaking machine. As I explained at the top, no company has ever made such an ambitious laptop before my original comment, I wish this idea existed! I personally want to buy a laptop that can be used both for work and entertainment. I can Upgrades and repairs year after year For example, the company’s 13-inch machine. I can feel the potential here. But I’m reviewing a laptop, not a crowdfunding campaign for a laptop generation, and I’ll personally be waiting for future revisions of Framework Laptop 16.
Yes, I understand that if the laptop doesn’t sell well, there’s no guarantee that the frame will continue to be upgraded. The company has never fully committed to letting you swap its Radeon RX 7700S for a more powerful GPU in the future. But in April, CEO Nirav Patel did just that tell me The 16-inch model has a healthy future roadmap. I’ll take his word for it.
Photography: Sean Hollister/The Verge