[kwlug-disc] Framework laptop experiences -- the praise ....

[Mikalai Birukou]

> A person on KWTechs had some questions about Framework laptops. I know
> a few people here who own one. Would you be willing to share your
> experiences? I can forward the responses to KWTechs.
>
> Here is the post:
>
>> Does anyone have a Framework? I'm interested in hearing some
>> reviews: How/where to buy one from Canada, ordering parts, ease of
>> repair/upgrade, durability etc.
I bought it from their site https://frame.work . Assembly was simple.
And it hints at how easy it would be to replace any broken part, which
may happen in future (all laptops fall).

I ordered 13-incher, amd, the lowest option cpu option. It runs fine,
sometimes with developer IDE, browser and two (2) virtual machines open,
one windows 10, another linux. I got 32GB memory -- to run all those
things, but cheapest amd processor is fine. It is DDR5 memory and whole
system is of the newer generation everything without being super expensive.

Different mixing of ports on different sides. Ah. You can perfect your
desk setup to any level. Ah.

They really leaned into really fast usb for extensions. Of four of these
on 13-incher, I had a chain of usb things with hdmi and power to laptop,
just a hub with hdmi, direct hdmi and one empty for reasons of placing on
my desk. And it worked. A week ago, I got a single hub with 2 hdmi's,
gigabit ethernet, 5 different usb's, and power delivery. It works great.
Framework can pump this much data on usb, to a point that you start
noticing that some usb extension cables may degrade signalling.
yada, yada. You can get wild with this optionality.

I keep laptop closed on my desk, running 32, 27 and 19 inch displays.
27&19 via hub, while 32 directly plugged. It runs all four, when lid is
opened. I have my data, in external drive, in usb-c enclosure, doing
900MB/s when attached directly, and 410MB/s when through the hub, but
the second option is used, as I don't notice a difference even when
compiling takes place from this disk.

It is also a good laptop. Screen is superb. Webcam is good. Speakers are
good for 13 incher. And, BIOS has an option to flip placement of fn and
left ctrl if you happen to need it, cause habits.

Screen on amd opens 180 degrees, becoming a straight surface. Convenient
on the go.

Would I buy it again? Yes. Do I look with interest at touchscreen option,
given what I saw with this one? Yes. Would I buy to folks around me
Framework when they need a laptop? Yes.

As far as I am concerned, there are no other laptop on the market, cause
those are not as fixable as Framework is. At least is a reasonable price
range, and fast cpu&buses.