Image description: Image shows batches 1, 2 and 3 sold out for the Ryzen 7 7840HS which costs $1,399.

For now both DIY and prebuild edition (all configurations) are in batch 4 which ships in late Q4 2023.

  • Virtual Insanity @lemmy.worldEnglish
    1712·
    1 year ago

    I do badly want to like these… but I don’t see the point.

    Repairability wise mid range ThinkPad is nearly as good. Only major difference is I think Framework claims they will release schematics… and as someone who actually does component level repairs I’ve seen promises like this work I’ve or twice, but then they stop maintaining their data or pays get hard to get rendering the gesture null.

    Upgrade wise… I switch machines every 4 to 6 years… at which point the chassis has a bit of wear and tear.

    Spec wise I buy what I need and add a little headroom with the ThinkPad.

    Spare parts are good for ThinkPad and Lenovo actually has component replacement guides that no one seems to mention or know about.

    And when I do upgrade I appreciate having a complete spare machine.

    I think it’s also not unreasonable to assume my style of buying and upgrading is not uncommon.

    This leaves the Framework very few hardware advantages and nil price advantages.

    I still think they’re a great idea, but I don’t see any practical benefit over a sensible alternative.

    Genuine question… Have I missed anything?

    • narp@feddit.deEnglish
      171·
      1 year ago

      My opinion:

      • Framework has a good track record and I would give them the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. (Concerning upgradeability)

      • laptops are getting more and more powerful and I like the idea of treating them similar to a desktop

      • as a ThinkPad user you probably know how popular especially old ThinkPads are, because of the ability to mod them

      • you might buy a new laptop every few years but the point above proves that there will be people interested in a second hand laptop, therefore reducing waste

      • there will always be a market for good quality and customer friendly products and the existence of framework is great for competition (for the end user)

      • they support the open source mentality, even tried to help to bring coreboot to their laptops. Even though that failed they’re keeping an eye on openSIL

      • overall I’m more of Linux instead of Windows, FOSS instead of corporate closed software, Lemmy instead of reddit and framework/system76/… instead of Lenovo/… kind of person. I see it partly as a fight for “freedom” if you so will.

    • sznio@lemmy.worldEnglish
      12·
      1 year ago

      I think that swappable GPUs are the killer feature. A 7 year old CPU is fine, a 7 year old GPU not so much.

      • heimchen@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        Seven years is a bit harsh, but upgrading the gpu once in 3-4 years would have saved you money and electronic waste.

        • Dudewitbow@lemmy.mlEnglish
          2·
          1 year ago

          7 year isnt that bad. I like to always say if you vare about how hardware ages as a gamer, match the consoles of the current generation.

          So any decent 8c/16t cpu will likely age fine for the foreseeable generation. With gpus, ot was a matter of matching what the consoles have reserved for vram (10-14gb depending on how much ram the game reserves for itself and the OS). Its why 8 gb vram gpus are aging like milk with the current gen.

        • sznio@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          I’m still running a PC from 2012. It’s seriously fine, I only started feeling it last year. Looking to upgrade next month.

    • phil@cryptodon.lol
      2·
      1 year ago

      I run a Thinkpad and my partner is an early adopter of the v1 Framework. She had quite a few early adopter issues on her leading me to believe the hardware polish isn’t there 100% (eg hinges too weak they had to release an upgrade, this broke the display cable and led to BIOS issues, etc).

      I mostly agree, the one place I think Thinkpad could use more maintainability is in mainboard compatibility. Framework promises (TBD) Mainboard compatibility across upgrades, we’ll see if they deliver.

    • torwag@lemmy.worldEnglish
      53·
      1 year ago

      Not asking much… Just if they just would add a trackpoint, a decent mechanical keyboard (don’t mind if this adds 0.5cm to the thickness) and offer a black chassis… I feel they would really be the new home of former IBM ThinkPad users which are more and more disappointed about Lenovos decisions to try to compete with Macs.

      • Virtual Insanity @lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        While I love my mech getting one included means a full redesign for the benefit of just a small subgroup.

        That said, I did notice their keyboards run QMK firmware, was very impressed by that.

        Black is must, I have to admit that shiny look is a put off for me.

        Track point needs to happen too.

        And my biggest compliant for my ThinkPad is the ctrl and FN keys being in shitty places.

    • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.worldEnglish
      31·
      1 year ago

      “but then they stop maintaining their data or pays get hard to get rendering the gesture null.”

      “I’d like “Translations” for $100, Alex.”

      • MooseBoys@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        I’m guessing it’s supposed to be “parts get hard to get”, which is accurate. It doesn’t matter if you have the schematic that shows your SB00C793FGX64 rev3 needs replacing if the part isn’t manufactured anymore.