this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2023
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You should plan for what you need, not for what you're willing to pay. If you need a mobile workstation then this 16 inch laptop would be too large and heavy. If you aim for a desktop replacement, then a 13 inch laptop might be too small (docking stations exist, but still ...).
The Framework laptop is a nice idea, though. But to be honest: how often did you change the components of your laptops before? One usually changes the SSD and maybe the RAM or the battery or - if you're really adventurous - the heatpipe and/or the fan. All of this is already possible with most common laptops. If you're unsure, get a ThinkPad.
Well that's the point, ain't it? You didn't because you couldn't. Now this laptop gives you a new plethora of opportunities.
Thought the same thing. Over time I replaced everything in my laptop that I could and specifically chose a laptop that is easyish to open and get parts for.
I would love for a better processor and graphics card but the mainboard and power supply does not allow for better hardware. So I will need to buy a different laptop some day. If it were as easy as ordering new parts and putting it in there without fear of incompatibility I would love that.
I've changed the screen of a thinkpad from 720p to 1080p. Was cheaper to buy that way, and it was really easy to do.
I think you're missing the point of the framework. Let's say 6 years from now you want to upgrade to a more powerful CPU. Normally that means buying a whole new laptop. With the framework though you just buy a new board and keep all the other components. This saves money and lowers ewaste.
Is that realistic? Not a rhetorical question: I'm genuinely curious. I ask because the last time I tried to update a single (desktop) part, it was more cost-effective to replace the whole Pc and migrate the salvageable parts since the only thing I could have held onto would have been the ram, SSD, and PSU.
I suppose with a laptop you have the monitor to also consider, and admittedly I know nothing about laptop boards, but it just seems like 6 years is replacement time anyway, at least for a daily use computer.
When you replaced your whole PC what did you do with the replaced part?
The last time I replaced my PC the hardware was ca 12 years old and barely working. It went to the recycling center except the harddisk.
Honestly, we don't know. Average laptop screens haven't had any major improvements since IPS, so I think the screens have longevity. RAM and processors are more focused on lower power nowadays. Framework has already shipped "drop-in" replacement boards, and their whole company is based around that idea.
If I had the money and i could afford to wait, I'd be willing to take a bet on Framework. I think the frame of the laptop will hold up as well as any other, but it's only been a few years so who actually knows.
Laptops from 6 years ago hold up well enough, except the batteries and main boards, if I could have replaced my old main board with a more modern processor and gpu I never would have had to upgrade.
So far as your desktop, you can certainly upgrade your computer without it being more cost effective to do a whole new build. It really just depends on what you need. Mostly it comes down to the limitations of your motherboard.
Every so often they change the CPU socket required for new CPUs. So if you need a new CPU and you already have the best the socket on your mobo can do, then yeah you're maybe looking at a new build at that point anyway. But otherwise you can just get an upgraded CPU of that socket. Similarly, eventually your motherboard won't be able to support the latest version of RAM and if you need that you'll have to replace the motherboard. So on and so forth.
Great in theory.
Keeping backwards compatible hardware is nearly impossible in reality. USB A 3.x is not the same hardware as USB A 2.X despite keeping form-factor backwards compatible.
Practical exercise: Find a board capable of swapping DDR4 RAM with DDR5 or vice versa.
It goes a bit further than that. When the CPU is too old and slow you can just slap in a newer board without having to buy a full machine. Still can't answer if it's worth it for OP though.
ThinkPads continue to be less and less user serviceable and Linux support more quirky (especially on their AMD line). Itβs all Iβve used but I sold my recent gen to get an older one and will probably go with a different vendor in the future.
Yep. When the devices get older, I usually upgrade RAM (or install an SSD on very old hardware). Sometimes I even install a new battery.
And that's the thing: I never ever had any issues doing this. Even the internal battery is just screwed in and connected with a removable plug.
While the Framework laptops are conceptually great, I just don't see the use case in my world. It's also pretty much vendor lock-in with the modules.
I found the SSD swapping very useful on my framework. I have been working with a legacy codebase this last year and needed to test whether I could migrate the dev environment from Windows 10 to 11. Swapping that SSD made it easy and low risk to do that. I've since upgraded from 1TB to 2TB, using Clonezilla and an external enclosure. Again, swapping the SSD out made that feasible, cheap and easy.