this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023
1 points (100.0% liked)

Framework

76 readers
1 users here now

Discussion around the Framework mission of building products that last longer by making them upgradeable, customizable, and repairable. Consumer electronics can be better for you and for the environment.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Hi, prospective buyer here?

First of all, I absolutely love the look of the framework. Id be dead set on buying it if it wasnt for one thing: battery life.

I'm a university student who travels around a lot so for me battery life is the make or break factor for a laptop. Heretical as it is to say here I'm really weighing up between a framework 13 and a macbook air m2. The M2 lacks everything I love about the framework, but its battery life is undeniably amazing.

What real world battery life do you guys get on your frameworks? And what would be the best configuration battery life wise? I was considering getting the low tier AMD model and installing a 61wh battery in it myself.

Would i be able to last a good 8 hour day or will i need a powerbank?

top 21 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I have an Intel Framework, easily gets through a day of school for me, with light - medium use

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I get 6-9 hours (AMD/Fedora) as a stats major, mostly web browsing and coding

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

How do you get that battery life? I'm on Nobara doing the same thing as a SWE and I always average 4-6 depending on what I'm doing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I just got my AMD Ryzen 7 version and it seems to be able to do an 8 hour day no problem.

That said, this is my second experience with a Framework. I bought an Intel Core I5 model (13th gen) for my step brother to go to University with back in June. He loves it and has absolutely no complaints for what it's worth.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Just a fun idea, but considering how easy it is to replace the battery in the framework, you could carry around a spare internal battery and swap it in like a phone with a removable back and battery.

(Sarcasm implied)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Actually not a bad idea, if they made a hardshell battery thing I could totally see people doing this while sacrificing a bit of capacity for the hard shell bit

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Amd has pretty good efficiency. Framework has talked about releasing a case mod to use an older framework battery into a powerbank. One option is go for rzyen 5 with smaller battery and then if not enough life pick up better battery and use the smaller as a bank. My wife has an 11th gen with smaller battery. I iust ordered a ryzen 7 with bigger battery. The 11th gen with smaller battery isnt great but have seen reviews of the ryzen version with much better life.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Getting a smaller cpu will not save you any battery life, as the faster cpu spends more time sleeping. So i would go Ryzen 7 and not buy 2 batteries.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I don't agree. i get around the same battery as the r7 ones. The 6 core amd chip has fewer cores idling, so it uses less power.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Every laptop I’ve ever owned I end up replacing because the battery capacity declines (for me, typically every 3-4 years) to the point that I’m afraid to charge it unsupervised.

So it’s not just initial battery life for me, which is about 8+ hours of average use on my new AMD 7840 FW (consisting mostly of web browsing, YouTube watching, and email lately) but when that battery capacity eventually worsens, I can just buy a new battery and easily replace it. To me, that’s a huge factor in its favor.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Yeah, that's what put me over the fence as well. All of my old laptops (including macbooks) were mostly fine when I replaced them, but had gotten terrible battery life over time + some other, more minor issues. Framework fixes that.

Heck, you might even be able to upgrade to a better battery in a few years!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

The battery life is my main and perhaps only moot point with it. It just about gets me through a full day of school (high school student) using literally Word, Firefox and other assorted basic programs.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I'm getting 6 to 9 hours with the Ryzen 7 on Windows 11. I have a 65 watt power bank to back it up if needed. If I'm gaming with my 13 then I only get 2 to 4 hours depending on the game.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

If you value battery life over everything else then a Macbook is a no-brainer IMO. That said, you should be able to get a Ryzen or even an Intel 13th gen FW13 to last at least 8 hours without much difficulty.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

The AMD models have better battery life than the Intel models (I have a 12th gen and get about 3-4 hours of light use or like 1-2 hours of heavy use on a full charge). Plus the upgraded amd model comes with the new larger battery.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I get about 6-7 hours on AMD/Fedora

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You could always buy a USB-c battery pack. I got one from Dell with my old laptop and it seems to be able to charge the Framework 1.5 times. I have a Ryzen and get about 9 hours between charges, the battery pack would theoretically add another 13-14. I used it at a conference when I hadn't charged the framework the night before, and it charged it to 100% and was a bit below 50%.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Wow that's awesome

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Get around 8-10 hours with the AMD ryzen 5, 32GB ram and 55Wh battery coding with two node js servers running and a lot of chrome tabs open.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I’m on Windows 11 and use it for note taking and development. I can get around 6 hours on it with several chrome tabs, WSL, VSC, etc at the same time. High end for me was around 9 hours

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

8 hours is a stretch but you can do that yea. The thing is that at my college and in about half the trains they have power outlets so I can use those