It would be nice to see a slightly larger screen and smaller bezels. But it might not be possible to achieve that with a screen that is screwed in rather than glued.
ShirleyMarquez
joined 11 months ago
You don't necessarily have to replace the WiFi, although Framework has been recommending it. The AX210, which was in DIY 11th gen and all 12th gen systems, will work in an AMD system. The AX201 (pre-built 11th gen) and AX211 (13th gen) will not. You have to replace the RAM because of the switch to DDR5, but it's likely that 14th gen Intel will also require DDR5 and 15th gen certainly will.
The system can't get much thinner so long as it still has socketed RAM, SSD, WiFi, etc. Systems that are even thinner lack those things, so they are anathema to Framework's philosophy of being repairable and upgradeable.
It is, or at least mine is. The Framework memory on my 7840U mainboard (2x16 GB DDR5-5600) is manufactured by A-Data, has SK Hynix RAM chips, and is CL46. The date code is 23/32 (August 2023). Info as reported by CPU-Z, using the SPD info from the sticks.
Any 11th gen system you bought recently from Framework comes with a newer BIOS than the one that shipped with early systems. But the hardware is unchanged, including the top cover, hinges, and speakers. You might get a mainboard with either the original Realtek audio chip or the newer Tempo chip depending on what they have in stock. (Framework had to switch because of unavailability of the Realtek chips at the time; you can read more at https://frame.work/blog/solving-for-silicon-shortages 12th and 13th gen Intel have the Tempo chip; AMD has the Realtek.) Expansion modules are sold separately; you can still buy the original HDMI and DisplayPort modules at a reduced price or go for the new ones.
I still have the original hinges in my Framework 13 that is now upgraded to Ryzen. But I did buy the CNC top cover when that came out.
Windows Update should offer you the upgrade. If it does not, you can go to the site for installing Windows 11 (https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11) and upgrade there.
I advise not buying 100W USB-C cables any more. Step up to 240W cables, which also work at the 100W level. Same current rating (5A), but the construction is certified for use at 48V for 240W power delivery. For less demanding applications like charging your phone on the go you can buy 60W cables; they're rated for less current (3A) so they can be thinner.
CPU performance is in the same ballpark. Intel is a tad better at single-core, Ryzen is better at multi-core. You won't be unhappy with either.
Ryzen appears to be somewhat better for battery life. But no Framework configuration is a champion in that category, in part because of the socketed RAM. LPDDR4X and LPDDR5X use less power than standard DDR4 and DDR5 but they're not available in modules, they have to be soldered onto the motherboard. (I think the issue is the super-low voltages they use; there isn't enough noise margin for socketed memory.) I'm willing to accept that in exchange for easy repair and expansion.
The Ryzen 7000 series blows 13th generation Intel out of the water at graphics performance; you can expect somewhere near double the frame rate at comparable game settings if the game is GPU-bound. (14th generation Intel may get them back in the game [sic] but that hasn't been announced yet; based on Framework's past record it will come in spring or summer 2024.) If you care about graphics you'll want to switch the Ryzen BIOS to gaming mode; that allocates 4 GB to graphics instead of 512 MB. If you have only 16 GB of RAM you might want to switch back and forth (requires a reboot) depending on what you are doing; if you have 32 GB or more just leave your system in gaming mode all the time, you'll still have plenty of RAM for everything else.
Misspelling the name makes it much easier for people to use search engines to find the Kustomer company. It also makes it possible to register as a trademark, something they likely couldn't have done with the normal spelling.