My Framework laptop is here! ✨ It's a modular, repairable laptop that I've been hearing really good things about!

This is the "DIY edition", so let's assemble all the pieces together!

I'm greeted by a small envelope in the lid of the box, which contains... stickers! \o/ And a QR code leading to the assembly guide.
The keyboard, the display bezel, the main device itself, and the "expansion cards" all come in their own boxes.
Not super happy about the choice of Torx screws, as I feel I won't always have one at hand. But at least the prodvide a screwdriver! :)
Here's the main component! Excited to peek inside...
I like how all components have links to documentation! Importantly, they publish the specifications of all the used connectors on GitHub: https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/Framework-Laptop-13
GitHub - FrameworkComputer/Framework-Laptop-13: Documentation for the Mainboard and other modules in the Framework Laptop 13

Documentation for the Mainboard and other modules in the Framework Laptop 13 - FrameworkComputer/Framework-Laptop-13

GitHub

Let's install the RAM! I got 2 x 16 GB from a different vendor. My last laptop that had swappable RAM was my first Thinkpad 14 years ago.

I really hope that in another 10 years, we'll think of swappable laptop parts as totally normal again...

Next, we attach the keyboard and the touchpad...
... and the bezel. I got a green one! 💚

First impressions of the #Framework laptop (in comparison to my previous X1 Yoga Gen 5)! First, the bad things:

Under load, the fan is really loud.

The speakers sound a bit tinny/compressed.

At first, I was extremely distressed because the Ctrl + Fn keys are swapped, but thankfully, you can revert that in the BIOS.

I miss the trackpoint. :( Think I'll have to learn even more keyboard shortcuts.

When I tried attaching two external screens via a docking station, the Framework crashed :O

Things I like:

The 3D performance of the integrated AMD GPU is a huge step up from the X1!

The aluminum body and the keyboard feel really nice.

The BIOS boots super fast!

I like the 3:2 screen ratio.

Super happy with my Framework laptop by the way!

The module system is great. I printed a snack drawer today! Now I can always take three peanuts with me!

@blinry Apparently not taking the context that an HDMI port is not itself the size of a PCMCIA card, my sense of scale had me hoping those were gyoza (or mandu). 🥟

Oh well, such steamy, one-side-fried umami perfection probably wouldn’t be good for the insides of your rig.

So, does this module help you stream Charles Schulz comics?

@juanejot @blinry
"Oh, dey ain't gyoza, dim sum peanuts"
×
The keyboard, the display bezel, the main device itself, and the "expansion cards" all come in their own boxes.
Not super happy about the choice of Torx screws, as I feel I won't always have one at hand. But at least the prodvide a screwdriver! :)
Here's the main component! Excited to peek inside...
I like how all components have links to documentation! Importantly, they publish the specifications of all the used connectors on GitHub: https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/Framework-Laptop-13
GitHub - FrameworkComputer/Framework-Laptop-13: Documentation for the Mainboard and other modules in the Framework Laptop 13

Documentation for the Mainboard and other modules in the Framework Laptop 13 - FrameworkComputer/Framework-Laptop-13

GitHub
(Interlude: I'm fetching a hard drive from a friend to transfer data over! Back in a bit.)

Let's install the RAM! I got 2 x 16 GB from a different vendor. My last laptop that had swappable RAM was my first Thinkpad 14 years ago.

I really hope that in another 10 years, we'll think of swappable laptop parts as totally normal again...

Next, we attach the keyboard and the touchpad...
... and the bezel. I got a green one! 💚

First impressions of the #Framework laptop (in comparison to my previous X1 Yoga Gen 5)! First, the bad things:

Under load, the fan is really loud.

The speakers sound a bit tinny/compressed.

At first, I was extremely distressed because the Ctrl + Fn keys are swapped, but thankfully, you can revert that in the BIOS.

I miss the trackpoint. :( Think I'll have to learn even more keyboard shortcuts.

When I tried attaching two external screens via a docking station, the Framework crashed :O

Things I like:

The 3D performance of the integrated AMD GPU is a huge step up from the X1!

The aluminum body and the keyboard feel really nice.

The BIOS boots super fast!

I like the 3:2 screen ratio.

Super happy with my Framework laptop by the way!

The module system is great. I printed a snack drawer today! Now I can always take three peanuts with me!

@blinry me, using only 1 brain cell: well actually, that's six peanuts

my other brain cell, waking up: YOU MORON HOW CAN YOU FORGET HOW PEANUTS WORK

@hakirsch Good morning, dear brain cell! :>
@hakirsch @blinry or like, 1.5 peanuts, depending on how you count?

@hakirsch @blinry

damnit, NIST have reference peanut butter but no reference peanut. So there is no way to know how to count.

@OliverUv @hakirsch @blinry Indeed, it could be one very exceptional peanut
@simonbp @OliverUv @hakirsch @blinry For real I've seen triple-pod peanuts before.
@OliverUv
@hakirsch @blinry as someone allergic to peanuts and thus never interacted with them, this was genuinely helpful lol
@hakirsch @blinry wait isnt that 1 and a half peanuts
@blinry LMAO that's so creative!
@blinry So, this laptop could fit 12 peanuts in total, wow! 
@stffffn Oh right! However, @piko just warned me that I wouldn't be able to charge it anymore! :D
@blinry Well, that all depends on your priorities :D
@blinry @stffffn @piko But you have 133 Wh of energy stored in those peanuts, more than twice the (rechargeable) energy of the lithium battery in the laptop ☝️
@quanten @blinry @stffffn @piko ok now I think I want a peanut powered laptop. 🤣
@stffffn @blinry isn't that actually 18 peanuts? You have 6 bays in the '16, not four

@stffffn @blinry

*slaps lid of laptop*

That bad boi can fit so much peanut in it!

@blinry same energy as using the CD-ROM as a drink tray
@blinry That is how to hide your illegal keep-me-awake pills on business trips.
@c0c0bird @blinry That's a much better use case for that, though it would be better if the tray was the same color as the body or the off the shelf blank ones so it's less noticeable.
@blinry I suppose chocolate ones aren't a great idea.
@blinry ist nen 13 Zöller ? Bin ja massiv am grübeln 13 oder 16 Zoll
@OchmennoPodcast Genau, 13 Zoll. Die 16 waeren mir zu gross und schwer grad.
@blinry Jo aber die Leistung und 3d foo vom 16 ist schon verlockend ^^ aber nicht mehr Sofa geeignet
@blinry 3:2, not 4:3, right?
@hanemile @blinry I think no, 4*4=16 & 3*4=12, then 16x12
@blinry what type of docking station and what OS?
@mxk It's a "ThinkPad Thunderbolt 4 Workstation Dock" (40B00300EU), using NixOS.
@blinry I really want to nerdsnipe people to build the trackpoint variant
@blinry Thanks for sharing! I've coveted these for a while and I'm really curious to hear more about your experience with it. How seamless is the OS experience? Any lingering linux-on-a-laptop issues? (Drivers, battery, interop with external devices like monitors). Also, what are you using it for? Work? Personal stuff?
@dlants I literally just got it today :P Will report on that later!
@blinry depending on what exact components and distro you get, you might need to do a Linux kernel update. I had als sorts of issues with the new AMD and Mint which were all gone after the kernel update.
@blinry @esopriester Lenovo reduced the possibility of switching batteries, for example. I don't think that they switch back...
@blinry Interestingly, the battery QR code contains more information than just the link and it's too long to just be a serial number. Is the QR code format documented somewhere? Decoding it as Base32 just gives me binary data without any apparent structure.
@23n27 @blinry any qr reader should do. Binary Eye finds just a giant url: HTTPS://FR.MW/S/FRANGWATA1330203FK/GBCAEIBWPVKXP7KCYDBQDSSAMURRDPAQKN7UCJ3DLGJOICXVGCGDA3CJ2EBCA4C45OWHTIORVKBLIETUVHMEGITINWYA2RDVQORXQFS2Y4S4O2H7--/1
Which produces what looks to be the same qr code with high error correction
Battery Replacement Guide

Framework Guides
@groxx @blinry The giant URL is what I was talking about, yes.
@23n27 @blinry yeah - the only extra information afaict is just normal error correction (which is on high mode, low makes quite a bit smaller code)
@groxx @blinry No, what I meant was: Compared to all the other QR codes present, this is the only one that has an URL that contains more information than what's printed below the code as text.
@23n27 @blinry aah, gotcha. Yeah, it's pretty clearly an outlier, seems odd to me too. Mainboard also looks bigger than the text to me, but the battery of all things is on a different level entirely...
@blinry One of these days I'm going to work out what all of these symbols mean and learn the provenance of the wheeled bin.
@blinry That's nice :) Did you build it yourself? I didn't know that brand, just checked it now.
@blinry whoaa this is wild! QR codes ftw