Framework launched a year ago with the promise of building laptops that you could upgrade yourself with little more than a screwdriver. The company made its debut a year ago and is now shipping out upgrade kits to keep up with the times. The outfit makes good on its promises to make a modular, repairable machine and to bring existing users along with any future changes to the system. I can say that we are close to a brand new era for computing after almost replacing a first- generation mainboard.
Framework sent over a model that was powered by an 11th generation Intel Core chip to show off how easy it is to upgrade. The package contained a brand new 12th generation Intel Core chip attached to a mainboard. The idea is that you can remove the mainboard and keep everything else. Existing equipment can be used until they break or need to be upgraded.
You must use a Torx T5 screwdriver to upgrade or replace any component in Framework. Replacing the mainboard is the most involved upgrade you can make since you have to disassemble everything else to get access to it. Framework makes iFixit-style guides for you to follow, and every component is labeled. There are links on each unit to help you find what you're looking for.
You can get a 12th generation i5-1240P for $699 or an i7-1260P for $799. You can get the Core i7-1280P for $1,049 if you want to live on the cutting edge all the time. It is argued that buying a whole new laptop would be more expensive. Users will probably look for a new mainboard every two or three years in order to keep up to date.
There are a couple of things that are worth keeping an eye on during the upgrade process. The how-to guide states that it will take 15 minutes, but if you are new to this, you will take a long time. You will get faster with practice, but the guides need to be more friendly to the amateur. I don't like the idea of having to gently slide in a ribbon cable no bigger than your finger to fix a ZIF connection. Since they are small, I would be worried that one mis-timed sneeze would cost you money.
Framework is launching two other products that show its commitment to listening to its users and making sure that OG buyers aren't left behind. The first is that the company is releasing a new card. The transparent plastic shell makes it look like a Game Boys from the '90s, and it's very cool. It sticks out the side of your laptop, but in a cool way, because it is larger than the rest of the expansion cards.
I couldn't connect to the internet after my initial upgrade, but that came in handy during my install. One of the pitfalls of testing hardware is that it doesn't reach the public until later. Being able to hook up an Ethernet port to my network was a great benefit. It is another step in the process of making the laptop more like a Swiss Army knife.
There is also the top cover. I didn't have many complaints about the amount of flex in the machine. The display enclosure was changed to be made from a block of aluminum. It is standard on all new Framework laptops sold going forward, as well as being bundled in the mainboard replacement kits. If the company can keep this commitment of always bringing existing buyers along, then it's going to earn a devoted, and you can buy a stand-alone top cover for $89, instead of leaving existing customers who don't want a newCPU on the fence.
With the upgrade done, users will have to decide what to do with the old mainboard. Users can use Framework's plans to build desktop-style enclosures for the boards to encourage re-use, and they are already using them as the basis of their own super-cool mod projects. Penk built a retro Mainboard Terminal that looks like it came out of a game. If I didn't have to send this back, I'd be able to build my own thing.
The idea that users should be able to get their hands dirty after being told that their machines have been off limits for so long is one of the gifts Framework can give.
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