hi,

pretty much the subject… I am trying to choose my next laptop and I am tempted to buy a framework 13 AMD. I saw this post from one year ago : https://www.phoronix.com/review/framework-13-amd

and while the review is impressive, comments are not. how things have evolved since then? any experience?

EDIT: you convinced me, I just ordered mine. Thanks for the incredible answers !
NEW EDIT: I use arch (btw), and Gnome. For the answers, I do not think this will pose a problem but… what do you think?
(and yes, I ordered mine before reading last comment of paequ2 who doesn’t like it… for reasonable reasons, maybe. I hope I will have more luck ;) )

  • Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 month ago

    I just bought one a couple of months ago. It’s my daily driver. My work issued laptop sits on my desk, and I carry my framework around. If you’re a Linux guy, fedora runs fantastic on it - everything works, couldn’t be easier. Battery life could be better, but it’s fine. Trackpad is great, I heard some bitchin about it, but I don’t get that hate. Some complaints about the hinges and how they bounce. Again, unfounded complaints in my opinion. The hinges are stiffer to open/close than I expected, but they are fine (just a little different feeling). New webcam is great for a laptop webcam. New screen is nice - but let’s be honest, not much touches an apple screen. Sound is ok, nothing special. The case is fantastic-people (engineers and nerds) drool over it. The swappable ports are awesome, that alone makes the laptop imo. But the real star is the serviceability of it. Five screws and the whole thing comes apart. Everything can be replaced and upgraded. They even give you the screwdriver you need to take it apart. Bios updates work with fwupdate in Linux and they update regularly. Keyboard feels good. It stays cool and fans don’t go crazy.

    It’s expensive. But I love mine. But I do plan on keeping it and upgrading forever - or at least until I smash it accidentally, so maybe it wasn’t expensive.

    The 13 doesn’t have a gpu. It’s capable, but if you want to game on it, look at the 16. If you have specific questions I’d be happy to answer or post a vid/pic or something.

  • something_random_tho@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I’m super picky with laptops and have a bunch. Thinkpads, Macbooks… Framework 13 AMD is my daily driver that I prefer over all of those. It runs brilliantly with NixOS. I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

  • paequ2@lemmy.today
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    29 days ago

    I currently own a Framework 13… and… after daily driving it for a year, I decided I don’t like it.

    The deal beaker for me is the high dpi display. Linux just isn’t 100% compatible with hpi displays. I’m tired of my apps either having blurry fonts or tiny text. Ironic because hi dpi displays are supposed to look better.

    With Framework, you’ll be pushed into using Fedora (it doesn’t solve all the scaling issues) or pushed to stop using apps you like because they’re using older GTK (some times there are no alternatives). You’ll also have to dive into debugging scaling issues.

    I just switched back to my Dell XPS 13 9310 FHD and it was a breath of fresh air having everything just work. Any distro, any apps, no scaling debugging, text is readable and crisp, app UI elements look properly sized.

    I only ever switched out the modular ports once, but honestly it would have been better to buy a dongle instead because that would work on any computer.

    Oh, and I tried the higher resolution screen. It didn’t fix the scaling issues.

    Oh, and, I actually had a display fail on me! After like 8 months, half the display went black. Thankfully, they were nice enough to send me a free replacement, but it definitely left me feeling like the Framework isn’t that sturdy or durable.

    The shell also dents easily. I dropped a small music player from desk height onto the top lid and it left a small dent. (I have like 3 dents on the lid.)

    Repairability is the one feature that the Framework beats everyone else on, but to me the cons outweigh the pros.

    • BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world
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      29 days ago

      I have a linux desktop with dual 4K screens and I don’t have problems with high DPI? The only problems I’ve come across is with Wine which is easly fixed within the winecfg.

      I’m on OpenSuSE, using KDE in X11. I DID have scaling problems with Wayland which I avoid until it is fit for daily use.

      Of course 4k is 4 times 1080p (or twice in X and Y dimensions) so maybe it’s much easier to scale to? 2K on the Framework is an odd resolution so maybe scaling would be more troublesome? 1080p to 1440p would be 1.3x scaling.

      • paequ2@lemmy.today
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        29 days ago

        I don’t have problems with high DPI … only problems I’ve come across is … I DID have scaling problems with Wayland

        This is exactly my point. You did have problems with high DPI. You had to fix some random config and avoid Wayland.

        I don’t want to deal with this. I want to be able to use whatever software I want and have it work with minimal or no extra “fixing”. I value this over slightly neater pixels.

        • DacoTaco@lemmy.world
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          29 days ago

          Then you shouldnt have picked wayland, period. There is a reason its still experimental. And in general, hearing you talk, im not sure linux is your thing in general. Even in linux mint i have to poke in cli once in a while…

          EDIT: as i mentioned below,i just gave it another go as i recently upgraded linux mint. Keyboard layout was stuck to us so altgr didnt work. Teams window could also not be double clicked to maximize and remote desktop via remmina was acting odd, like my mouse had shifted to the right. Desktop wallpaper was also shifted. Like i said, experimental on some systems ( in this case linux mint ) :)

          • PureTryOut@lemmy.kde.social
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            29 days ago

            Wayland hasn’t been experimental for a while. Both KDE Plasma and GNOME have defaulted to Wayland for a while now indicating it’s ready to be used. And in fact, scaling works better on Wayland than on X11 but I suppose ymmv.

  • melroy@kbin.melroy.org
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    1 month ago

    YES! Big yes. I have one as well. Very pleased with it. Be very sure you pick the new 2.8k display version. So either pick 7640U - 2.8K Display or 7840U - 2.8K Display. Which works great for Linux, WITHOUT the need of fractional scaling.

    Also be sure to pick the correct + right amount of expansion cards for your needs. 1 USB-C will be used for charging, so just saying.

      • melroy@kbin.melroy.org
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        19 days ago

        Multiple good reasons actually:

        • 2.8k version, comes with a great 2.8k display. A very high quality screen, high DPI (can be set exactly to factor 2x DPI scaling, so no fraction scaling).
        • The new screen also have improved brightness (higher brightness)
        • The 2.8k version despite the name, also has bigger battery of 61Wh compared to the 55Wh
        • You will also get the 2nd generation webcam module, which not only gives better image during day light, but also in low light conditions