With its Laptop 16 laptop, Framework wants to push its scalability even further than with the Laptop 13 thanks to the addition of an expansion bay located at the back of the machine.
Most laptops suffer from a lack of repairability, so let’s not even talk about upgradability. In response, the Framework brand has specialized in the design of modular machines, designed to offer greater repairability, but also greater scalability. A successful bet for the Framework Laptop 13.5 in our opinion, a portable PC whose concept we praised by giving it a score of 8 out of 10. The company now wants to push the cursor a notch higher with the Framework Laptop 16 , an even more scalable second laptop platform.
An expansion bay located at the back of the PC
Announced as part of the GDC (Game Developers Conference) 2023, the Framework Laptop 16 is presented by the brand as the “ Holy Grail for gamers, creators, and anyone who needs power, thanks to a modular upgrade “.
Concretely, the machine introduces an expansion bay located at the back which aims to better adapt the laptop to the needs of the user.
Originally, it is a cooling module that simply contains two fans. However, the user can replace it with another one. The ingenuity of the system is simple on paper: free this expansion bay from the space constraints imposed by the chassis by placing it outside of it, at the rear of the PC. Thus, in theory, nothing prevents opting for a huge module containing a powerful dedicated graphics card (“ a modular and scalable graphics card to use the company’s words) or a pair of M.2 SSDs depending on the brand.
Dedicated GPU integration that still looks tricky
To connect this “grafted” part to the PC’s motherboard, Framework uses a PCI-Express interface. Unfortunately, the company did not provide further details, including speeds.
Furthermore, we also do not know to what extent users will actually be able to integrate a dedicated AMD or NVIDIA GPU within this module. In fact, Framework does not specify whether the two companies support this project. However, this is far from being a secondary point. Remember that in the case of Macs, Radeon cards are added in the form of an MPX module.
Naturally, for everything else, modularity remains the watchword of the Framework Laptop 16. The company speaks ” a fully reconfigurable entry system “. It will be possible to replace or organize differently the three types of modules (Small, Medium and Large) that make up the machine. The user can thus place various elements such as the keyboard or the numeric keypad as they wish, or even add a second screen. Most of the modules are managed by a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller and open to developments proposed by the community.
In any case, this is a first glimpse that leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Framework will provide more information in the coming weeks when pre-orders open. The first deliveries are scheduled for the end of 2023.
Source : framework
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