cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21664063

Linux Mint and Framework Laptops Join Forces

The October 2024 edition of Linux Mint’s Monthly News brings exciting updates, including a significant announcement about collaboration with Framework Laptops, having potential to advance Mint’s compatibility with hardware designed with flexibility, repairability, and sustainability in mind.

For those unfamiliar, unlike most traditional laptops, which are often difficult or impossible to repair or upgrade, Framework laptops are built to be user-friendly, making it easy to replace or upgrade components. This modular approach extends the laptop’s lifespan and promotes sustainability by reducing e-waste.

Ok, to begin the price isn't really that much of an issue as I am willing to sacrifice it for the modularity. However, the reason I'm into such a modular laptop in the first place is that I am comically clumsy and have horrible luck with technology. For example, I dropped my ThinkPad T450 at the perfect spot for its screen to get decimated. I know repair is an option, but the outdated and nonupgradeable i5-5300U made a newer laptop sound reasonable. My past with laptops is not something I am willing to discuss as of right now, I will be getting a new laptop. However, I have heard concerns about the durability of the FW16 being concerningly bad, but I've also read that the materials (on paper) should be able to withstand most of the trials my clumsiness would put it through, one of the simpler requirements being able to withstand a drop from table height with no visible damage. This is concerning as I'm aiming for a laptop I wont have to replace for a long time, similarly to the P151HM1 I used until 2019, for over 10 years, so durability is a large factor and the modularity serves in case the laptop ends up breaking (which it will, but it is in my interest to minimise how often it does so). The trick feature, that being the swappable GPU really only takes second place for me as I have a well-specced gaming PC capable of fulfilling that role. My primary factors are modularity, durability and CPU power, which is why I'm making this post: I'm concerned about the durability. I really only care about build quality as a factor of durability, I don't need perfect spacer gaps or similar. I'm not willing to get a smaller laptop (see: Framework 13) because I'm interested in the higher computing capacity a 16 inch frame offers for future upgrades (e.g. dGPU, dual NVMEs, 96GB RAM, etc.). Battery life isn't too much of a concern either, as I'm aiming for a more "dock rider" oriented laptop so I'd need maybe 3 hours of light CPU use.

Almost scored a @framework mainboard for a great price on eBay and someone sniped it out from under me at the last second..

Most important part (to me):

Also in October, we’re expanding shipments to our next set of countries, Croatia, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Before the end of the year, we’ll also be opening shipping to Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania, which gets Framework Laptops to all of the EU.

Hi there, I've been wanting a framework for awhile now, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. I was perusing the website today, comparing the price and performance of different configurations, when I realized that the 16 needs a 100w power adapter, 180w if you've got the graphics card.

This is a dumb question, because obviously it would charge fine with the lid closed and idling or turned off. Or I could just upgrade my power adapters. But I have a lot of 65w USB C PD chargers in my house and cars, and I was wondering if anyone has tried using them, and if so how effective is it?

Like, 180w is a lot of power. If I'm just working on spreadsheets or something, I'm imagining it would charge just fine? Under a heavier load I would probably start to slip backwards? Where's the line? Movie watching? Light gaming?

Just food for discussion I guess, I still haven't pulled the trigger haha.

Thanks!

I've been using a Framework 13 laptop as my main/only computer for a little over 18 months now.

This is essentially a very personal review. I've broken it down into a summary of My Framework, a short Laptop Autobiography, then The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The Rest. If you're impatient then skip to the end with the Bottom Line.

...

Where I'm critical of Framework in this post it's not because I want them to fail. They're a hardware startup that's proven their ability to ship good products, and I know how crushingly tough that is. I'm hopeful that they'll continue to grow into a mature hardware company with a strong maintenance track record, and demonstrated mature in-house development processes. I hope in a few years to write a follow-up post with even more "Good" points and barely a concern.

In the meantime, I'd encourage almost everyone to consider a Framework for their next laptop - but first read up on whatever features matter most for you.

It makes more sense to me to have the switches appear as red when the device has the ability to record you. When color is used as an indicator for something, the general convention is that red is negative. Meaning that there is a greater possibility of something going wrong when a red indicator is being displayed. You could argue that "webcam is not working for some reason" is a negative, and that seeing the bright red indicator can bring your attention to the switch as a hint to how to fix the issue. I would argue against that by stating that having a webcam record you when you do not want it to is a much bigger potential negative than the webcam not recording when you do want it to.

Also:

• When a traditional video camera displays a red indicator light, that means the camera is recording.
• On the underside of the Framework 16, the expansion module latches are red when disengaged

When placing a Framework 13 on top of another Framework 13 laptop, the screen will turn off. How come?

I am a noob. I am wondering: are there security issues with buying a second hand Framework laptop (I cannot really afford a new one)?

I am thinking here specifically of people having loaded malicious BIOS or put in extra chips to do…”bad things”…

Im looking for an internal usba plug thing for a wireless mouse. I have access to a 3d printer and am wondering if there is some pcb design i can send off to one of those Chinese manufacturers with a parts list.

Will I need to clean out dust. How would I do this? How often would I need to do this? Are there any good tutorials on how this would be done?

the new 2880 x 1920 just arrived and I'm not sure what to do with the old screen. I'm aware of plenty of software options I could use, but I don't know how to hook this old display up to something with a CPU (or what search for). advice?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ndlug.org/post/1014937

I recently spent some time with the Framework 13 laptop, evaluating it with the new Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and the AMD Ryzen 7 7480U. It felt like the perfect opportunity to test how a handful of games ran on Windows 11 and Fedora 40. I was genuinely surprised by the results!

...

The Framework 13 is perfectly capable of gaming even with its integrated graphics, provided you’re willing to compromise by lowering the resolution and quality presets for more demanding games. (It’s also a testament to how far AMD’s APUs have come in the past decade.)

Summary of results:

• Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Linux wins
• Total War: Warhammer III: Windows wins
• Cyberpunk 2077: Linux wins
• Forza Horizon 5: Windows wins

These results are an interesting slice of the Linux vs Windows gaming picture, but certainly not representative of the entire landscape. A few shorts years ago, however, I never would have dreamed I’d be writing an article where even two games on Linux are outperforming their Windows counterparts.

Archived Link

I’ve just ordered a Framework 13 at work to test out and I was wondering if anyone else had any experience using Framework in a business?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18838538

Wuuttup. I'm here complaining again about Framework's Linux unfriendly display. The new one this time.

https://frame.work/products/display-kit?v=FRANJF0001

Old display, 2256 x 1504 (3:2)

GNOME

100% scale

• Nothing looks blurry
• Everything is tiny
• Unusable

100% scale + large text accessibility

• Nothing looks blurry
• Most apps scale appropriately
• Some apps don’t respect GNOME’s large text setting (Alacritty)

125% scale

• Most apps look blurry (Picard, Firefox, Spotify, Alacritty)

200% scale

• Everything is way too big
• Unusable

Plasma

100% scale

• Nothing looks blurry
• Everything is tiny
• Unusable

125% scale + Apply scaling themselves

• Nothing looks blurry
• Most apps scale appropriate
• Some apps can’t scale themselves and look tiny (Picard)

125% scale + Scaled by system

• Most apps look blurry (Picard, Firefox, Spotify, Alacritty)

200% scale

• Everything is way too big
• Unusable

New display, 2880 x 1920 (3:2)

GNOME

100% scale

• Nothing looks blurry
• Everything is tiny
• Unusable

100% scale + large text accessibility

• Nothing looks blurry
• Most apps scale appropriately
• Some apps don’t respect GNOME’s large text setting (Alacritty)
• Everything is tiny

150% scale

• Most apps look blurry (Picard, Firefox, Spotify, Alacritty)

200% scale

• Everything is way too big
• Unusable

Plasma

100% scale

• Nothing looks blurry
• Everything is tiny
• Unusable

150% scale + Apply scaling themselves

• Nothing looks blurry
• Some apps can’t scale themselves, but look a little better here? (Picard)

150% scale + Scaled by system

• Most apps look blurry (Picard, Firefox, Spotify, Alacritty)

200% scale

• Everything is way too big
• Unusable

tl;dr

In the old display, GNOME at 100% + large text was the best compromise. In the new display, Plasma at 150% + Apply scaling themselves is the best compromise.

Interestingly, Picard scaling itself looks super tiny in the old display, but in the new display it looks... better. It's still not correctly scaled like native Wayland apps, but it's better.

Warning

If you can't stomach moving from GNOME to Plasma, then 🚨 DO NOT BUY THE NEW DISPLAY 🚨. The new display is worse for GNOME.

Once again

I am once again begging Framework to just give us a damn regular DPI display that works! Without workarounds. Without forcing users on specific DEs. Without forcing users to stop using their favorite apps. This new display has basically all of the flaws as the previous one.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18608554

Hi, I was thinking of getting a Framework 13 and putting Linux on it.

So I was looking at the Ubuntu installation instructions and it says a "Storage Expansion Card" is required to install. I click "view" to see what that is, and the item page says it's a 250GB Type. The URL provided goes to a dead link, but I think that means a "250GB (2nd Gen) Storage Expansion Card" for $45 on the configuration page. I've installed Ubuntu before, but I just used a plain USB stick, and the instructions aren't clear on whether that's enough or whether I need to use their specific drive for some reason.

So my question is: when I'm configuring a Framework 13, do I need to add a 250GB expansion card, or can I just use a USB stick that I already have (to install Ubuntu)? Thanks.

I recently got my framework 16 and took off my trackpad to inspect what could be causing it to stick up and saw this. Compared to the other side, the plastic here doesn't look straight and plastic is deformed by the metal. Is this something fixable or would I need to buy a new midplate?

I'm curious about when we might see the next AMD refresh for the Framework Laptop 13. The current top-spec option is the Ryzen 7 7840U, which was introduced in early 2023 and started shipping in Q3 2023. Given AMD's latest offerings and Framework's history of timely updates, soon we might expect to see a new mainboard featuring AMD's newer CPUs, like those from the Ryzen 8040 series or the upcoming Ryzen 9000 series.

• Ryzen 7 7840U:
  • Architecture: Zen 4
  • Cores/Threads: 8/16
  • Base/Boost Clock: 3.3 GHz / 5.1 GHz
  • TDP: 15-28W
  • Integrated GPU: Radeon 780M

Potential New CPUs:

• Ryzen 8040 Series: Higher base and boost clocks, improved power efficiency, and enhanced RDNA 2 or RDNA 3 integrated graphics.
• Ryzen 9000 Series: Zen 5 architecture, up to 16 cores and 32 threads, improved AI processing capabilities, and better power efficiency.

Framework has consistently updated its laptops with the latest Intel and AMD CPUs, so it seems we might be due for a refresh soon.

What are your expectations for the next AMD mainboard refresh?

I have not been able to notice a pattern as to why/when this happens. But after the black screen for a few seconds, it comes back to the login page.

I've updated the bios to the newest version with no success, would love some assistance at least debugging this. This is my relevant system information:

Currently looking at a DIY AMD 7640U, 1x16GB RAM, 250GB storage, 1 USB-C, 2 USB-A, 1 HDMI.

My use case will mostly entail note taking in class. I've got a built PC at home.

But I'm not a hardware guy, would I be better served w/ different CPU or RAM set up in your opinions? I've mostly picked bottom tier specs but is there anything in your opinions that is worth splurging on, all things considered?

Preorders are fulfilled, it’s now on sale — is it better?