i got a framework 13 and i'm gonna do the same thing i did with the steam deck and write a Post™ about it
tl;dr: i like it
so, first off, what did i get, exactly?
Framework Computer Inc. is a computer manufacturer whose primary selling point is that they make computers that can be easily upgraded or repaired by the end user. everything is modularised and replaceable. this includes the motherboard, and they recently announced a case that allows you to run an older motherboard as a second computer.
i got a Framework 13 laptop (13" screen, 3:2 aspect ratio) with an intel 13th gen. 1360P processor, and zero bytes of ram and ssd (because it was cheaper to buy 64gb of ram and a 1tb ssd on amazon separately lol)
shipping
shipping was surprisingly fast once it dispatched. it went out via FedEx Direct Distribution service, which meant no concerns about customs fees. it went from the country of taiwan to the philippines, then to hong kong, then to france, then to england, then to scotland. it sat in edinburgh until monday because the delivery service didn't include weekend deliveries, which killed me dead. i'm a ghost now.delivery
it arrived just fine, and was very well-packed. not much wasted space in the box (but the box that contains the screwdriver and some of the usb-c modules had a lot of empty space for the ram and ssd i didn't order.. they really could've made better use of that space)assembly
because i ordered it DIY, the screen and keyboard were supplied in separate boxes and had to be assembled - this was fine and cool, and i didn't at any point feel like i needed to look up instructions (though i am Very Computer). everything fit pretty nicely, there's no irritating gaps or anything.installation
this was the first part i had any issues at. windows 11 is a fucking travesty of anti-consumer bullshit, so i stuck with windows 10 (which is also pretty user-hostile but much more bearable). installation was fine, but after it booted, there was no wifi. i'd read on the framework forums that this was because intel's 13th gen processors don't support windows 10, but this was a Lie. intel's own website says it supports windows 10 on everything, so i downloaded, extracted and copied the framework driver bundle* to a usb drive.* an aside about the framework driver bundle
the framework driver bundle is a self-extracting exe that just runs a batch script which runs all the driver installers in a certain sequence. this is fine, but: it installs all the intel management engine shit, which i'd rather not intentionally have, so i extracted it beforehand and just ran the installers manually in the same order, and skipped the ones i didn't want.where i get annoyed is that framework listed this driver bundle as windows 11 only, when there's nothing windows 11-exclusive about it. i don't know why and i don't like that.
after getting On-Line, it was just the normal windows 10 setup experience (uninstall all the shitware MS preload, install all available updates, reboot, uninstall all the new shitware it downloaded, uninstall all the optional features i don't want, install the optional features i do want, reboot, install all the windows updates that appeared, reboot, uninstall the new shitware, etc etc).
thoughts so far
it's a nice computer! expensive but probably worth it in the long run. the fingerprint reader is a little quicker than windows hello face recognition (although hello face is still my preferred way to log on) and it's nice to have a fingerprint experience on windows that doesn't suck.the keyboard is nice to type on (but i wish it had a context menu key) and the trackpad feels good (but suffers from the same problem all trackpads without physical buttons have - it's harder to click on the top half of the trackpad than the bottom) (also it's a little too big and i have palm rejection issues, but this is also the case on my work macbook pro).
performance-wise it's very snappy. vivaldi is nice and responsive all the time, powershell/windows terminal open quickly, etc. i'm finishing up this post on The Device Itself and yep it sure can display cohost just fine lol.