my thoughts on the framework laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen 5 7640U) after using it for 5 months

big post upcoming (but please read! this post cost me $1400)

here's my experience after using the framework laptop 13 for 5 months:

• it’s built for customization:

  • it’s great for those who want to build their own laptop and screw around with hardware.

• it has great performance:

  • it was a significant jump compared to my previous laptop.

  • it can run lightweight AI apps like chat bots and voice recognition models smoothly.

  • it handles Minecraft at really good frame rates (to me) (1200+ FPS without shaders, 130 FPS with ProjectLuma shaders). I also play some other games like Cities: Skylines and more using Proton, and getting 60+ FPS playing those.

  • it runs Virtual Machines (VMs) without performance drops while multitasking.

• my thoughts on switching to Linux:

  • i’ve switched to Ubuntu 22.04 and I’ve loved! I have no regrets and no plans to switch distros.

  • my transition was smooth thanks to my prior experience on my Raspberry Pi, home server, and VPS.

• it’s great for my workflow:

  • it handles demanding tasks like programming with 300+ Firefox tabs, multiple VSCodium windows, Spotify, Discord, etc. without becoming sluggish, at all.

  • it’s great for schoolwork on multiple monitors.

  • i wrote code (in Bash utilizing ectool) to control keyboard lights – it was a fun learning experience! :)

• battery life:

  • it’s decent at around 5-6 hours unplugged during use. not a big deal since i mostly keep it plugged in at my desk with battery charge limiting enabled to 80%, so i don’t kill my battery.

• my specs:

  • 1TB internal m.2 SSD

  • 250GB external expansion card (backups)

  • AMD Ryzen 5 7640U mainboard

  • 32GB RAM (16x2)

  • green bezel (because why not?)

  • the Framework’s open source design lets me potentially design my own expansion cards with my (admittedly limited) PCB skills (more about this soon :D) in the future.

overall, the framework laptop 13 has been a great experience! it's certainly a powerful & customizable machine which, in my opinion, is perfect for developers and power users. if you’re thinking of getting one, I would 10/10 recommend.