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posted by hubie on Tuesday March 19 2024, @07:32PM   Printer-friendly

https://www.engadget.com/framework-laptop-16-review-modular-wonder-mediocre-gaming-laptop-150026910.html

If you're a PC hardware geek who's been dreaming of a laptop that you can upgrade far beyond the life cycle of a typical machine, Framework's modular notebooks must seem like a miracle. The American company has a straightforward pitch: What if your laptop could be nearly as customizable as a desktop, with the ability to swap components out for repairs and upgrades? What if we could put an end to disposable hardware? We were intrigued by Framework's original 13-inch notebook and its Chromebook variant, despite some rough edges and a basic design. Now, with the Framework Laptop 16, the company is targeting the most demanding and (arguably) hardest group of PC users to please: Gamers.

Framework has already proved it can build compelling modular laptops, but can the Laptop 16 cram in powerful graphics, a fast display and other components to keep up with the likes of Alienware, Razer and ASUS? Sort of, it turns out — and there are plenty of other tradeoffs for living the modular laptop dream. Hardware quirks abound, battery life is mediocre and it still looks like a totally generic machine. But how many other notebooks could let you completely upgrade your CPU or GPU in a few years? Who else offers a customizable keyboard setup? In those respects, the Framework 16 stands alone.

[...] I was genuinely bummed to discover that it was a fairly mediocre gaming machine, at least for its high price.

What do you think? Is having a laptop that you can upgrade more important than having the fastest laptop on the block? What price would you pay for being able to upgrade your hardware?


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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Freeman on Tuesday March 19 2024, @09:25PM

    by Freeman (732) on Tuesday March 19 2024, @09:25PM (#1349559) Journal

    The new Crysis is "Cyberpunk 2077": https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/framework-laptop-16-review [tomshardware.com]

    Cyberpunk 2077 was unplayable on ray tracing ultra, which we usually use for gaming laptops in this class. The Omen just passed that test, and only at 1080p. You'll have to turn the settings down for this game. Red Dead Redemption (medium settings) showed how you might do that — the Framework played the game at 60 fps at 1080p but dropped to 35 fps at 2560 x 1600.

    ^^That seems reasonable for what it is. Though, if you're looking for "top of the line gaming laptop". This isn't quite that. It got 22fps at 1080p Ultra with raytracing on Cyberpunk 2077, which is pretty unplayable. Though, you could likely get it to run smooth enough to be playable by adjusting the settings. I.E. Disabling ray-tracing alone may be enough to fix that.

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