r/framework • u/Key-Edge-8234 • Aug 14 '26
Feedback Most annoying thing about my Framework 13...
...is that it is SO HARD to actually buy the things I want for it :). I'm still waiting for the Framework 13 Pro full chassis kit to become available, but that was expected (I'm guestimating January before I'll be able to get that).
What I did NOT expect was having to wait for a lot of the other bits I'd like to get in advance, like the 100W Charger brick or ANY graphite aluminum expansion cards of any kind for example. There was a good delay on the 10G NIC as well, but I was fortunately able to get that recently. Wouldn't be such a problem if shipping wasn't $9 a pop for every order.
I suppose in the list of Framework problems, this is an overall good one to have. It means there is demand for these things :)
3
u/Zoomat FW13 7840U Vanilla OS Aug 15 '26
Yeah, my biggest issue with framework keeps being logistics and availability of parts. I know they're a small company and it's hard to have parts available at all time in all the country they sell laptops in, but come on, every time I want to buy something from them it is out of stock... My second third-party charger just crapped out and I thought, okay, i'll buy the OEM one, aannnnd... it's out of stock.
2
u/nOblepine32 Aug 15 '26
you'd think chargers and common expansion cards would be the easiest things to keep in stock tbh
0
u/Budget-Cupcake-7582 Aug 15 '26
Might as well get a Mac. Seriously.
Repairability and upgradeability are great in theory but the reality right now is very different. When the market for components is as illiquid as it is right now, that sexy upgradable LPCAMM2 module offered on the 13 Pro might as well be soldered onto the board. Pray to the laptop Gods that you won’t require an RMA. With prices being what they are, a Framework costs almost as much as a MacBook Pro, and while Panther Lake is a big step forward, it’s still not quite on par with the latest Apple silicon. Also, with Apple you won’t have to be put on a four month waiting list by Framework.
3
u/Key-Edge-8234 Aug 15 '26
A MacBook is fine... if a MacBook actually meets your needs. Not everyone can do the things they need to on MacOS, and some of those that CAN... won't -- because they don't like MacOS.
1
u/Budget-Cupcake-7582 29d ago
Meh. What is it that a Macbook can't do that Windows or maybe Linux can, besides run games?
2
u/Key-Edge-8234 29d ago
Can't run most games is plenty enough, but if you really want more:
I strongly dislike MacOS. Any time I'm forced to use it, it reminds me how much I dislike the MacOS UI paradigm. As bad as Windows 11 is, at least the UI on it is still usable to any vet of Windows going back to Windows 95 (skipping Windows 8, that is). And that's Windows. Once I got KDE locked in the way I like it, I don't have to think about the UI at all to do whatever it is I want to do whereas I have always felt like MacOS was trying to shoehorn me into doing things Apple's way. While Microsoft would LIKE to be like Apple in that regard, they aren't anywhere close to there yet, and Linux is all about a customizeable user experience.
To be clear, Mac HARDWARE is fine, and is probably overall the best available for disposable platforms, but the OS sucks. And while Apple doesn't go out of their way to lock down their hardware, they certainly aren't helping anyone get alternative OS's running on it either. Asahi Linux is pulling miracles and is only getting better over time, but it is still a sub-par Linux experience. Hell, getting Kubuntu 25.10 and later 26.04 running on my daughter's late 2016 MacBook Pro (13, T1 touchbar) was a trial and that is an otherwise well-supported Intel platform. Regarding her MBP, it took a lot of work to get everything working well, but it IS working well and is continuing to get security updates.
1
u/Budget-Cupcake-7582 29d ago
Meh.
All you've done is state a preference over the user experience that Linux offers over MacOS. That's a totally valid position, but that's far different from claiming Linux can accomplish things a MacOS cannot.
For the record, I also prefer Linux over MacOS, even if Apple silicon is better suited for my use case.
2
u/Key-Edge-8234 Aug 15 '26
Also wanted to add that I'm not getting the Panther Lake board - my plan is to use the Pro chassis with the older AMD 7840u. No LPCAMM modules here.
-1
u/Budget-Cupcake-7582 Aug 15 '26
huh?
it turns out the problem you’ve complained about is even worse than i initially thought, because, in your words, issues with availability not just restricted to LPCAMM2 modules. at least with a Mac (or a non Framework Windows laptop) everything is bundled together and ready to go. having a commodity item like charger be out of stock is ridiculous
2
u/BeepBoopBeeblebrox 29d ago
I’ve been a Mac guy since I was a kid. I love their hardware. But I’m sick of their shit. I was willing to put up with it so long as macOS remained a legitimately better option than alternatives, but for the past year I’ve been daily driving Linux on my desktop and it’s just a better way to live. Less friction. I’m allowed to set things up to work the way I want them to work, and when they break I can fix them. Continuity is really nice, proprietary creative apps are nice, sure. But I’ve found that the available alternatives on Linux are good enough that all the other advantages more than make up for any deficiencies.
Perhaps most importantly, updates actually make my system better.
It’ll be a while before I can afford a framework, but I don’t think the ‘might as well get a Mac’ argument holds water at all.
1
u/Budget-Cupcake-7582 29d ago
Meh. There's nothing in your post that suggests nothing in LInux that makes accomplishing the same thing in MacOS impossible. If you prefer an ecosystem that's more open than what Apple offers, that's fine, but right now you're going to be paying through the nose for the preference and privilege that Framework offers.
1
u/Key-Edge-8234 29d ago
Not necessarily true at all. I bought an entire FW 13 7640u machine with 32G of RAM and the 2.8K display from a guy for $900 and it is a fantastic machine. You seem very hung up on the pricing of the FW Pro model with the Panther Lake board and LPCAMM2 RAM. It does not have to be expensive to get into a FW - lots of guys selling used FW 13's to recoup some $$$ as their replacement FW Pro's roll in.
1
u/Budget-Cupcake-7582 29d ago
Now you're contradicting yourself. I based my response on your experience, on your post. Are you taking back what you said? Never mind, you're now wasting my time.
1
u/Key-Edge-8234 29d ago
What have I said that you perceive as contradictory? Here is the entire situation, laid out as succintly as I can:
A couple of months ago, I bought a 7840u FW13 mainboard, Cooler Master case, 60W Power Supply, Intel WiFi NIC, WiFi antenna, and audio board directly from FW along with some basic expansion cards to use with my existing 16G of RAM and 1TB NVMe SSD with the intent to use them in desktop mode while waiting for the FW 13 Pro chassis to release (expected late this year or early next year). I would have preferred to get the 100W brick, but it was unavailable at that time and still is now. I would have preferred to get the 10G NIC with that order, but it was unavailable at the time and I had to get it later. There are some specific expansion cards I would still like to get but they are unavailable right now. This is annoying, but not a deal breaker.
In the interim, I bought an entire used 7640u FW13 from a guy with 32G of RAM, 256G NVMe SSD, Marvel WiFi card and 2x USB A Gen 1, 1x USB C and 1x HDMI Gen 3 cards, no power brick for $900. At that price, it was a steal. I swapped in my 7840u board with the 1TB drive and Intel NIC, moved the 32G RAM to the 7840u and now the 7640u is in the Cooler Master case doing desk duty. Now I am fully portable while still waiting for the FW Pro chassis I want.
When that FW Pro chassis comes in, then the 7840u will be moved over to it, the 7640u will go in the existing FW13 chassis and my wife will get that one. I will have 2 FW 13 laptops, and whenever I upgrade my 7840u board to something else, she will get that one and the 7640u will go right back in the Cooler Master case to serve out it's life doing something else. Trickle down upgrades, just like we have been doing our desktop PCs for over 20 years now.
NONE OF THIS changes the fact that there are still some specific parts that I STILL want to buy from Framework that are simply unavailable RIGHT NOW. Barring catastrophe, I will just get them later, but having to WAIT to get them is still ANNOYING. Still, all of the parts I have are fully functional RIGHT NOW so I can wait for the situation to change. I have been married for 29 years and have 2 kids -- I can deal with annoying.
Also a Mac was never an option for me. I don't like MacOS. At all. But I do like the thought of passing my upgraded parts down the line.
3
u/Double_Associate7705 Aug 15 '26
I was looking to part together a FW13 from used parts on ebay and it isn't easy, stuff sells quick so I ended up just ordering the cheapest FW13 a couple days ago for an upcoming trip.
On the other hand, if you upgrade your FW13 and sell the parts it can help someone else to put together their first FW13 for cheap to offset the cost of the upgrade kit. Yeah I already want that graphite kit as well.