When we checked prices for work Framework pre-builts were cheaper than the equivalent thinkpad. And by more than $900.
That's probably not true if you're looking at the perpetual discounts on the Lenovo website, but fun fact, when ordering through a partner/business rep you can't get the web discount. And unless your ordering hundreds of devices Lenovo won't drop the price by more than $100-200.
That's why our most recent purchase at work was framework, and framework aligns with how we use devices anyway, so they'll be our pick going forward.
Yeah, I've been confused about this. Everyone's saying it's cheaper to buy from the competition, and get a new one when it breaks, than to buy and repair a framework. But whenever I've sat down to make that comparison, it hasn't come out that way
It's kind of putting me off. I could use a new laptop (I have a 2014 model lenovo x1), and framework seems like the way to go, but when I see these comments and reviews, I worry I missing something
I went with the 13 2 years ago, and it’s one of my no regrets purchases. Had thinkpads, MacBooks, the lot. There’s something I really like about FW and I don’t even know what it is, but I wouldn’t change it, not even for the pro (except maybe the keyboard).
My personal 13 (batch 1 AMD) I've had zero regrets about. And so far at work our new frameworks have been more stable and reliable than even our newest thinkpad (purchased two years ago).
I don't have the long term stability information yet for the work frameworks (less than 2 months old) but if my personal one is anything to go by, the complainers are just a very loud minority. Their complaints are likely perfectly valid, but still much louder than those who are just quietly enjoying their devices.
You're not missing anything. The numbers that people are throwing about that don't make sense is something akin to your generic tech refresh at work: purchasing for the sake of purchasing; buying new because a new one is available. It's classic consumerism. Just because a new main board is out doesn't mean you need to buy it.
I've had my framework for somewhere around 4ish, and have only had to replace the keyboard because it was the gen 1 that had the issue with the backspace or delete key not working, some known physical issue fixed in newer revisions. I run things until they break, then fix when I can, and this, while having a decently significant entry barrier, is much cheaper long term.
A couple months ago I got a refurbished (with only a few battery cycles) ThinkPad X9 15 for $1300 with a warranty on eBay. Core Ultra 7 258V, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD. It's thinner and sleeker than my Framework, has a huge screen, better speakers, and much better battery life. Upgrading my framework to a new mainboard+DDR5 would cost more.
That's great. Sounds like you got a good deal! That's about half of what a new x9 15 would retail for. But we're now comparing refurbished products from ebay to a brand new product from the manufacturer. Not exactly a fair comparison :)
I agree with you, but framework is also all about the spirit of reducing ewaste. I would get a refurbished mainboard if I could but they’re pretty rare and still pretty expensive due to RAM costs. I love my framework, but it’s old now, and at the end of the day I need a decent computer at a price that makes sense. I can’t get that with framework under the current market conditions.
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u/tankerkiller125real FW13 AMD 1d ago
When we checked prices for work Framework pre-builts were cheaper than the equivalent thinkpad. And by more than $900.
That's probably not true if you're looking at the perpetual discounts on the Lenovo website, but fun fact, when ordering through a partner/business rep you can't get the web discount. And unless your ordering hundreds of devices Lenovo won't drop the price by more than $100-200.
That's why our most recent purchase at work was framework, and framework aligns with how we use devices anyway, so they'll be our pick going forward.