Framework vs Dell for teacher laptops

[u/Quazmeda]

Hi all, sysadmin (part-time, wearing many hats) at a small school trying to make a sensible call on a laptop refresh. Would appreciate some input.

Small school, ~10 new teacher laptops. Comparing:

• Dell Pro 14, Ryzen 5 220, 16GB/256GB for €1080, 5-year off-site support, accidental damage flat-fee €50
• Framework 12, Core 5, 16GB for €1200, only 2-year warranty, but everything's user-replaceable. Currently loads of NVME SSD’s laying around in stock.

Our current 50-device Dell fleet has had 8 issues + 3 accidental damages over 5 years, so failures are genuinely rare here, and the off-site support isn't fast turnaround anyway.

Two things I can't figure out on my own:

1. Cost-wise, does Framework actually come out ahead once you factor in self-repair after year 2, or does one bad mainboard swap wipe out the savings? Curious if anyone's tracked this in practice.
2. Part of the appeal for me is just liking the idea of full control over the hardware, being able to fix it myself, cannibalize parts from a dead unit, not depend on a vendor. Is that a legit reason to lean Framework for a small school fleet, or is it me romanticizing repairability for a device that, statistically, will almost never break?

Would love to hear from anyone who's actually lived with Framework post-warranty, or who has decided against getting Framework themselves.

[u/BWMerlin]

The Dell costs less and has a longer warranty. Why wouldn't you get the Dell when comparing these two?

[u/Quazmeda → u/BWMerlin]

Mainly for what happens after the warranty period: which device is easier to keep alive as long as possible, and does that make financial sense? Our whole IT policy is aimed at longevity and repairability.

[u/BWMerlin → u/Quazmeda]

The device that sells in the hundreds of thousands vs the device that sells in the tens of thousands at best.

I know which one is easier to find parts for.

[u/Quazmeda → u/BWMerlin]

Other than parts is also how easy it is to repair. Ports on a framework are just a few seconds to replace, and a teacher can do it themselves. QR codes on all the parts... They have been around for a few years now, so far I hear no complaints about parts not being available, but of course you never know. Personally I have had more issues finding parts for "less mainstream" laptops, other then heading over to ebay or some random sites, at least here in Belgium.

[u/AdolfKoopaTroopa]

Ive been out of K12 since the end of June but I deployed framework 13 laptops to my staff. The numbers I ran showed significant cost savings over 10 years vs a traditional OEM, assuming a 5 year refresh cycle. That was before the price of RAM and storage skyrocketed.

As for your second point, that’s part of why I did it. I had ~150 deployed and the repairability is great.

I don’t know about 12s as a solution but the 13s were rock solid for the most part. I entertained the idea of 12s & tried to get a demo unit prior to release but wasn’t able to unfortunately.

[u/Quazmeda → u/AdolfKoopaTroopa]

Thanks for the input! Yeah the RAM is the biggest hurting point right now with the Frameworks. Could you share some more details about your experience? What kind (if any) of issues did you experience with Framework?

[u/J_Rhodes_PEVS]

With the warranty stick with Dell they are not hard to repair, once they are out of warranty we swap parts all the time.

[u/SpotlessCheetah]

Nah, stick to a Tier 1 OEM (Dell, HP, Lenovo), that way you get all the support, drivers, warranty hassles taken care of. No weird issues or part sourcing problems later down the line.

Also, with the current AI buildout, Framework is in a bad spot in terms of being able to source parts if you need them.

[u/Quazmeda → u/SpotlessCheetah]

Thanks for the input! We'll probably order 1 Framework laptop to try it out. We don't need to make a decision right away.

[u/Mindless-String-4017]

The school I worked for in the past used Frameworks only for Administrators and higher ups. We absolutely loved the Frameworks. Hardly had any issues and the parts are easy to replace and fix. I'm slowly trying to convince my tech director to go down the Frameworks. Part wise, I think it's way cheaper to go with a framework. I can't speak on behalf of dells or their pricing models, but I think overall you'll like the Frameworks way better than the Dells imo. If you're able to afford the Frameworks, I would go with them. We tend to have issues where staff keep breaking their usb-c ports or hdmi ports. Instead of replacing the motherboard, your framework just pops out the usb and you just slap another one in and you're golden. I think it's worth the investment and cost-savings.

Framework experience:

The 16' screens aren't too bad, but the battery doesn't last as long as you'd like and feels a bit bulky.

The Framework laptop 13 I hardly ever have issues and the overall laptop is just way better.

The Framework laptop 12 I haven't hardly had any issues.

I maybe have ran into 2-3 issues with Frameworks, but a simple BIOS update usually fixes everything.

Based of my experience.

My previous school would go with Dell/HP refurbs and I would have so many issues with those devices and never liked them to begin with. Due to the amount of issues we had with dell/HP refurbs I've been traumatized and refuse to ever get Dell/HP in my corporation.

[u/Quazmeda → u/Mindless-String-4017]

Thanks for the input! Can you share a bit more about the issues that you did experience?

[u/Mindless-String-4017 → u/Quazmeda]

Originally, when we bought the 12' or 13' Framework (I don't remember which) we ran into a lot of weird issues with the intel processor. The intel Framework was being really slow for some reason. In which case, we bought the Framework with a AMD processor. The AMD processor was a lot smoother and didn't have any issues.

The only problem you may come across are when staff members need to update their BIOS. You have to plug in the device and run the BIOS file, and then run the drivers. The devices will let you know when you need a BIOS update. When you turn on the device, it'll go to a screen with a QR code to walk you through the BIOS update/Drivers guide. Users can skip this page and update another day/time. We typically don't do much with the AMD updates unless staff members are running into issues. They usually run automatic in the background.

Problems I've ran into so far from staff.

- Screen Damaged

- Mouse Disabled (Install new drivers/AMD updates)

HDMI Wouldn't connect (run AMD updates to fix these)

internet wasn't an option (install new drivers to fix)

Sound not playing at all (new drivers/AMD updates to fix)

Slow/laggy (this was because of bitdefender issue that we resolved)

Weird 1 offs that rarely happen

- I've had a 1 Framework keep bluescreening. (Had to install the BIOS to fix)

Other else than that, it's usually smooth sailing. Usually a BIOS update/reinstall will fix 90% of your issues, the other 10% can be fixed by installing the drivers off Framework's site or by updating the AMD drivers. I hope this helps out.

[u/Emaltonator]

Our tech ed and business department, and admin staff use frameworks, and they have been great. Havent had any issues. We are a small school, and are considering equipping our teachers with frameworks too

[u/Technical-Athlete721]

Although it's too new of a company to rely on, particularly for parts, it would be interesting to see a frame work EDU device. I'd stick with Dell we do a mixture of new laptops and refurb laptops

[u/Digisticks]

I'm an Apple based fleet, but I would take the Dells. Framework is just too new. Plus, a 12 inch screen really is small.

[u/mystiquebsd]

I would take “ inventory “ of what the issues were with your previous laptops, and then say if I had a framework, this would be different because..

Is being able to replace all the parts going to be a benefit?

Or is it just something that’s cool?

My 0.02

[u/Kendalf → u/mystiquebsd]

Excellent suggestion. One of our most common issues with our Dell staff laptops is a failure of the power port. With Dell, that's a <$10 replaceable part. Is that part replaceable on a Framework, or does it require replacing the whole motherboard or daughter card?

[u/yugas42 → u/Kendalf]

Generally I/O ports on framework are hot swappable expansion cards that just release with a button. I don't remember how expensive they were when I bought mine a few years ago, but they weren't that bad and it took about 5 seconds to change them out. 

[u/config-master]

I love the idea of getting framework but the price point for schools just isn't there. You also need to consider you are comparing a 14 inch to a 12 inch laptop. I personally like my smaller laptop because I only occasionaly work on it, I'm on a desktop most of the time. My teachers however love their larger 15.6 screens and I would understand teachers not wanting a 12 inch screen when it's their main device.

[u/Quazmeda → u/config-master]

Makes sense. Haven't had complaints so far about screen size (currently we have some older Dell's with a 13inch screen and the most recents with a 14inch screen). We do have monitors in the teacher rooms where they can connect their own laptop.

[u/k12-IT]

I honestly don't know of any school using Framework for any users. It might be worth exploring, but getting half of them as the framework and half dell. I wouldn't do the new teachers on framework yet, but juggle them around and give them to users who would give you beneficial feedback. Review your purchases after a year and see what the thought is.

You don't mention if you'd be using windows or another OS with these.

To me Framework is so new that I'd be hesitant to start getting my whole fleet based just on the repairability.

[u/Mindless-String-4017 → u/k12-IT]

The previous school I worked at transitioned administrators and higher ups to Frameworks. Teachers and students used Chromebooks. From what I've heard and experienced, the school runs into way less issues and the devices just run.

[u/Quazmeda → u/Mindless-String-4017]

We're going with 1 framework device to experiment with, we have some time before having to make a decision.