Hello fellows,
I’m currently looking in 13-14" laptops with no immediate needs for one but just because it’s exciting. I love my Dell XPS but I feel I should support companies with which I share more common views. I could make the effort to go a with a less attractive look (especially for bezels) but I don’t want to go wrong with hardware so what are your thoughts on Framework, Starlab, Purism, and System76? I’ll be running Arch and I tend to have a preference for Framework for now.
Do you have feedback (positive and negative) to share on any of these companies?
Thanks for the knowledge you’ll bring me. That’ll be extremely useful when time comes to go with a new machine.
Update 1: Still wonderful to be part of such a great community. Thanks for all the great feedback (looking for more :) ).
So far everyone is standing behind Framework. Anyone with a less positive experience or who would like to speak for the other companies?
Update 2: Thank you fellows for the time you’ve spent to share your honest feedback! I didn’t want to influence your inputs but you all confirmed the Framework picture I had in mind. It’s a piece of mind to read real world experience so thanks again. I was surprised to not see the system76 community speaks louder. Anyway, when time comes I will (virtually) push Framework shop’s door.
And the company has been ultra-transparent about any issues so far.
Also all the spare parts are available straight from Framework and especially the consumables are cheo.
So far this is really what makes me leaning toward Framework. But you know, when something seems too good to be true… If Framework is as perfect as it seems to be I can’t wait for the need of a new laptop :D
The only thing that I’ve seen is Framework’s customer service is unbelievably fantastic–until it’s not. They had some deceptive marketing on their SSD modules, which they marketed as being useful for booting an OS on, but then later said on their forums that they weren’t designed to be used that way.
The average customer won’t have any issues, but every once in a while a customer reports feeling burned because they had persistent issues that Framework was unable to solve. After RMAing a number of times their support tells you to pound sand.
It’s terrible because it’s great and I just can’t shake the feeling that there’s an investor lurking somewhere, waiting for the right moment to jack up the profit margins, fucking up an extremely nice thing. If Framework ever goes public, that’ll probably be the beginning of it getting worse.
That would be another terrible story about a great idea turning into BS for profit only. Fingers crossed that it won’t happen.
The bad thing is that it’s way more expensive than similar specs on another laptop. The other option doesn’t have all the fancies of repairsbility and replacement but it’s also way cheaper.
Is it way more expensive? I thought it’s at a similar price level to the comparable laptops like XPS 13 and X1 Carbon.
Looked just now, XPS 13 starts at CAD $1350, and the Framework 13 starts at CAD $1420. Both have similar specs.
Well, this is an example, decent amd processor and graphics card for some gaming, in spain. I know that it’s Intel and nvidia, but I spent like 5 minutes tops searching, I’m sure there are better deals. Acer is not a shitty brand, and for 1600€ the framework 16 costs minimum 1600, if we add the same amount of ram and storage it goes
up to 1800, without a graphic cardI found the place where you add the card. Similar specs, add some usbc ports, audio ports, ethernet, hdmi… 2500€. It’s 900€ more expensive. I won’t even consider it.Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 - Ordenador Portátil Gaming 16" HD 4K - 165 Hz (Intel Core i9-13900HX, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, Sin SO) Color Negro - Teclado QWERTY Español https://amzn.eu/d/6XMYkh4
The 16 has a bit higher delta indeed, but also it’s more difficult to pinpoint its comparables because it’s got more significant differences than other workstation or gaming laptops. The modular GPU expansion system is a very significant factor in my book. If you’re buying a purely gaming laptop today, the GPU is a self-obsoleting factor. It may or may not run what you want to play 3-4 years down the road. At that point you’d have to spend another €1600 for a new Acer. That’s how we’ve always done things, business as usual. On the other hand a new Framework GPU module might run you another €500 and you don’t have to deal with reinstalling, restoring, etc. I’d personally choose the upgrade path every time, if I have the choice. The last laptop I had prior to buying a Framework 13 was a ThinkPad T430s built in 2012. I’ve upgraded its RAM, storage and replaced its battery and keyboard, till I decommissioned it in 2021.
I don’t really understand why is such an amazing thing though, right now they only have 1 option and in 4-5 years I’ll probably buy a new one and pass on mine to someone in the family. I guess that if your plan is to maintain it for 10 years it might make sense, but besides storage, I would replace everything in 4 years anyway (and storage specifically can be upgraded in laptops quite easily).
Again, it’s cool that they offer the option, its just way too expensive for me for what I would use it.
If you don’t plan to keep it beyond 4-5 years, then from purely financial perspective something like the Acer makes more sense.
Check the outlet online. Refurb parts and whole laptops for a nice discount. No sense in buying one brand at this point since the core components are a bit behind from the initial development and release cycles getting worked out.
I’m not yet in need for a laptop but I’ll definitely check the outlet. With the replacement parts it can also be another advantage where you may be able to buy a laptop and replace what you need still for a good price.
That’s the entire point of the Framework platform.