Framework 13 AMD Edition Unboxing & Linux Installation Review

[@LinuxBTW]

Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:03 - Framework 13 overview (repairable, modular) 0:22 - Unboxing the Framework 13 0:26 - Input cover kit 0:44 - DIY Edition top cover and assembly 1:00 - Arrow key layout and glass touchpad 1:23 - Magnetic bezel unboxing 2:05 - First impressions of the laptop body 2:20 - Customizing ports (USB, Ethernet, DisplayPort) 2:38 - 60W power adapter 3:12 - Installing 64 GB of DDR5 RAM 3:50 - Installing the Western Digital 2TB NVMe drive 5:01 - Memory and SSD installation complete 6:11 - Attaching the bezel (magnetic) 7:16 - Snapping on the top case 7:49 - Screwing in the assembly 8:11 - Installing modular ports 8:30 - USB-C and Ethernet installation 9:18 - DisplayPort adapter installation 9:32 - Ports and connectors overview 9:47 - First impressions of the trackpad and keyboard 10:01 - Powering up the laptop for the first time 10:03 - BIOS screen (missing boot device) 10:31 - Checking BIOS settings 10:47 - System info: AMD Ryzen 7 7840U and Radeon 780M 11:02 - Booting Linux (Ubuntu 20404 Beta) 11:23 - Webcam and mic physical switches 11:42 - Ubuntu installation impressions 12:13 - Moving to Fedora 39 for Linux testing 12:28 - Fedora splash screen and installation 12:36 - Checking AMD Graphics compatibility 12:41 - Working hardware (brightness and sound keys) 13:12 - Fedora installation complete, rebooting 13:25 - First boot into Fedora 39 13:41 - Wi-Fi and CPU thread overview 14:00 - Checking CPU performance and dual-channel RAM 14:37 - Updating firmware directly through Linux 15:11 - BIOS update progress 16:01 - Discussion of the AMD chip's efficiency 16:18 - Framework BIOS updates and fixes 17:01 - Fingerprint reader test and setup 17:46 - Webcam and hardware switch test 18:15 - Recording through the Framework webcam 19:15 - Running Chrome browser speedometer test (high score of 366) 19:42 - Performance profile and battery life overview 20:42 - Testing suspend and resume functionality 21:11 - Wrapping up: Overall impressions of Framework 13 AMD Edition 22:13 - Final verdict: Build quality, modularity, and Linux compatibility

[@the_derpler]

Man that microphone is rough.

[@T0DD]

it's bizarre because I know for a fact it sounds better, having seen other people's reviews

[@danielarroyo9196]

It's a bug on Linux sometimes it bumps the mic volume all the way up on startup haha

[@yaroslav7328]

Thanks for this video. Great Linux compatible device. And this channel definitely deserves many more subscribes!

[@Shwed1982]

Having this exact laptop for a month I have to say its the best apple alternative I have had and Im definitely with frameworks for the next years. ❤

[@joshuawalls8697]

Maybe I missed it in the video, but did you actually do a battery test? You pointed out what it said it had left but those typically aren't accurate. Did you run any full battery tests to give us a realistic battery life estimation? Thats a big determining factor for me between this and System76 Darter Pro currently.

[@peter_de_Jong817]

Love the audio, keep it up

[@trza100]

Wow this is really great. I think I am falling for Framework

[@maxtornogood]

It feels solid & I enjoy using mine, running Fedora 40! 😄

[@LorenzoBettini]

Thank you for the great video! Can you please tell us about the weight and the battery life in general (if you had time experimenting with that)?

[@birrextio6544]

Can Linux read the fan sensors of that Framework machine? It was very long time ago since I had a motherboard that gave fan speed in GKrellm and sensors scripts.

[@TheBrian7872]

How would you compare it to your Lemur? From a user perspective, feel, performance..

[@RichardJActon]

I don't have a lemur for comparison but I've got a last gen pangolin and the framework's fit and finish is far better than the clevo chasis that system76 and most other linux laptop makers use, much nicer more premium feel to the device.

[@frankhuurman3955]

Would love to know your thoughts on battery life (especially since AMD has a big power drain during video playback). How much are you getting out of it? If it's comparable to the 8 hours I get on my 3,5 year old Lenovo yoga slim then the FW13 is definitely my next laptop.

[@LinuxBTW]

I end up using mine almost entirely plugged in but there is a great thread with a bunch of different operating systems and real world results on the Framework forums: community.frame.work/t/real-world-battery-life-experience-fw13-amd/39112/46

[@ultraprimez]

How Does Open Suse 15 work in this ?

[@deenbrownel]

Does the CPU turbo differently with no power connected?

[@Winnetou17]

Whoa, 29 likes on the video already! This was a nice show, more on the install part, less on benchmarks and tests. I can't wait for Framework to ship with Intel's 15 gen. Both Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake. I hope Framework will have at least one of them in their models. I can see that they skipped Meteor Lake (aka 14th gen). For me, ideally, I'd have an 18" desktop replacement. With 4 sticks of RAM, hopefully running at 6000 MT/s, but for 128 GB it seems that not even desktop computers can have that. DDR5 is weird. Anyway, I can't wait to see more stuff from Framework. Their Framework 16 seems like it's strunggling a bit, having only AMD option and being quite expensive. But they showed with Framework 13 that they deliver on their promises.

[@steveellsworth2547]

I saw you booted up with Ubuntu. Did the brightness and sound keys work with Ubuntu?

[@RichardJActon]

Ubuntu is one of their officially supported distros - so yes all the keys work out of the box. The embedded controller firmware which includes the keyboard firmware is open source and on their github. Firmware updates are handled by fwupd/LVFS so even many distros they don't officially support work just fine pretty much out of the box.

[@Administracioncontrapesomx]

Windows keyboard for a Linux channel?

[@LinuxBTW]

Hard to get the perfect laptop keyboard, but System76 does ship with a Linux key instead

[@ScimathTab]

The video is fantastic but the audio can be worked on

[@dsmann12]

Just wanted to double down on other comments and see if you could give us more details on the battery life and how this laptop compares to something like the Lemur Pro. Thanks.

[@JanNiklasBenn]

Hey, iam currently running a Mac book M1 Max for my Computer Science Studies and I'm thinking of buying a framework amd version to use linux/windows. Do you think It will be a massiv downgrade? or will it serve me well? Are you still happy with it?

[@SixFingeredAmish]

It will be a downgrade. The M1 Max is a beast.

[@ethograb]

Is there software that you need Linux/Windows for? If so and virtual machines aren't working for you, then I'm guessing the framework will be good (haven't bought one yet) But if you can, might want to look into a software solution first. (Coming from a guy that has collected way too many computers over the years, looking to sell/donate and consolidate to 2 desktops and a framework laptop.)

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Nice.

[@The-Cat]

I think i'd like to see yet another generation of this but with screws securing things together because I hate the idea of parts being so easy to steal... i keep my laptop at work secure with kensington lock when I'm away from lunch or a fire drill forces me to leave my hardware unattended... anyone can enter the building when I'm away so I just like to know my hardware is secure... but I guess its a great laptop for secure locations.

[@arcadeinsertcoin4391]

UBUNTU? the way is only ARCH

[@decibellone696]

theb problem - linux is losing ground.

[@Sithhy]

It's currently at an all-time high

[@mrcvry]

Win11 is driving people to Linux like nothing before. 😂