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The original was posted on /r/amdlaptops by /u/chic_luke on 2023-08-25 13:26:39.

I’ve long been looking for a Linux laptop forever. So far, I have bought and returned a Huawei Matebook 16 (Zen3) and Lenovo ThinkPad P16s AMD (Zen 3+), both returned because they had instability issues. The ThinkPad also had a soldered horrible quality WiFi that could not be replaced, while the Matebook was locked at 16 GB of RAM (but, for under €900, I took it). I’m aware of the iGPU memory contention being worse with SODIMM memory, but I think I’d rather take that than throwing away €1700 if a memory chip goes bad. Just about done with the soldered crap and really eyeing the HP Elitebooks for a while, except they don’t seem to ever become available with a non-250 nits screen in Italy.

Recently, Framework started selling in my country and the 16" got me interested. Explicit Linux support, completely replaceable parts (which means an upgrade to Intel AX210 is possible! Yay!), Phoenix CPU and a very good screen. Just like the ThinkPad, it has an easily replaceable keyboard, which is a must for me since I went through 2 Dell keyboards on my current laptop. The expansion bay design also appeals to me, since I managed to break the audio jack on my current laptop, and kill an USB on my previous, plus I have already seen various modern laptops’ USB-C charging ports get damaged, so while it’s not strictly necessary I don’t think it hurts. I keep my laptops well enough, but for long enough that wear and tear gets to them. It seems to be absolutely perfect. So much so that when the Framework laptop released I promised I would be in as soon as they made a bigger screen version and - well… now we here, aren’t we?

However, I was wondering for your thoughts on it since I haven’t found much online. I’m also hoping for more insight on some concerns that I have:

1. The price. You can get a faster machine for the same price. Much faster, in fact. Buyers need to accept that at the moment of purchase they aren’t getting much value, but you’re getting a level of upgradability and repairability that is unheard of on any 16" device, plus very possibly the only gaming laptop that will have complete Linux support without any weirdness.
2. The maturity. I’d think that the Framework expansion bay design is just about mature at this point, but the dGPU link system is very new so YMMV. Personally I’m going with an iGPU only config so I don’t care for that, but you might.

As for everything else, “who is it for?” seems to be specific groups of users. Clearly, Linux users is one. Then, people who really value repairability as a political value and are willing to pay an extra for it. But I am still fearful that the high price will make more users prefer less repairable yet more powerful options.

I think I’m opening my pre-order, fundamentally because it’s a very reversible decision with ample time to turn around and receive all my money back, while waiting means you won’t be getting an unit anytime soon. I am interested in knowing who’s with me, and what’s your reasoning for going with this.