This sounds more like an LLM box than a desktop. High memory bandwidth, GPU cores, kinda like the Mac minis running Exos. With 128 GB it would beat the pants off a much more expensive nvidia.
The only way I can wrap my head around this is as a really expensive console, where the standard for modularity and upgradability is non-existent…
Just kindof a bummer. And I adore small computers.
It’s a super cute device with lots of fun little details, I just don’t see why go with this over a normal SFF PC for the price. It’s easier? Cuter?
Exactly, there’s more modularity in my ITX X570 Mb, although locked to the AMD CPUs, I can pop in these new 5800X3D and other chips that weren’t available when I bought my motherboard, supports crazy high OC DDR4 speeds and even manages to deliver a full 16x PCIE 4.0 Slot plus 2 M.2 connectors. In ITX size.
Durability with soldered cpu and ram? Wtffff
I thought their whole mindset was repairability and upgradeability. This is just an all in one board with a case. With a starting price of $1,000 even comparable Mac mini’s are $300 less if you want performance or just get a console if you want to play games.
Would have loved if their desktop would have just rehoused the 13 or 16 motherboards with upgraded cooling potential and even maybe thunderbolt to GPU adapters
This computer is not a gaming machine (as they falsely advertised), because you can definitely get both more powerful and more upgradeable for less.
It is exclusively an AI computer. Its whole advantage is to provide massive high bandwidth memory. It serves only that purpose and it serves it amazingly well. For anyone else, it is not a good value proposition. But in the AI space, this machine is a fantastic value. There is nothing else out there with 128GB that even comes close in price. An RTX 5090 has 32GB and costs 2000 USD alone, without any other component. The nvidia digits probably won’t have 128GB and certainly not at that price.
This competes against Apple’s computers with their HBM where people run LLM lovally and it does it using many more standardized components and with a much more reasonable price.
This machine serves a niche exclusively and I don’t blame anyone for dismissing it, but it’s because it serves a very specific use case for which there is little to no alternatives.
or just get a console if you want to play games
No. Consoles are just glorified DRM machines.
Near as I can tell? Their stakeholders aren’t happy with sales up to date. And considering one of their bigger ones is already running video “reviews” on how amazing this is and how you should buy it…
Soldered CPU on a desktop: DOA.
SOLDERED RAM ON A DESKTOP: lol. Lmao even. What the fuck. What ever happened to “you should be able to fix your stuff”? Their laptops have user-replaceable ram btw. This is a joke.
You forgot no serviceable GPU
What ever happened to “you should be able to fix your stuff”?
the CPU has such a high memory bandwidth, that it wasn’t possible to used socketed ram. Signal integrity was not holding up.
They tried to get it to run with socketed ram
Then don’t sell it.
then don’t buy it. if it doesn’t sell, they won’t release a second one
You’re missing the point. Framework has a very finite amount of resources. They could have dedicated them to making a printer or a phone or a tablet or any number of other products people have actually asked them for. Instead they dedicated it to designing a computer that anyone else could have made and sold and isn’t repairable or upgradeable.
@Ulrich The repairable space is a tricky one. They are a company that makes things designed to be taken apart. They have to support it. Supporting every kid that screws up his first CPU install is a no go. GPUs are a nightmare right now with the things literally going on fire. Ok, the ram could be user replaceable but most PC users only upgrade ram when they upgrade the mobo anyway. This is niche but I think it’s the only way they could think of doing it without a million support calls.
That’s non-sense. There’s an entire industry that’s existed for decades for repairable and upgradable computers.
I pre-ordered the 128GB SKU in the second wave. Soldered RAM doesn’t matter to me if I am already maxing out what the platform is capable of. If I can dynamically configure the memory allocation between the CPU and GPU, this will be an extremely potent little AI workstation. I’ll be able to cancel the pre-order of things aren’t what I expect, and it isn’t much of a loss for me ($100 refundable deposit).
I do agree that this branching away from Framework’s roots, but I am still very happy that they are doing interesting things. I’ve always thought that what Minisforum has been doing with their SFF workstations has awesome, so I’m glad to see other companies wading into the same space.
