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
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.
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.
