Framework has finally broken the silence on the future of its modular 16-inch gaming laptop, the Framework 16. And the good news is that it actually has one. With AMD essentially exiting the mobile GPU market this generation the company only had one option, and that was to turn to Nvidia.
Today, it has announced there will be a new Framework 16 graphics module—along with improvements to other components—that will house the mobile version of the RTX 5070 graphics silicon.
There is also a new Ryzen AI 300 mainboard for the 16-inch gaming laptop, with pre-orders starting now at $1,499 and the first shipments expected sometime in November this year.
Honestly, that's all welcome news because I was a big fan of the promise of the original, but an upgradeable gaming laptop cannot be realised in a single generation with no actual future upgrades.
Indeed, I have been rather concerned we had seen the last of Framework's modular gaming slab. When I reviewed the Framework Desktop recently, I noted those worries about the Framework 16 being "effectively left a dead-end platform" given that AMD, the supplier and design assistant for the original RX 7700S GPU module, wasn't making any laptop graphics chips this generation.
I am very pleased to be wrong, however, and having the RTX 5070 built into the removable module on the device seems like a really good fit. Especially for the price. This is all based on information given to us ahead of the full announcement and pre-orders going live, but it does look like the RTX 5070 version will be a more reasonable price. The base laptop model is $1,499, presumably without the Nvidia-powered GPU module, but even if that is another $500 on top that's still less than the original Framework 16. Okay, maybe not more reasonable after all, as the RTX 5070 graphics module is going to be fully $700. Eep.
It will remain more expensive than many RTX 5070 gaming laptops, however, so the price premium still exists. But what the company is proving here is the will to carry on with the ethos of the modular gaming laptop and has obviously worked hard to make it a reality. Anyone who put their trust in Framework and picked up the 16-inch machine will be confident the new GPU module will fit and function in their old laptop as all the new parts will be entirely backwards compatible.
And that will be an impressive performance upgrade.
Hopefully it'll be an experiential one, too, because Framework is promising improvements beyond just a shiny new RTX Blackwell GPU. One of my biggest long-term bugbears about the original was the noise of the fans—it's something of an issue on all Framework laptops as there are no user controllable fan settings at all. There's still no news on that front, but the company says it's "revamped the thermal system, switching to Honeywell phase change thermal interface material and reoptimizing the fan blade geometry and controller IC for reduced noise while supporting 100W sustained TDP."
While the RX 7700S module is no longer in stock in its original form, Framework has also said it will be retro-fitting 7700S graphics modules with this new thermal system for anyone who wants to stick with AMD.
There are a bunch of other interesting changes, not the least being the new laptop will represent the first time we'll have seen a full 240 W laptop adapter purely using the USB Type-C connection and the USB-PD 3.1 specification.
Framework is also bringing the new keyboard art from the 12- and 13-inch laptops, as well as the latest webcam module and notes, "we also have one keyboard option with a Copilot logo in case that’s something you want." Anyone? Anyone?
It's a relief to see Framework pull this subsequent generation off, especially after what happened when Alienware failed to deliver on the further promise of its own modular gaming laptop. Though my only concern now is that it is delivering almost the bare minimum to keep it going. It's still just offering a single new GPU SKU, which does kinda limit the notion of upgrade choice.
I understand there are obvious limitations on power, so it couldn't go higher up the stack, but it would be good to know the reasons why Framework isn't offering an RTX 5060 or RTX 5050 module with the same 100 W power limits.
But if this is what it takes to keep moving the needle on upgradeable gaming laptops, then I'm okay with it. Just give us a little more choice next time, eh?
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