You Might Soon Be Able to Build Your Own Laptop

Tuckerfan · Feb 25, 2021

This looks pretty cool.

Why Yes, I Would Love to Build My Own Customizable, Upgradable, Totally Repairable Laptop

San Francisco-based startup Framework just announced a thin, lightweight productivity laptop unlike any other on the market right now. Sure, it looks similar to the aluminum options almost every other laptop maker offers, but this laptop can be upgraded, customized, and repaired in ways that others just can’t.

To start, Framework laptops have four swappable port bays, which can eliminate the need for a separate port dock all together. Framework calls this the Expansion Card System. There’s the default USB-C card, which supports USB4, 20V/5A charging, and DisplayPort Alt Mode for connecting a monitor; a USB-A card that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2; an HMDI card that supports HDMI 2.0; a DisplayPort card for DisplayPort 1.4 support; a MicroSD port; a card for an extra 250GB or 1TB of storage, which kind of functions like an external drive; and Framework has more expansion cards in development for headphones, microcontrollers, and others.

You can not only choose what ports you want, but you can choose what side you want them on. So if you’re like me and use an external mouse with your laptop sometimes, you might want the charging or HDMI port on the left side so the cables don’t get in the way. (Also good news for left-handed mouse users!)

The laptop’s guts can all be completely customized. Framework says the entire mainboard can be swapped to boost performance as it launched new models with new processors down the road. The battery, screen, and keyboard are also totally replaceable, and Framework laptops also let users swap their keyboard language and layout, as well as customize the color of the detachable magnetic bezel.

The laptops can either come pre-assembled or disassembled for those who enjoy the DIY process.

According to The Verge, Framework founder Nirav Patel, who was one of the original Oculus employees and also previously worked at Apple, hopes to address the issue of electronic waste by allowing its laptop customers to swap out a host of different components in their device.

“As a consumer electronics company, your business model effectively depends on churning out constant tons of hardware and pushing it into channels, and into market, and into consumers’ hands, and then sort of dropping it and letting it exist out there,” Patel told The Verge. “It encourages waste and inefficiency, and ultimately environmental damage.”

Framework also puts the right to repair directly—and literally—in its customers’ hands. By maintain an ecosystem of easily replaceable parts, customers won’t have to replace their entire laptop if something goes wrong, or ship it back to the manufacturer just to replace a stick of RAM. (Some companies like to solder the RAM to the motherboard.)

Framework is not the first company to attempt some form of modular laptop or mini desktop design. We previously reviewed Intel’s NUC 9 Extreme Kit, and Intel also quietly launched its Phantom Canyon NUC 11 lineup during CES last month. Alienware also had its big dream of swappable components with the Area-51m R2, but it didn’t translate so well with customers due to the unavailability of Nvidia RTX Super GPUs for upgrades. Google even had a modular phone, Project Ara, which it eventually scrapped.

But it seems like Framework could be the first company to make a modular laptop work. The advent of Intel’s 11th-gen Tiger Lake mobile CPUs, which contain both the CPU and GPU on a system-on-chip (SoC) form factor, not to mention the smart design choice of swappable ports, make this laptop an attractive option for those who want or need that little bit of extra customization.

Framework will start shipping its customizable laptops in summer 2021. You can sign up on its website to be notified by email when you can place an order.
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Not a fan of Intel but this does have possibilities enough to make me consider getting one.

Clippy · Feb 26, 2021

VERY interesting. I put myself on their mailing list.

Tuckerfan · May 13, 2021

Pre-orders are open for the US, the rest of the world coming soon.

Diacanu · May 13, 2021

I don't wanna.
Why can't these computer people leave me alone?
I just wanna pick apples and chop wood.
And they're all like ""build a laptop! Build a laptop!! ".
Leave me alooone!

mburtonk · May 13, 2021

Pinebook? Also some raspberry pi rigs out there that should be this customizable.

Tuckerfan · Sep 8, 2021

iFixit's review has links to a bunch of other tech reviews. TLDR version: Everybody loves it. The other reviews have some doubts about the viability of the company but iFixIt makes a good argument for why that's not really an issue.

Tuckerfan · Jan 7, 2022

Dell might be getting in on the act.

Order2Chaos · Jan 14, 2022

I'm excited to see where this goes, even if I'm still buying Macs.

Tuckerfan · Jan 21, 2022

Modders are showing off their ideas.

These Framework Laptop Mods Show Us Exactly Why Modular Computers Are So Damn Cool

Modular gadgets sound useful on paper but rarely break through to mainstream audiences. We’ve seen countless attempts come and go, leaving behind only fleeting blips of excitement from enthusiasts who are time and again burned when the promise of a customizable device never materializes. Every few years a new example arrives: Project Ara was a modular phone concept that Google killed before it could take off; LG didn’t extend its modular phone vision past the G5; and Alienware’s modular Area-51m gaming laptop wasn’t all that modular after all.

It would seem a risk to bring another one of these shape-shifting devices to market, and yet San Francisco-based startup Framework did just that last year when it released the Framework Laptop. Early impressions of the notebook have been mostly positive, but the long-term success of this modular device rests on the upgradable parts made available to customers over the years.

The company has taken steps, like opening an online marketplace, to fulfill its promise of giving users the tools they need to customize, repair, and upgrade their laptops, but what really makes me optimistic about the future of modular PCs are the fascinating mods being worked on by early adopters.

One such project outfits the Framework Laptop with its own version of Apple’s MagSafe charging. After receiving requests from forum members who seemingly took the suggestion from Linus Tech Tips, YouTuber Christopher “CJ” Peet, who hosts the Elevated Systems channel, modified one of the Framework Laptop’s expansion slots to hold a magnetic charging adapter that, when inserted, sits flush with the edge of the laptop.

Like MagSafe, it makes the charging cable easier to attach, and more importantly, disconnects the cord when your child or dog inevitably trips over it. Yes, you could add this feature to any USB-C charging port with a cheapo adapter, but those stick out and may prevent you from sliding your laptop into a sleeve or backpack. They’re also more likely to get battered around and tend to slip out easily when you unplug the cord.

This isn’t the sort of thing anyone can do, but Framework makes it easy for seasoned DIYers by providing a Github repository with reference designs and documentation so those with the right tools can create custom expansion cards. Peet did just that. He downloaded the blueprints and tweaked the enclosure using Fusion 360 CAD software so it could fit the magnetic adapter flush with the side of the laptop. After everything was mocked up, he 3D printed the redesigned enclosure and soldered everything together.

Peet admits his project was intended as a proof-of-concept and that fellow tinkerers who want to try it themselves need to be careful when soldering the components. And while the modified part worked just fine on a laptop and smartphone, this particular version is limited to only a 5V charge because he used a weaker USB 2.0 standard.

Despite those limitations, other modders took the idea and ran with it, making adjustments as needed to simplify the build and ramp up the charging capabilities. Sean Nagle, a field service engineer, 3D printed a custom expansion tray with enough space for the two USB-C ends to slide together without any soldered.

He then took automotive-grade primers and paint to make the component match closely with the silver aluminum of the Framework. Finally, Nagle snapped the original Framework power cord (with a magnetic adapter on the end) to the modified charging port and measured a power draw of around 56 watts, close to the 60W rating for the adapter.

“I really liked the Apple magnetic charging and I was aware that they probably have some patent on it that is going to make it unavailable on other laptops. So I decided, if you can make your own, that’s the route to do it,” Nagle said.

While Nagle says he has no plans of making this a business, fellow Framework Laptop owners have purchased copies of the charging module from him and other DIYers who are making similar ones.

Adding MagSafe-style charging is only one of many mods being worked on by eager inventors. Along with his MagSafe hack, Peet embedded a 2.4GHz dongle from a wireless mouse into one of the expansion slots so he could stop worrying about losing it. The YouTuber feared the receiver might not be strong enough to hold a signal through the aluminum chassis, but the mouse instantly responded after he inserted the expansion card.

“My original idea was a dongle that’s contained within the expansion card itself because that’s just practical,” Peet said. “When I’m home, and I’m using the laptop, I like to have a mouse because I’m more comfortable using one than a trackpad. When the wifi dongle is connected to my laptop, it doesn’t fit in my sleeve and I lose it when I’m going somewhere.”

But in perhaps the most impressive Framework mod thus far, Peet took the motherboard from his laptop and installed it in a mechanical keyboard chassis, effectively turning the keyboard into a functional PC.

After discovering the motherboard is roughly the size of a 60% tenkeyless keyboard, Peet drafted and 3D printed a custom keyboard chassis with windows in the sides so the Framework expansion cards could still be used to connect the keyboard PC to a monitor or peripherals.

The finished product is a modern take on the Commodore 64, an 8-bit computer (the top-selling computer of all time, by the way) from 1982 whose components are housed below a keyboard.

“I actually started doing laptop mods years ago back when basically all laptops were modular and you could fix them and upgrade them and use the components outside of the laptop. Of course, manufacturers got away from that and mobile tech became disposal,” Peet said. “As soon as the [Framework] laptop became available, the pre-sale, I ordered one. Not that I needed an ultra-portable laptop, but just so I could tinker with it.”

The first version of this keyboard, which runs on an Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU, was a rough draft made of plastic that wouldn’t withstand the thermal requirements of the processors. The second iteration improves the fit and finish of the original, uses a better keyboard PCB board, and swaps out the gray keys for retro white ones. Peet says the next step is to take this sophomore effort to get CNC machined so it can withstand higher temperatures. While this might not be the most practical use of the Framework’s swappable parts, Peet views his keyboard PC as one of the fun things you can do with the motherboard once it needs to be replaced.

To be clear, these are not official Framework mods and the company told Gizmodo that, while it built in port protection circuity, there are ways a misbehaving module could “cause temporary or permanent issues.”

“We’re excited to see the activity around developing new modules for the Framework Laptop,” Framework founder Nirav Patel said. “We launched the Expansion Card Developer Program last summer and have been amazed by the interesting and worthwhile designs that the community has prototyped. The magnetic charging Expansion Card looks really useful, but we haven’t tested that module ourselves.”

Framework didn’t give us a timeframe, but the company plans to bring third-party and community-developed modules that “meet any necessary standards and regulations for the regions they are sold in” to its recently opened Framework Marketplace, a central hub where you can purchase various components, including mainboards, keyboards, SSDs and RAM, and replacement parts.
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Tuckerfan · Jan 21, 2022

Yup, definitely going to have to scrape up the money to get one of these, because this is fucking awesome.

Open Sourcing our Firmware

At Framework, the community is at the core of how we build products. At most consumer electronics companies, community members are a source of revenue or at best a channel for evangelism. We expect more than that. We want to empower you to participate directly in the creation of Framework product ecosystems. Modular products only get more capable and interesting as the communities around them grow, enabling a broader range of audiences and use cases. We’re seeing the early results of that already with the Expansion Card Developer Program and some of the amazing designs in development and prototyping, like magnetic charging cards and LTE radios.

To add to that, we’re happy to announce that we’ve published the open source Embedded Controller (EC) firmware for the Framework Laptop, available today on GitHub. This is based on Google’s chromium-ec project, which is the EC firmware used in Chromebooks. We’ve released our variant under the same BSD 3-clause license that lets you modify, share, and re-purpose it as you’d like. The EC firmware is what handles low level functionality in the Framework Laptop, including power sequencing, keyboard and touchpad interfacing, and controlling the LEDs in the system. Note that incorrect firmware modifications could damage your Mainboard or other hardware, so we recommend only flashing modified firmware if you are willing to take that risk. We’re continuing to invest in open source firmware development, with the goal of replacing other proprietary firmware we’re currently stuck with in the future too.

It’s been fantastic seeing the ongoing support and documentation from everyone around using Linux on the Framework Laptop in the Community. In just a few months, we’ve seen dozens of guides published for different Linux distros like Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint, Manjaro, Arch, Debian, elementary, and more. We’ve been able to distill all of that information down into easy to follow step by step guides for the most popular distros. We’ve started with Fedora 35, Ubuntu 21.10, and Manjaro 21.2.1, and we’ll add more over time. Fedora 35 works out of the box with full hardware support for the Framework Laptop, so we’d recommend that as an ideal entry point if you’d like to try Linux.

Our goal is always to make products that are simple and intuitive to use day to day, but that also let you go as deep in exploration, experimentation, and creation as you’d like to.
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@Amaris, it's spendy, but you'll want to have a drool over this idea.

Tuckerfan · Apr 20, 2022

Oooh, this is interesting. Essentially, they've configured the motherboard the way a Raspberry Pi is. So you now have a compact PC that you can use for a variety of applications without having to futz around with a big case, keyboard, monitor, or power supply if you don't need them. Given all the really nifty shit people are doing with Raspberry Pis, I can see this really opening things up for people to do more.

Tuckerfan · Oct 28, 2022

This is a similar idea, but not quite as flexible.

Tuckerfan · Feb 4, 2023

Tuckerfan said: ↑

Oooh, this is interesting. Essentially, they've configured the motherboard the way a Raspberry Pi is. So you now have a compact PC that you can use for a variety of applications without having to futz around with a big case, keyboard, monitor, or power supply if you don't need them. Given all the really nifty shit people are doing with Raspberry Pis, I can see this really opening things up for people to do more.
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Like this guy.

We Are Borg · Feb 4, 2023

Tuckerfan said: ↑

Tuckerfan said: ↑

Oooh, this is interesting. Essentially, they've configured the motherboard the way a Raspberry Pi is. So you now have a compact PC that you can use for a variety of applications without having to futz around with a big case, keyboard, monitor, or power supply if you don't need them. Given all the really nifty shit people are doing with Raspberry Pis, I can see this really opening things up for people to do more.
Click to expand...

Like this guy.

Click to expand...

Very, very cool indeed.

My only criticism is the legs/stand. I'm not an engineer but surely someone could come up with something a bit more sturdy that folds away better.

Tuckerfan · Mar 23, 2023

And you can now use AMD processors in the laptops!

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...3th-gen-intel-cpus-and-finally-an-amd-option/

Nyx · Mar 23, 2023

Oh, this is brilliant. I know a lot of people, myself included, believe in right to repair, and being able to customize your own laptop. As it is now, I despise laptops because they're made in such a way as to discourage opening and repairing them. This is terrific, and now that AMD is in the game, I am watching this with great interest.

Tuckerfan · Mar 24, 2023

Amaris said: ↑

Oh, this is brilliant. I know a lot of people, myself included, believe in right to repair, and being able to customize your own laptop. As it is now, I despise laptops because they're made in such a way as to discourage opening and repairing them. This is terrific, and now that AMD is in the game, I am watching this with great interest.
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Yeah, I don't need another laptop by any stretch of the imagination but it's getting harder and harder for me not to get one of these just for shits and giggles.

Oh, shit. they've done one old-school style with a trackball.

I hate touchpads, and if I can build one with a trackball...

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