Hi, im searching for a new Laptop and i was tempted to buy the framework 13… BUT…

Usually i would search for a used or refurbished Laptop to give it a second life u know. And after it broke down in like 4-6 years usually, i would buy a new used one again.

So my first question is: Is the framework 13 really worth my money for the repairability and upgradability in comparison?

My prefered Laptops are the Surface like ones 2in1 with a stand and detachable keyboard…

But im okay with it to switch to a normal laptop Formfactor.

I would prefere 16:9 or 16:10 for multimedia but im used to a 3:2 so it would be kinda okay for me to stick with it.

How good can i implement linux on some surface like laptop?

I switched from win10 to linux Mint on my desktop this year. But i think im going to switch to another distro, because i need the ASHA-protocoll as fast as possible. Maybe not that important on my desktop but definetly on my next Laptop.

Someone switched from surface like laptop to FW13?

Im not a coder. More like a gamer with og cheat codes in gtaSA on a cracked Version of the game, which runs in deamon-tools as an ISO, lol.

Main use would be Multimedia and some gaming, if possible.

Another use would be AI… but as far as i know linux doesnt support the build in NPU of the FW13 yet. Maybe ai tinker in a few years then?

And im something like a crypto bro i would say. So how good are crypto tools implemented in linux? Some cold wallet support for exampel.

Which distro would serve my needs the most?

Is there a better choice for me than FW13 ?

So all in all im hopelessly lost and cant decide shit ^^

My only hope is to ask some Linux OGs to help me out on dis.

plz halp.

  • Joker@piefed.socialEnglish
    2·
    17 hours ago

    I have the latest Framework 13 and I had a ThinkPad before this. I can recommend either of them. The Framework is one of my favorite computers I’ve had, but it’s not cheap. You will save some money if you ever have to make repairs, but I don’t know how the TCO works out for upgrades. It’s more about empowerment and reducing waste though.

    Linux runs fine on both the Framework and the ThinkPad. You can pretty much just take your pick of distros and they should work, although you may want to stick with one of the more up to date distros on Framework because it has new hardware. Fedora, Arch-based, Tumbleweed all work well.

  • Zamundaaa@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    2·
    19 hours ago

    Is the framework 13 really worth my money for the repairability and upgradability in comparison?

    Depends on what you upgrade for, and what you need in the first place.

    If you upgrade mainly for more CPU and GPU power, in my opinion that’s a hard sell. The new mainboards from Framework are hella expensive!

    If you need a dGPU in a small form factor laptop, Framework just doesn’t offer that. Same for touch or built-in tablet support.

    If you’re ok with the built-in GPU and upgrade for better display, for better battery, and a better but perhaps not the absolute latest and best APU, yes, it’s worth it.

    When I bought the FW13, a year later or so they brought out a new 120Hz higher resolution display. The first display being 60Hz was my only big annoyance with it, having a 120Hz monitor for comparison… So I just bought the new display, and swapping it only took literal 5 minutes.

    Similar story with the hinges, I wanted ones with more resistance, so I just bought stronger ones for 25€ and easily replaced them.

    If the battery gets worse, or they bring out a new one with decently improved capacity, I can similarly replace it in 5 minutes.

    No glue, no 10 types of special screws, just the screw driver that was shipped with the laptop, and basically zero risk of breaking anything when making modifications.

    You’ll have to know yourself if these tradeoffs are worth it to you… but after my old HP Envy’s display broke and even finding the correct replacement part was a challenge, let alone replacing it, I’m quite happy with the FW13.

    • Mereo@lemmy.ca
      1·
      16 hours ago

      How sturdy is it? I currently use Ubuntu 24.04 on my MacBook 2014, and I want a laptop with the same construction quality.

  • Eugenia@lemmy.mlEnglish
    1·
    21 hours ago

    A few days ago I posted about the same thing, I wanted a Mac-like laptop but running x86 so I could run Linux properly and not through hacks. 80% of the people in the comments suggested the Framework, and for a moment I was close to getting one. But I don’t think I would be fully happy with its clunkiness to be honest. Modularized stuff are clunky we like it or not. Yes, much better for repairability, but DELL also offers me two years on site support even here in Greece, so…

    At the end, I bought this DELL. It’s coming with Linux, so I know it’s 100% compatible, and I paid only 765 euros on it (after removing VAT, since I bought it also for work). That’s half the price of a Framework, with a slicker design, and it’s fast-enough (15,200 passmark cpu points). The only compromise I had to make was that the touchpad was off-center, as it’s a large laptop. Other than that, it ticks all my boxes as per my post the other day.

  • HubertManne@piefed.socialEnglish
    3·
    1 day ago

    To be honest its like with cars. Buying used is always going to be cheaper than buying new and while I love the framework it is a bit pricey for its stats. Now im a bit biased as I have often gotten family laptops for free so until my free laptop well runs dry I will be going with used.

  • www-gem@lemmy.ml
    2·
    1 day ago

    I had some similar concerns before buying my Framework 13. The community here helped me a lot to confirm that this is a great laptop. After 3 months of use I’m still in love with it (got mine on sale).

    I had a Dell XPS 13 before that, and tested lots of mainstream brands over the years (Lenovo, Acer, Vaio… and dinosaurs like PB, Toshiba). All within a budget of ~$1200-$1500. They all did a decent job and the XPS13 was certainly the best,  but they all end up going to the trash because of hardware failure after 4 years max.

    I wanted to move to a company that cares about Linux and with Framework, hardware issues will not cause death of my machine anymore. I’ll be able to have my machine longer, or upgrade it for a fraction of the price of a new laptop.

    https://www-gem.codeberg.page/sys_Framework13-1/ https://www-gem.codeberg.page/sys_Framework13-2/

    Also, along my research before opting for Framework, I’ve heard mostly about starlab, purism, tuxedo, and system76. There’s obviously pros and cons for each brand as well as difference in opinions based on individual experience, but a common criticism for these (including Framework) less marketed brands is the price of their machines. Lots of people don’t realize that there’s reasons for a slightly high price.

  • buckrogers@lemmy.ml
    1·
    1 day ago

    Used to buy dell precision (with a couple of lenovo in between but switched back to dell because of crappy support experience). Replaced my precision last month with TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 - Gen10. Great specs for decent price. Running fedora on it. No remarks so far.

    • tj0m0@discuss.tchncs.deOP
      1·
      1 day ago

      I think i will try cachy first (ai support, gaming too and its arch based so the ASHA support will be maybe faster there, than on other distros.

  • flatbield@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    1 day ago

    I usually buy System76 laptops. Might look at a Framework one next go around. I like supporting the linux supply chain when I can. If money is the only concern, sure some repurposed thing is likely cheaper.

  • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
    1·
    2 days ago

    Is there a better choice for me than FW13 ?

    Yes. Especially if you want to game and dabble in local ML (which the 13 is unfortunately not great for, its NPU is too small and old to ever be useful).

    But what’s your budget, approximately?

  • Jumuta@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    2 days ago

    what’s the ASHA protocol? I doubt other distros would support it if mint (basically Ubuntu) doesn’t support it

    • tj0m0@discuss.tchncs.deOP
      1·
      2 days ago

      ASHA stands for Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids, a Bluetooth protocol which runs on BLE ( Bluetooth Low Energy)

  • bad_news@lemmy.billiam.net
    21·
    2 days ago

    IMO Fedora is the best current distro despite it being a GIANT PAIN to get it to do proper HEVC codec support these days. It has better hardware support than Mint for internals (although you will notice worse printer support if you print) and is pretty bleeding edge in terms of versions of everything

    • tj0m0@discuss.tchncs.deOP
      1·
      2 days ago

      I ditched fedora, because of RedHat and co. My thinking was like… if i switch from Windows, il go full linux with as many open source as possible for me. So i prefered Mint, openSuse, and arch based distros. But shure, i could give fedora a try.

      • 51dusty@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 days ago

        pretty sure redhat is just an upstream consumer of fedora project. what’s your beef?

        mac m2 pro + asahi Linux fedora changed my life

        • FishFace@lemmy.world
          3·
          2 days ago

          I believe RedHat uses Fedora as a kind of guinea pig to test new stuff out they want to put in RHEL. That results in stuff being put in before it’s actually ready even for a fairly bleeding-edge distro.

        • tj0m0@discuss.tchncs.deOP
          3·
          2 days ago

          I dont like this whole thing:

          Fedora Controversy Explained Briefly:
          Fedora is marketed as a community-driven Linux distribution, but Red Hat (owned by IBM) holds decisive control over its development. Critics argue that Red Hat—whose employees dominate core decision-making—prioritizes corporate interests (e.g., aligning Fedora with RHEL) over true community autonomy, undermining open-source ideals. Despite public contributions, key technical and strategic choices remain heavily influenced by Red Hat, sparking debates about transparency and independence.

          • illusionist@lemmy.zip
            2·
            2 days ago

            That sounds bad. Are there any examples?

            I mean it would be easier to just say that fedora is american and suse is european. And thus, suse should be preferred.

            Fedora is a great distro, what decision did IBM take/influence that makes it worse?

            Opensuse is awesome but fedoras atomic ostree distros are amazing. Opensuse does not have such an amazing distribution channel afaik. There is no bazzite built with suse. And no other ublue project.

            • Mordikan@kbin.earth
              2·
              1 day ago

              The controversy stems from a few things:

              1. Surveillance Creep Fedora devs have suggested a Windows-style telemetry system. It was proposed as being anonymous and opt-in only, but the fear from the community was that it would slowly change over time (much in the same vein as how Windows telemetry system has done over the years).

              2. Conflict of Interest Red Hat was purchased by IBM which led to the perceived conflict of interest it may then have. RHEL went closed source after this which has been a red flag to many people in the Fedora community.

              3. Flatpak Fedora maintains its own flatpak builds (a lot of which don’t work as they are outdated). Without clearly knowing what you are doing, there is a good chance you’ll be installing outdated Fedora versions as it runs side-by-side with the non-Fedora.

              4. Wayland This I don’t see as an issue, but many users do. The community does mention sometimes that Fedora prioritizes bleeding-edge new over stability. If you combine that with #3 though, I don’t put much weight in it.

            • tj0m0@discuss.tchncs.deOP
              2·
              2 days ago

              I dont know much about this topic. I just had to choose a distro. So decided for a distro without controversy. xD

              But i heared nice things about bazzite.

              My plan was to test cachy first, didnt liked manjaro and endavour but ppl say cachy is nice.

              I dipped a toa in Nix OS but this was too much of a learning curve for me.