Despite the non-upgradeable memory due to the Ryzen AI Max processor, Framework's modular mini desktop has received high praise from repair experts at iFixit for its easy disassembly, stress-free upgrades, and thoughtful design.
Framework 's modular mini desktop has received high praise from the repair experts at iFixit, despite having non-upgradeable memory due to its Ryzen AI Max processor. Acknowledging that desktop PCs are already typically modular and upgradeable, iFixit notes that the Framework Desktop features tool-free panels, standard connectors, and off-the-shelf components wherever possible, making for easy disassembly and stress-free upgrades.
'Before we even touched a screwdriver, we were already impressed. The case panels? Thumbscrews and magnets. The cooling? A Noctua fan, but swappable with any 120 mm fan. Storage? M.2 SSDs, both easily accessible. This is the kind of thoughtful design we wish every gadget had,' writes iFixit's Director of Sustainability, Elizabeth Chamberlain.As Framework detailed, the mainboard is a standard Mini-ITX form factor with ATX headers, a PCIe x4 slot, and a typical set of rear I/O (2x USB4, 2x DisplayPort, HDMI, and 5Gbit Ethernet), meaning users can fit it into a separate case if they wish. But this is fairly standard for enthusiast builders who already assemble their own PCs from components sourced from various makers. According to iFixit, removing the fan and M.2 SSDs requires undoing just a few screws, and it praised the use of Framework's expansion cards, giving users the flexibility to choose which front-facing ports they want.A full reader, commenting on this week's release of the Framework Desktop, remarked: 'So they made a desktop that's LESS repairable/upgradeable?? Isn't that supposed to be their entire reason for existence?' The issue stems from the soldered-down memory, rather than the slot-in memory modules that allow most PCs to be upgraded to a higher capacity if required. This is due to the Ryzen AI Max processors, which feature an integrated Radeon 8060S GPU and need to have the LPDDR5x memory closely coupled to enable the 256 GBps memory bandwidth for high performance. According to iFixit, this makes it an 'AI and gaming beast ... with up to 96 GB of memory dedicated to the GPU, this machine can handle massive AI models locally, running large-scale LLMs like Llama 3.3 70B in real-time.' As Framework explained, it worked closely with AMD, trying to figure out how to make modular memory work, but concluded that 'detachable RAM would have tanked performance – potentially cutting bandwidth in half.' The system iFixit got to look at was an engineering sample, so it is holding off on assigning a repairability score until it gets a production model. However, it seems that the system is likely to get a decent ranking, with Chamberlain stating: 'If Framework keeps this level of accessibility intact, we expect a very high score.' 'It's a true open-standard PC with modularity baked in. Sure, the soldered RAM isn't ideal, but everything else is designed to be repaired and upgraded – just as it should be.
Framework Desktop Ifixit Repairability Modularity Ryzen AI Max Memory Upgrade Design
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