1. Stick to DDR5-5600 SO-DIMMs. Issues are reported with anything else.
2. Choose standards (JEDEC) compliant modules. Most modules from reputable brands seem to be fine.
3. XMP (Intel) and Expo (AMD) are extra profiles on some modules, readable by BIOses supporting these features. As long as the ‘default’ profile is standards compliant, these should otherwise be OK. In some cases, especially with older DDR3/DDR4 modules the ‘default’ profile was minimum standard specs (eg equivalent to DDR5-4800 - Not good for Framework).
4. Crucial, G. Skill, and Kingston are among the ‘name brand’ OEMs offering DDR5-5600 SO-DIMMs known to work with FW 13 AMD (probably also FW16, can’t be sure til those of us with pending FW16 orders have hardware to test). If you’re concerned go Crucial - They are a Micron-owned company, one of the top 3 DRAM manufacturers in the world. Micron/Crucial explicitly markets their modules as standards compliant.

There’s not much reason to buy Framwork-branded RAM unless you absolutely must have Framework guaranteed compatibility, Framework support, and a Framework warranty on the modules. Going 3rd party from a top tier vendor - As above - Will cost far less for parts which ultimately perform just as well. The primary tricks are to not buy anything other than DDR5-5600 rated modules (for AMD) and to not buy from random junk vendors on a ‘sort by price’ basis.

No Chromebook using 13th gen Intel or AMD has been announced as far as I’m aware. The listing I see on Framework’s site is for the older 12th gen Intel-based version - Effectively a 12th gen FW13 with ChromeOS installed.

With most Chromebooks being built around junk PC hardware costing under $600 Framework’s $1000 option was an outlier. I do wonder what demand/sales were like, whether interest high enough to justify an updated version. Suppose we’ll find out if/when a new model is announced.

Chromebooks, the forced demands to buy them over other options, are among the reasons I’m happy to not have kids (let alone in public schools).

When you do pay for a Chromebook be sure to check where it is in Google’s support lifecycle. There’s apparently been issues with hardware either already at or very near EOL still being sold for hundreds of dollars.

AMD works perfectly fine on Linux. I’ve been using both Intel and AMD on Linux (alternating depending on which has the better options at any given time) since the original Athlon processors came out more than 20 years ago. I have 2 AMD machines, running Linux, in front of (and beside) me as I type - And another with WintendoOS 10 (only Wintendo I own).

Unless you need a laptop within about a week or can name/explain a specific Intel-only feature you explicitly require, go with AMD. Why? Better performance, better battery life, better integrated graphics, and no e/p cores to cause headaches with virtualization. Intel’s e/p core big.LITTLE split causes headaches with virtualization due to a bunch of the cores (efficiency cores) not having the same features/performance as the others (performance cores).

Framework has indicated in a blog a few weeks ago they expect to be caught up with AMD FW13 pre-orders by the end of the year. Based on subreddit posts they’re up to starting batch 7 processing, making it appear they will likely reach the “in stock” estimate.

If you do go with Framework, save yourself a bunch of money going with the DIY option. You can get RAM and SSDs much cheaper pretty much anywhere. The power supply can also be sourced elsewhere - Choose a USB C charger of at least 60w, ideally using modern GaN technology, from a reputable vendor such as Anker, Ugreen (among others)… Don’t go with a brand nobody’s ever heard of with a name that looks like it was created firing darts at a dart board (eg: don’t do a ‘sort by lowest price’, ordering the cheapest option).

Are you on Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro? If you’re on Final Cut stay with Apple and go with a new MacBook Pro. You already know how to use it, you know it will do the work you need it to do, and you know you can get one from Apple - Even a horrifically overpriced custom config - In short order. In the US (not legal advice, blah blah blah) at least, you might also be able to expense a new MacBook Pro for tax purposes. Although I don’t personally like a lot of Apple’s anti-consumer practices, bad engineering, and terrible pricing they do have one thing going for them - Battery life for Apple Silicon MacBooks is second to none. It can’t be beat, if that matters to you.

My own order is FW16 Batch 5. Although I will use it for professional dev and sysadmin purposes on Linux FW16 won’t be my primary machine… I have desktops for that.

Point #5 is most important to me. My FW16 will never run as a Wintendo. Having gone with the dGPU option (not a cheap option) I expect it to work properly with Linux from the start… Especially considering Framework doesn’t allow dropping the dGPU option without canceling the entire order and going to the back of the line with a new order.

Take the extra time, get FW16 working well on both major OSes from day 1 (absent a list of minor known issues which can definitively be fixed with a firmware update released quickly after launch). If the first 4 batches have a bunch of Linux issues for which I can’t envision obvious workarounds - Recognizing I have 25+ years of Linux desktop/laptop experience to go on - My batch 5 order will be cancelled and I’ll wait for “gen 2” next year.

As much as I hate my System76 Oryx Pro (explained elsewhere in r/framework) it does (mostly) work a few weeks past 3 years old. I’m not desperate enough for a new laptop to accept (another) machine with problems out of the box.

If I wanted another problem laptop I’d have gone with a 2023 Oryx Pro or a Dell XPS 17. Instead I opted for FW16 expecting it to be done properly rather than in a hurry and on the cheap.

All in all I’m looking forward to FW16 once its fully ready. FW16 ticks the items I explicitly wanted in replacing the Oryx Pro - 16-17" screen with 16:10 aspect (not 16:9), numeric keypad eliminated (or optional) in favor of a centered keyboard, fully AMD - No Intel or Nvidia CPU/GPU (dGPU was optional on my requirements list), and socketed RAM/SSDs. As far as I’m aware FW16 is the only option available ticking all of those items… Especially the numpad/offset keyboard I’ve come to find incredibly annoying… Ditching the numpad is one of the few things Apple has gotten right since the m68k PowerBook era.

Anyone who cares that much about gaming should be using a wire with a USB connector on the end opposite their rodent. 2.4Ghz vs 2.4Ghz is still 2.4Ghz RF.

Bluetooth is 2.4Ghz, same as proprietary dongles. I’ve been using Bluetooth mice for most of the last 20 years in a very RF noisy environment… Apple’s mice did need frequent battery replacement. Others from Microsoft and Logitech, eg Logitech’s M720? Once or twice a year they get a new AA despite being used all day every day. Disconnecting? Not a problem.

AMD and don’t think twice about it. Better power management, better performance, better iGPU. If you go FW16 AMD is the only option.

Only reasons to go Intel? You can name and explain a specific feature AMD lacks and which is essential for your work. Alternatively, you require “in stock” shipment - Delivery in around a week or so. AMD FW13 won’t be “in stock” for awhile longer - Framework wrote in a blog a few weeks ago they’re thinking that will happen towards the end of the year. FW16 is back ordered - Based on the shipping estimates of “Q2” - Until sometime next spring.

USB C is much more complicated than a physical port. Sure its a single connector type. Sure its small. But its also got a lot of supported functionality which in turn requires a lot of supporting engineering and circuitry to support.

I have a FW16 on order. Its got 6 expansion slots. I’m struggling to figure out how to - Regularly - Use more than 2 or 3. A dual port USB C module would add no value, only complexity and probably cost more than a standard single port module.

What I’d like to know is how many people regularly fill every port of their 6, 8, 10, 12 port laptops as-is? Of those, and with so many connections, how many would be better served using a dock or moving up to a desktop/workstation?

Since video is also using RAM lower latency CL40 is a good way to go. As to amount - The best way, especially if you’re already doing some of this work, is to look at your current system usage while you’re working. If you see you’re only using 15 or 20GB currently - 32GB is going to do you well for a long time (absent a major change in your workload). If you notice you’re already using 25 or 30GB - Probably worth going to 64GB. Take note of how much swap is in use also, not RAM alone.

In my case I do dev under Linux/IntelliJ and have seen my actual usage, with some VMware Workstation VMs also going, hit ~40GB. On some occasions it can go much higher running certain internal data processing tools. I’ll be going with at least 64GB on FW16, 96GB if I feel like spending the extra money closer to shipping.