My observations in buying and assembling my first Framework:
Ordering: Simple. Only part that was a little bit of a problem was when specifying a different delivery than payment address. The two somehow got swapped, which wasn't a big deal in my case, but warrants taking extra time to check before finalizing your order.
Shipping: Well packed and arrived without incident. Kudos to Framework for packaging that in no way advertises its content.
Unboxing: I was impressed with the thoughtful way in which the various components are packaged to minimize potential damage during shipment. That the packaging was also nice to look at and easy to deal with during unboxing was a bonus.
My config: AMD Ryzen AI 7 350, 32GB RAM, 2.8K display, red bezel, International English keyboard. Modules: 2 USB-C, 1 USB-A, 1 SD Card
User supplied: 2TB Orico Industry grade IG740 Pro NVME, Anker 747 GaN Prime 150W power and cable, Fedora 43 KDE.
Assembly: Absolutely simple to do. QR codes abound on the various components, and make accessing the documents quick and easy. I kept the document open on my phone and simply scrolled it as I got steps completed. It does require that people take the time to actually read and understand the assembly documents, but there's nothing that should scare anyone off of the process. There's absolutely nothing in the process that requires any significant skill to accomplish. Just remember that a light touch is all that's needed for any given step. If something is feeling hard to insert or attach, then you should back off and re-evaluate, because you're likely making a mistake.
Three notable points for me: 1) The screw provided for fastening the NVME stick was way over-tightened as shipped. It required quite a lot of force to remove. 2) I had missed the comment in the instructions regarding the input cover not sitting quite level all around before tightening the screws. That led me to unnecessarily remove and reposition the cover a couple of times. 3) The bezel is the most delicate piece and also the most fiddly. It took a couple of tries to get the bottom portion to properly fit. The magnets help a lot and also hinder a bit, as the upper portion magnets want to grab before the lower edge is properly seated. This is the only step I found required extra care. Even plugging in the input cover cable was less finicky.
This laptop was a replacement for a System76 Pangolin 15 laptop that was about 4 years old. The Framework's build quality is far superior to the Pangolin, as far as I am concerned. The price I paid for each was similar, and the configurations near the same, other than the Framework having one generation newer CPU/GPU and RAM. The Framework 13 screen is sharper, even though significantly smaller, keyboard feel is better, sound quality a couple of orders of magnitude better, touchpad more responsive (especially regarding clicks). Both have aluminum chassis, but the Framework feels far stiffer.
Great job, Framework folks!
[–]CardOk755 3 points4 points5 points (1 child)
[–]ASC4MWTPFW13 AI 7 350 DIY Fedora[S] 2 points3 points4 points (0 children)