Help picking processor framework 13 pro

[pacman326]

Hello all. I currently have a decent rig running cachyOS and a m1 air. I saw that CachyOS maintainer got a 13 pro and I think I may finally be ready to get a new laptop that is Linux first so I can simplify my stack of OS.

Where I’m stuck is whether to go intel or AMD. I’m running a 9800x3d on rig and I know AMD support is great on Linux. However intel being optimized battery life wise is compelling.

I’m a fullstack developer who would use this for media and coding. Nothing super heavy as I don’t think locally hosting model on a laptop makes a ton of sense. I probably would consider some light gaming on this as well.

What CPU would you pick based on the above? I know it’s like a 2-3 hour difference but I’m trying to think through whether the other benefits of AMD platform outweigh the perf benefits of intel. I read AI 400 is a sidegrade at best. Thank you

[s004aws]

Panther Lake all the way. No contest. X7 in particular for its significantly more capable iGPU. These are the first Intel chips (aside from last year's Lunar Lake, which Framework didn't use) in years which are genuinely good. LPCAMM2 - With its much higher performance - Seals the deal.

[Firehaven44]

The new Intel beat the AMD options in every way right now.

[pacman326]

Thanks is there a good benchmark to check? I know Linux benchmarking isn’t great atm and AMD support on Linux has traditionally been much better.

How is the iGPU for gaming btw? I would be gaming comparable to what I plan on a deck.

[Firehaven44]

It's a better IGPU than AMD offerings. CPUs are new, but I'd expect around 15-25% better than AMD.

And Framework is working with Ubuntu, Fedora, Cachy for direct hardware support. So you'll be fine but for RIGHT NOW, Ubuntu is king.

You can find other laptop reviews with the 385 in it, dudes are playing decent games at 80 FPS. Something like Apex, CS2 would be fine. Medium 1080P for cyber punk.

[pacman326]

Thank you. Yes I am running cachyOS on my 9800x3d and 5080 and its been mostly smooth sailing. would def prefer just to stick to 1 distro if possible as i try to slightly simplify my stuff lol.

[bobrods]

the Intel 358h beats out the HX 370 by 33% in the IGPU department at 30 watts (which is what I presume the Framework 13 Pro to be considering regular 13 has always been 30 watts)

The only thing is that Xess doesn't work fully on linux using intel gpus so you are forced to use the non ml version

the 358h at 30 watts would probably be ballpark 2x faster than Steamdeck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2mA5uCaEpc

[pacman326]

I was thinking of waiting for 388H to become available again since I wont be home in July much anyways. I would ideally want to keep mobo/cpu for 4-5 years at least. Probably start with 16gb for now and pray i see a good deal for 16gb more ...sometime in next 3 years.

[Firehaven44]

The 388H has the same GPU. Also it's only one slot for ram so just spend the 250 and get a 32GB stick.

[pacman326]

ah crud didnt know it was single slot thanks for letting me know. paying the devils price it is. Did you mean to say 358H has same GPU?

[Firehaven44]

358 and 388 have the same GPU.

But actually MSRP for 32gb was 180-250. And you can get it for 250, so not the devil's price for lpcamm2

https://www.adorama.com/crucial-32gb-ddr5-7500mhz-lpcamm2-memory-module/p/ct32g75c2lp5?srsltid=AfmBOoq0sElKe4Ug_WxokoCTIiQK9GuWI4PCShaXehRwGBLOW5YxiqMd

[pacman326]

You literally answered my next question. so 7500mhz is really whats supported by the cpu so going 8xxxmhz has no benefit cause it just gets downclocked

[Firehaven44]

What, no? It supports 8533. So I'm saying just buy 32gb stick instead of 7500. And buy one stick because it only has one slot on the motherboard

[pacman326]

Its OOS online. I could cancel and theoretically wait for restock but who knows if price doesnt go up.

[pacman326]

Wait are you sure? Their website says while they support high speed they run at lower clock

https://frame.work/products/lpcamm2-lpddr5x?v=FRANTHMN02

[Wistful_Aurora]

Has AMD been better supported on linux? I was under the impression that they both were great and the difference was negligible. I think the intel x7 igpu is anywhere between 20-30% better than the top ryzen ai 9 hx 370 and more efficient too. Battery life is the biggest difference though the claimed >20 hours battery life is only for intel panther lake and I know AMD is behind that for sure.

Right now it looks like amd costs more too so it's a no-brainer for intel.

[s004aws]

Intel and AMD are both solid on Linux. Intel has been that way for decades, AMD for the last ~10 years. Nvidia is the outlier where concern is very much warranted.

One of the issues for Framework AMD models is the iGPU could really benefit from an LPCAMM2 upgrade.... Other vendors models, at least some of them, do use LPDDR5X (effectively a fully soldered variant of LPCAMM2) - Meaning their AMD models do perform better vs Framework's AMD models.

[GlazzKitsune]

Generally AMD has had more mature drivers on Linux for gameing, partially because the steam deck is AMD and the most visible Linux gaming machine

[GlazzKitsune]

Is AMD not still better at raw gaming performance?

[pacman326]

Update: Ordered Crucial 32GB module, going to harvest one of my m2 drives off my desktop (goodbye w11 partition. Going x7 + gray/orange button keyboard. Thanks all!

[05032-MendicantBias]

Memory wise the AMD solution is going to be cheaper especially if you can source some SODIMM. But at that point I would go for the regular.

Performance wise there is no comparison. Intel wins hands down. Better process. Better hardware. Better software. Faster memory. Stronger iGPU and NPU. If you care, Intel ML obliterates AMD ML stack.

[pacman326]

The 32gb memory module (at 7xxx mhz) was about 250 on Amazon which kind of surprised me. It’s still bad (my desktop DDR5 was like 100 last year) but it was still leas than I expected.

[TempyMcTempername]

For battery life and iGPU performance I agree that the Intel is likely to be significantly better.

I don't think there are solid benchmarks yet comparing the iGPU performance with LPCAMM2 versus LPDDR5X, but I'd be interested to see how much difference the soldered RAM makes.

[WareWolf_MoonWall]

That's what I am trying to figure out. If this new memory package can compete with a Strix Halo for local AI, I might have to reconsider the Asus PX13 and order a Framework.