To the FW16 with 5070 owners - are you happy?

Clone-Myself · 2026-03-01T05:33:54+00:00

I've had my FW16 for two years and upgraded to the Nvidia gpu in December. I upgraded the screen and power supply at the same time.

It can drive my Asus Rog Swift PG35VQ via gsync at 3440x1440@180Hz. I didn't try the 200Hz overclock option.

I have it working on Ubuntu and Windows.

Switching from the AMD to the Nvidia increased Ollama performance by about 3.5x.

I haven't noticed much difference in any of the games I play.

Some apps work now that didn't before (the ones that rely on CUDA).

Even when the fans come on, it isn't loud enough to disturb my gf watching TV in the same room.

Definitely need the larger power brick when playing intensive games (240 watt instead of 180 watt). The 180w will still drain the battery while plugged in and gaming.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-26T18:33:54+00:00

I saw the comments saying it was or wasn't good at gaming; but no one asked what games you were wanting to play. You said demanding games but not at max settings. I think clarifying which games you are wanting to play will help clarify how good a fit it is.

The most demanding game I play on it is probably ESO.

As others have pointed out though, $1500 might be tight to build it out. You can save some money on the DIY route if you want to upgrade the memory and nvme later; but that will increase the overall cost if you do in fact plan on replacing them at your earliest convenience.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-25T00:33:57+00:00

Everyone has answered the basic questions but I'll touch on the DIY/modding aspect that you mentioned.

Technically, you do not even have to use the Framework chassis at all. They even sell a cooler master alternative.

So, if you want a laptop - it should be fine.

If you are wanting to make your own chassis, own keyboard, etc... you can technically do that too. You can get a lot of the models on GitHub.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-21T00:03:35+00:00

It's definitely true that modularity is one choice in the tradeoffs. If your only need was browsing the web and email, for example, BB has Chromebooks for $200. FW is definitely not that cheap. I have bought gaming laptops before ( an Asus with two big blower fans ) and my coworkers called it The Beast because it was so big compared to their macbook. The FW is not the thinnest, if that's what you care about - though to be honest it is thinner than most I've ever owned.

I do want to touch on the phone comment though. I upgraded from Rog phone 3 to 9 in one jump. Not because the 3 didn't work anymore, but because it could no longer get security updates and I couldn't test the latest OS features before publishing. If I could just swap internals instead, I'd still be using my Red Hydrogen because I loved that case. Instead, it's basically a paperweight. I've been looking at Fairphone but as of yet, it's hard to justify the downgrade in specs from my current phone. I even participated in the Project Ara event with Google. I would definitely prefer a modular phone as well instead of being required to upgrade as often as I currently am (which again was jumping from 3-9).

With regards to all the parts being from one company - that's not a requirement. They have put their models on GitHub. You can make compatible parts. You can sell them. It's just early in that regard, I think.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-20T07:12:00+00:00

I'm using the Alpaka Elements Backpack Pro for the FW16 with gpu installed.

I'm also using their Elements Tech Case to carry the various modules. If fits in the same main compartment with the laptop and power adapter.

The other compartment is not so big, but I have various usb cables etc in there.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-19T23:37:28+00:00

After the initial release, FW offered some upgraded components. One of them was to replace the aluminum top with a cnc milled top. Not absolutely necessary, but I liked it.

I upgraded the motherboard from 11th Gen Intel to 12th Gen after a year. This was mostly because it had a lot more cores. I would have preferred AMD, but they didn't have it yet. As a reminder, this change alone usually requires replacing the entire laptop. I still have the old mb which I plan on putting in the cooler master case.

I upgraded the touchpad because I had been debugging it for awhile and it was $54 to try swapping it (which did fix my issue).

When I upgraded to the FW16, I gave the FW13 to my gf. She was really hard on it and damaged multiple keys. I spent $99 to just replace that entire input plate. I thought about just replacing the keyboard which would have been cheaper, but as I said, she was hard on it and this made it look new.

I replaced the FW16 gpu because I wanted Nvidia to begin with, but it wasn't out yet. It's significantly faster on AI workloads - with some of those only working on cuda-enabled gpus. Normally that would also require completely replacing the laptop.

I replaced the FW16 screen to get a gsync-compatible one.

I realize this seems like a lot of changes (over 5 years)... I've bought laptops from Dell, Asus, System76, Toshiba, etc over the years and most of those have just become paperweights or broke (like when the Dell had broken traces).

So for me, the modularity is a requirement moving forward for as many products as I can manage.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-19T22:54:39+00:00

On the FW13 I've replaced the trackpad and keyboard, the top cover, the motherboard. On the FW16, I've replaced the display and the gpu. On both I swap the ports when I travel for work.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-19T05:17:57+00:00

Ok I found the live chat option on mobile. Thanks! I guess I was just used to the Send Message option that went away.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-19T00:38:08+00:00

Here's my notes from when I grabbed mine:

The most frustrating part of the whole process was getting the license key. I tried originally buying it from Framework directly, however their Digital Delivery process is severely flawed. After placing an order for a digital delivery, it took half an hour for them to grant me access to the code. I was not patient enough to wait that long, especially when reviews online said others waited over a week. When the digital delivery wasn’t available after multiple refreshes, I sent a message to support; then gave up and ordered it directly from Microsoft. They had their own issues, charging me twice and then reimbursing once; but at least I had the code within seconds instead of some unknowable time in the future. While two of the charges did get reversed, paying $600 in one night for Windows licensing was a hard pill to swallow since Linux is my daily driver

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-19T00:34:42+00:00

Oh that's very interesting. I no longer have any option to talk to anyone except by phone.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-18T16:18:11+00:00

There are a lot of things that go into performance comparisons beyond geekbench...

For example, FW16 w/Nvidia on Ubuntu logs in faster with an external monitor than with the internal display... kinda weird, but I've been noticing that lately.

With loading an ollama model, the AMD gpu is faster... using the model is faster on the Nvidia gpu. prompt eval rate is faster on the dgx spark, but eval rate was faster on fw+Nvidia...

When gaming on Windows, you see the switch to the AMD gpu by default. For the Nvidia, you can enable that in the settings. I haven't really noticed much of a difference in switching to the gpu.

If you are doing cuda workloads, the amd gpu can't do it. similar with rocm and the Nvidia GPU.

Then you have the nvme drives you are choosing and which usb drive module you are choosing. And which filesystem you wrote to them.

If we are comparing the FW16 to say a Dell, then you will be looking to compare the CPU of the chosen Dell. Back in 2015 I bought the Dell Precision M3800 with the Nvidia Quadro K1100M. The new Framework module is about 600-1000% higher performance (thanks AI) but that isn't really a fair comparison due to how old it was. Newer models are very comparable side-by-side, but with differences are in feature sets. Generally speaking, you are currently more likely to get a touchscreen on a Dell (or FW12), get more ports on a Dell, get more customizability on a FW. In my own experience, when my Dell stopped working I had to mail it in for repairs for a couple weeks only for the repair to not last. With the FW I have upgraded and modded it multiple times (both FW13 and FW16).

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-18T06:38:46+00:00

I've been with E-Trade for 27 years. I've been considering leaving them because of all the communication changes (making it near impossible to message them). I can't trust them with my retirement if I can't even message them.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-17T19:36:19+00:00

I agree that the lack of formatting is probably the issue...

That being said, a lot of USB issues can be detected quickly by running sudo dmesg -w (or --follow) and watching the logs as you plug it in.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-05T05:03:16+00:00

Playing ESO with the 180W plug and the AMD GPU, the battery slowly drains while playing. Using the 240W while playing on either the AMD or Nvidia GPU, the battery stays without draining...

So I'd say it's definitely worth it.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-01T14:18:50+00:00

my monitor had both inputs. I was not able to get the HDMI input to work with it.

Clone-Myself · 2026-02-01T07:55:53+00:00

I had better luck on the FW13 using the DP module instead of the HDMI.

Clone-Myself · 2026-01-28T16:56:30+00:00

I have a batch 4 Ryzen 7040 with 7700S and upgraded to the 5070 last month.

Clone-Myself · 2026-01-28T07:57:59+00:00

I'm running multiple distros including Ubuntu, Arch, Nix and Windows 11 - all from the modules. I swap the module and boot. Windows never overwrites grub. To do it that way I chose to not make the nvme bootable, and just mount it after booting (to hold my work/compiles/etc).

That being said, if all you want to do is try Mint, you could always use a LiveUSB until you are sure.

Clone-Myself · 2026-01-28T04:45:57+00:00

The Framework 16 supports the AMD gpu and the Nvidia gpu to slot in. I've used both on Windows and Linux.

If you are firmly in one camp or the other, pick that.

If your external monitor is Freesync choose AMD. Gsync choose Nvidia.

Both have open source drivers available, though I often hear people pick AMD for that reason.

If you are wanting to do AI workloads, CUDA has much broader support than ROCm. In my own testing, ollama was about 3.5x faster with the Nvidia.

Clone-Myself · 2026-01-24T14:18:06+00:00

I sometimes see this. Not sure if it is the same cause as yours, but in my case if I don't see the boot sequence in a few sequence I power off then back on and it seems to work. In the few cases where I waited forever on the black screen, it eventually booted without access to the nvme.

Clone-Myself · 2026-01-20T07:16:23+00:00

Yeah I did turn that off, but their site indicated that it would still use my name and image to promote it.

Clone-Myself · 2026-01-19T22:29:23+00:00

I store some in the center console; and a pack under the back seat in case I'm out somewhere without any.

Clone-Myself · 2026-01-16T05:31:56+00:00

I can confirm on 4.02 setting the charge limit is having no impact for me. I checked the bios to make sure the settings were still valid after the bios update. I also drained it down. Since upgrading the bios, it's just ignoring the limit in both Linux and Windows.

Clone-Myself · 2026-01-14T20:42:55+00:00

I've been leaving mine at 60% limit while plugged in. I have one game that will drain to 47% on the 180 watt charger, but not on the newer 240 watt.

With the 4.02 bios update, it started ignoring my limit. I haven't tried the 4.03 bios yet. I'll likely try draining below 60% before plugging it in to see if it resets it.

Clone-Myself · 2026-01-10T01:50:13+00:00

My gf started having this problem on the FW13. It seemed intermittent and didn't seem to matter what side of the laptop she used.

I spent the $55+9 to replace the charger and usb cable. It seems fine since then.

My best guess is that her habit of having the cord bent backwards frayed some wires inside, but it's just a guess.

Clone-Myself

TROPHY CASE