Framework Laptop

ltt3 · October 21, 2021

Linus recently reviewed the Framework laptop and stated in a later episode that he was so impressed that he invested in the project.

I absolutely agree that this is a valuable project and that it deserves to win. As I travel frequently and do all my work on the road, an expandable laptop like the Framework is ideal for my needs. It is also the ideal size, at 13." A 15" is too large for all the places I need to use it, which is sometimes a hostel-bed in a far corner of the world. I do have some features I'd like to see and I'd like to run it by the forum, before I contact framework with a feature request.

What I'd like to see added to the Framework laptop, on later models, is a second internal ssd. I know that you can add a second ssd module on usb; but, this tends to be slow during cloning, which is the exclusive method I use for data backups. I use clonezilla, on a usb-stick for this. All of my systems (laptops exclusively) are multiboot. My current system has Windows 10, debian Buster and Ubuntu. When I have a system with 2-ssd slots, I use the second for "internal" backup, which is bunches faster than hanging the backup drive on a usb port and doesn't require the external drive at all. I used to clone drive to drive (bare-metal); but, I currently only save the image to the backup drive. I'm completely confident in this methodology and clonezilla for this.

While the scenario I described is convenient, it leaves something to be desired. A more ideal hardware configuration would be to have 4x internal ssd slots. Please allow me to explain, as there is madness to my method One thing I've learned multibooting is that Windows just won't play nice with other distros; so, it's best isolated on it's own drive, with my linux distros on a secondary system-drive. Also, internal b/u is so much faster and convenient than external b/u that it would be ideal for each system-drive to have it's own internal b/u drive, NVMe preferred, all around. With M.2 ssds (2280s) the form factor is small enough to accommodate this, even in a 12.6" unit. The b/u drives could be hibernated or electrically switched-off, when not in use. This could be done with switches or in the BIOS/UEFI firmware to save power. I imagine the b/u drives should be twice the size of the system-drives. For example, both the Windows 10 drive and the linux system drive can be 1TB, with their respective b/u drives being 2TB. This would allow the creation of an equal or better sized partition, to store b/u images; and a separate spare data partition, where the user might store his music, videos, games, etc.There might be several power mitigation strategies that could be handled at the BIOS or OS level, depending on whether the user wants one or both of the b/u drives to be completely off or just sleeping; so, that they're available on-standby, without rebooting and reconfiguring the firmware. I would also allow all four ssd slots to be configured as systems drives. As the system ages and accidents happen, this just might save the user's canadian-bacon some day, if a primary-slot fails. BTW, I love canadian-bacon. It's my favorite vegetable

Qyygle · October 21, 2021

I think the usb ports on the framework are actually all usb4, and have thunderbolt integrated as part of the spec.

There's a couple threads around of people asking about egpu compatibility, and they seem to have confirmed it working.

This being the case, the expansion card drives should operate much faster than a normal usb connection, assuming they use a thunderbolt connection rather than usb. At worst, you could just get a thunderbolt drive enclosure and connect to the ports if the swap in cards don't