"Framework 13 - First Big Upgrade"

Posted: 09 August, 2025

I’ve had my Framework 13 for 2.5 years, and it’s performed like a champ, throughout. I don’t use it every day – I work from home, and have a rig – but it’s done everything I’ve wanted from it when I’m on the road.

But it’s started to pant a bit. Software is as Software does; things get fatter, slower, and more Electron, and lately, it’s not taken all that much to get the fans going. Obviously, the whole point of going with a Framework was to get to this point, wanting to upgrade, but without spending a whole load of coin on a new machine, generating e-waste, or adding to a shelf of Thinkpads. Since I’ve finished a project, and got a new job, I thought I’d treat myself and see if the dream could come true.

My 13 is the original edition, 11th Gen Core i5 with 32Gig of ram, 512gig SSD and glossy display, and in terms of upgrade options, I could go Intel, or AMD. I’ve been rocking AMD processors in my dev rig for years, so that was a no-brainer. I plumped for the Ryzen 7040, with a single 48 Gig DDR5 stick. Slightly annoyingly, I also needed to buy a new Wi-Fi module, but since that was only 20 quid, and 6E, it’s a decent upgrade for the money. And obviously, I couldn’t resist replacing the OG glossy display with the new, 2.8k matte(!) 120khz one, because hey, I’m pulling the machine apart anyway, right? I know… extravagant, but I’m treating myself.

Total cost, including postage and VAT, was a grand, which is absolutely “new laptop” money, but the display was nearly a third of that and not something that I’d expect to replace again anytime soon. Unless I drop the thing.

The upgrade itself was phenomenally easy, apart from the Wi-Fi module. Four screws to pop out the display, similar number for the motherboard. Plug the audio cable back in, the battery, snap the new memory stick in, swap out the wifi module, then dick about for 5 minutes trying to get the world's smallest MHF4 connectors to snap into place. My old-man eyes were very much not up to the job on that one… Total upgrade time; 15 minutes, tops. 10/10, no notes.

The new display is lovely. Can not praise it enough. Colour reproduction is great, viewing angles are on a par with the old one, and the extra refresh rate makes everything feel super solid. And there’re no reflections! Praise the lord! I’ve not done much to give the CPU/GPU a kicking yet, but it’s obvious from the first boot that nothing’s touching the sides. Yet. Can’t comment on battery life, but I’ll report back…

So Framework have done it. They’ve given me a machine that I’ve owned for 2.5 years, and now, upgraded with a few bits that should keep everything going for another 2 or 3 more. I’ve got a motherboard that I can re-purpose, and a display that I’m 100% sure I can bounce on eBay with zero problems.

The dream has come true!

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