discussion Framework Mini PC

[Marzipan]

Eeeeehhhh this is what I was afraid of. It looks awesome... but $2,000 bucks, cmon.

and that's in USD too.

edit - and a long way away; article says they won't start to ship until 3Q2025! it will also start at a more reasonable $1100 (still USD) for the 385 and 32GB of RAM...but we have yet to see how the 16CU RDNA3.5 it has performances or the 36CU the 390 comes with.

edit - correction, the 390 has fewer CU;' 32, not 36 while the news is better for the 385 as it also has 32CU, not 16; it's the 380 that has 16CU.

 

[JD]

Was it here somebody posted or was it somewhere else? Sounded like HP has tons of Strix Halo's on order (the biggest order currently?) for their Mini PC unit, and that AMD has totally underestimated demand (once again).

So I'm guessing Framework is well down that list being a smaller player.

 

[Marzipan]

the Ryzen AI 9 370 also has a 16CU RDNA3.5 iGPU, but it's called the 890M. I wonder how it's different from the 3040s in the 380.

 

[Bond007]

Was it here somebody posted or was it somewhere else? Sounded like HP has tons of Strix Halo's on order (the biggest order currently?) for their Mini PC unit, and that AMD has totally underestimated demand (once again).

So I'm guessing Framework is well down that list being a smaller player.

I didn’t recall it off hand, but yes HP is also doing a build.

HP Z2 Mini G1a

HP Z2 Mini G1a is a new powerful Mini PC with AMD Ryzen AI MAX PRO CPUs and up to 128GB RAM

The HP Z2 Mini G1a unveiled at CES 2025 features AMD Ryzen AI MAX PRO processors, Radeon graphics, unified memory up to 128GB, 8TB storage capacity, and multi-display support - all in a compact form factor.

www.notebookcheck.net

https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/z2-mini-a.html

 

[JD]

I don’t recall it off hand, but yes HP is also doing a build.

HP Z2 Mini G1a

HP Z2 Mini G1a is a new powerful Mini PC with AMD Ryzen AI MAX PRO CPUs and up to 128GB RAM

The HP Z2 Mini G1a unveiled at CES 2025 features AMD Ryzen AI MAX PRO processors, Radeon graphics, unified memory up to 128GB, 8TB storage capacity, and multi-display support - all in a compact form factor.

www.notebookcheck.net

https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/z2-mini-a.html

Must've been somewhere else then... but this HP unit looks more compact than the Framework one.

I believe HP is the only one with a traditional laptop with the 395 too, unless you consider the ROG Tablet as a laptop.

 

[Marzipan]

I know this is a mobile CPU, but I would never want one in a laptop. you'll never get sustainable performance because a laptop cannot cool 120w for very long. granted, performance is awesome at 70w, which is what the ROG Flow Z13 has it bottlenecked at, so imagine how much better having the extra 50w overhead when there is adequate cooling...which is what you'll get in the PC's from Framework and HP.

 

[CMetaphor]

I know this is a mobile CPU, but I would never want one in a laptop. you'll never get sustainable performance because a laptop cannot cool 120w for very long. granted, performance is awesome at 70w, which is what the ROG Flow Z13 has it bottlenecked at, so imagine how much better having the extra 50w overhead when there is adequate cooling...which is what you'll get in the PC's from Framework and HP.

There's one potential laptop platform that could've done it, if it still existed? A few years back (think it was the "MAX-Q" -era) ASUS actually invented something Good, like Really Good, and I wish they had kept on working on it. The Zephyrus.

Basically, they moved the keyboard and trackpad to the "front" edge of laptop (front being the side closest to the user) to keep hands away from hot areas. And then, even better, the screen hinges physically connected to small arms that lifted the bottom of the laptop off the desk surface.

Now think of these design elements in a 2025 laptop: a vapor chamber, better modern fans, the ability to intake cold air from above And below the laptop, and exhaust that hot air all along the rear edge. I think you Could potentially make a thin-ish and light-ish laptop that performs the same or better than a mobile desktop -type laptop. 100watts or more from a single chip in the middle, covered by heatpipes going to either side (in the "back", again cooled by fans that could intake from both the top and bottom)? Yeah, I think it could actually work out great.

Shame that design is dead and I've not seen anything similar since. I haven't been looking at gamer laptops for a while, but I think they're all still using old intake / exhaust paths, which IMO is inferior to the Zephyrus design.

Oh well...

 

[Bond007]

Tear down of the engineering sample

 

[CMetaphor]

Replying to myself sorta: I forgot ASUS also made a slightly more recent Ryzen 5xxx era "Zephyrus Duo" laptop design. The keyboard was still at the front, but now they added a second narrow screen above, it between the front keyboard and the main screen. But this secondary screen also would pivot up when the laptop opened, again allowing for tons of heatsink space and air intakes underneath it.

 

[moocow]

GMK is also releasing a Strix Halo mini PC.

GMK confirms EVO-X2 Mini-PC with Ryzen AI MAX+ PRO 395 "Strix Halo" will launch between Q1/Q2 2025 - VideoCardz.com

GMK confirms its plans for Strix Halo Mini-PC The company has just launched its EVO-X1, the Strix Point based system. Yes, we do not know how large it will be, but Chinese media believes that the EVO-X2 should have a similar design to the EVO-X1 (pictured above). This is one of the smallest...

videocardz.com

As for the the ITX board, pricing for pre-order:

• $799 USD for 32GB, $1139 CAD
• $1299 USD for 64GB, $1859 CAD
• $1699 USD for 128GB, $2429 CAD

Right now it's Batch #7 shipping Q3.