I got my kid a used dell that was $90 on eBay and it's running linux just fine with the 8th Gen i5. If you need more you can likely just spend 100 more. I have a hard time justification for new unless you have a need for specific hardware
this post was submitted on 30 May 2026
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I've had mine for about 6 months and absolutely love it. Paid a little extra, sure, but it fit with my values (better than most) and exact hardware specifications for its use-case.
I'm sticking with my used thinkpad running Linux
Id take a framework over most brands
Buying a Framework laptop always felt ideological, not value-based. Like a statement that you want to support Linux-first hardware. Hard to compete without economy of scale, of course, but that wasn't their main goal.
The way I justified it was by saying that it will last longer than a laptop I just throw away after 5 years. If I can keep it for 10 years with an upgrade ir two the economics starts to make sense.
Yeah but I have MacBooks from the early 2000s that still work ok, and 2010s that work well enough I use them every day (as a tv/sound system)
All the laptops I’ve owned have lasted more than 5 years, and two of them are more than 10 years old. Unless you really need some new hardware just to be able to run something, I don’t think it’s hard to keep a laptop for at least 5 years, especially if the battery is replaceable. And in that case, it’s not really a good enough justification anymore to spend that much for a Framework.
That is completely fair. For the way I use my laptop I need fairly current hardware, but if you do not, the premium price might not make sense for you.
For the way I use my laptop I need fairly current hardware
Then Framework isn’t a great option, as their hardware isn’t particularly new or fast. It’s not really their fault, but just a function of the modularity (which restricts space for cooling/PCB), the small company size (so they don’t get/integrate new chips as quickly).
This is true even if you upgrade it over time, as other laptops might be a generation ahead with higher end chips.
The one exception might be the Desktop. And that’s fairly niche.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Framework. But it’s not a great brand if you really need all the CPU/GPU you can get in a particular size.
Speaking of needing new hardware, do you think it’s still worth it when it ends up becoming a Ship of Theseus thing where you replace a different part every couple of years? Would that still end up being cheaper vs buying a new laptop with all the newest specs in 8-10 years?
Reasonably I don't think that's how most people are going to upgrade the laptop.
You'll swap out the GPU and the CPU but I suspect the rest of the hardware will stay the same.
Is there much of a resale market to recuperate some of the costs on modules you replace? I could see slower depreciation being part of an economic justification, but only if there's a robust second hand parts market.
There's a decent used market on their forum and on eBay and stuff
Its a great question, I was able to find this on the Framework site: https://community.frame.work/c/community-market/202
It depends what you're doing with it. If you just browse in the web and editing the odd word document then you can get away with quite old specs.
If you're trying to do something quite processor intensive after about 5 years you'll probably are going to have to upgrade. At least with a framework that's actually possible.
Repairs though. Our 2010 laptop had the enter key die. Thankfully back then parts were still somewhat user repairable.
I bought a new keyboard for $18 on AliExpress, and just had to remelt the plastic heat stakes to pop out the old keyboard and drop in the new one. Took maybe 2 hours with disassembly steps and reassembly.
Current laptops often just get tossed out, but with a framework you can swap keyboards in 15 minutes.
repairability saves a ton of money in the long run, which you could arguably deduct from the price
I got a free, second hand Framework 13. It had a dead motherboard, but was in excellent shape otherwise. I bought a newer gen motherboard and some second hand RAM to move from DDR4 to 5. Kept everything else.
Works great. Only paid ~$500 for parts.
yeah the framework 12 doesn't make a lot of sense bc the price point is way too high. kinda sucks bc if it was at more of a Chromebook type of price point it would be undoubtedly the best option for schools.
Yeah he's bang on the money with all these points. I like my framework 12 but the only thing it's really got going for it is the customisability of the hardware and io.
Is he going to game on it because if so then Framework with Windows would be the best bet, gaming on Mac, well possible, it's far from the best it could be.