Framework Desktop is a mash-up of a regular desktop PC and the Mac Studio (opens in new tab)

(arstechnica.com)

26 pointsjbjbjbjb10mo ago6 comments

6 comments

6 comments · 2 top-level

grumpyinfosec10mo ago· 3 in thread

i don't really get the point of this? Its a ITX motherboard with a moible chip. I could buy a itx board and a desktop chip for less. Or get a miniPC with the same chip for even less.

They are trying to disrupt building a PC, which was already modular and easy to upgrade, with a 1000+$ motherboard with soldered RAM?

saurik10mo ago

A big part of this device seems to be trying to provide the memory bandwidth needed for high-performance local LLM inference, in a package that is more designed to be controlled by the user than the Apple Mac Mini/Studio that have so far been the best for such work.

thisislife210mo ago

I doubt if Apple CPUs / GPUs outperform AMD CPUs and GPUs but yes, there have been a lot of these "AI" mini-PCs suddenly mushrooming everywhere - https://www.gmktec.com/products/amd-ryzen™-ai-max-395-evo-x2... ...

ktallett10mo ago

I question the term best fit. Do you mean best fit within an off the shelf pre built device?

wpm10mo ago· 1 in thread

If they had the Pro versions of the SoCs and 10GbE I'd be all over this. As it stands, no ECC, and no expansion slot for a better network card.

jdboyd10mo ago

The case doesn't have an expansion slot, but if you order just the ITX motherboard there is an x4 slot. Since it isn't an open ended slot though, the question is where to find a PCIe 4.0 x4 card. You can certainly find 10gig cards that will fit. While the math works for performance, there don't seem to be anyone making 25gbit ethernet cards in x4 though.

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