From www.forbes.com
A teardown of the Framework Desktop with its Ryzen AI Max mainboard.
When Framework teased it had been working hard behind the scenes for the last two years to deliver a trio of massive announcements, that apparently wasn’t marketing hype. The company just took a big step forward in fulfilling a promise to bring its consumer-friendly, right-to-repair approach to more product categories in the PC market. As of now, Framework isn’t just selling traditional and 2-in-1 laptops. Now it’s creating something straight out of my recent dreams: a mini desktop PC powered by AMD’s new “Strix Halo” Ryzen AI Max processors.
You read that right. Framework is finally entering the desktop PC space; the same DIY space that inspired Framework Laptops to begin with. And it’s joining the party with one of the most exciting and disruptive processors we’ve seen in years.
“This is an absolute monster of a processor, and we shifted our roadmap a year ago to make space for it.”
The word “disruptive” in this context applies to both the chip industry and Framework itself. Framework founder Nirav Patel says he first saw the monster performance of AMD’s Ryzen AI Max a year ago. “We immediately knew we had to use it,” he says. In fact, changes were made to the company’s roadmap to accommodate it.
Framework + AMD Ryzen AI Max = Value?
Now that reviews of the Asus ROG Flow Z13 are live, it’s clear what generated Patel’s excitement. The top-end Ryzen AI Max+ 395 demonstrates groundbreaking graphics performance for a processor with a built-in GPU. In the span of one generation, we’ve suddenly stopped asking when APUs might consistently deliver 60FPS gaming at 1080p. Because now they’re capable of churning out 60+FPS in demanding games like Black Myth: Wukong or Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p on High presets!
The diminutive Framework Desktop, pictured here with Ryzen AI Max mainboard and fan installed.
Framework
Put simply: the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 has integrated graphics performance on par with Nvidia’s dedicated RTX 4070 laptop GPU. You can comfortably enjoy your favorite games at 1080p and 1440p.
Framework rightly believes you shouldn’t give up your data to companies like OpenAI in exchange for access to powerful AI tools. When looking at AI workloads, it’s capable of running huge LLMs (large language models) like Llama 3.3 70B locally, at realtime conversational speed, without multiple chips or hot, pricey dedicated GPUs.
That’s an astounding accomplishment, and it busts the door wide open for products just like this. Products, it should be noted, that are mostly absent at retail save for the Asus ROG Flow Z13 2-in-1. That’s because the sheer power and complexities of this AMD chip require complete chassis redesigns. So Framework figured hey, let’s just put this beast in a desktop.
The value proposition for this chip – and by extension this desktop – ramps up considerably when you realize that 96GB of the available maximum of 128GB of blazing fast memory can be allocated to graphics. That’s if you’re running Windows. On Linux, you can allocate 110GB. This is a big, big deal for anyone interested in AI workloads.
An equivalent Mac Studio with 128GB of memory would cost an eye-watering $5000. Framework’s top-end offering here is $2000.
Framework Desktop Mini PC Specs And Pricing
Gamepad for scale.
Framework
Unlike Framework laptops, the Framework Desktop is a completely DIY affair. In other words, you bring your own storage drives and operating system and build the PC. On the OS front, Framework is officially supporting Windows 11 alongside Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora, as well as gaming-focused choices like Bazzite and Playtron.
The system is a bit on the larger side of the mini PC spectrum. It might be fair to also consider it a tiny small form factor PC? Inside the 4.5L chassis is a standard mini-ITX mainboard, which includes ATX headers, a PCIe x4 slot, and a good variety of rear I/O like dual USB4 ports, two DisplayPort outputs, HDMI, and 5 Gigabit Ethernet. You’ll also get two PCIe NVME M.2 slots that accommodate up to 16TB of storage potential, as well as WiFi 7.
“The desktop PC ethos is part of what inspired the Framework Laptop to begin with. We want to make this space as accessible as we possibly can by building a desktop that is simultaneously small and simple and incredibly powerful and customizable. Everyone should have the opportunity to experience the culture around PCs and PC gaming first-hand.”
The system will be offered in a variety of configurations. The base 8-core Ryzen AI Max 385 version ships with 32GB of memory for $1099. On the other end of the spectrum, the top-end version uses AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and a whopping 128GB of memory for $1999.
For cooling, you can drop in your own fan or choose Framework’s thermal solution, which was co-developed by Cooler Master and Noctua.
Not the color scheme I would choose, but you do you!
Framework
It’s also worth noting Framework’s Expansion Cards are joining the desktop party, as you can see in the image above. Great decision, and I’m excited about the touch of modularity this brings.
When it comes to case customization, Framework is serving up a ton of choice. Customers can choose between black and translucent side panels, opt for an RGB fan, and even attach an optional handle for lugging it to LAN parties! For the front panel, you can choose up to 21 different color-customizable tiles. Don’t like any of those options? Framework made the design open source, so you can 3D print whatever your imagination conjures up.
Framework’s AI Ryzen Max mainboard is also a standalone purchase to enable DIY builders.
Framework
And here’s a major win for DIY PC builders who want to tap into the power of this processor: Framework is selling standalone Ryzen AI Max mainboards. They start at $799, and you can pre-order them right now. If I’m not mistaken, this represents the world’s first standalone Ryzen AI Max mainboard that you can drop into any compatible case of your choosing.
A rack of 4 Framework Ryzen AI Max 300 mainboards.
Framework
As for what to do with this tiny beast, the sky is the limit. The Framework Desktop looks like the perfect choice for my dedicated Steam Machine powered by SteamOS or Bazzite. My needs are simple, but perhaps yours are more complex. Want to chain multiple mainboards together and run your own local instance of DeepSeek? You can do that, too.
Preorders for the Framework Desktop are live right now, and it begins shipping in early Q3.
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