The original Framework Laptop 16 was trying to crack a problem that laptop makers have wrestled with on and off for years: Can you deliver a reasonably powerful, portable workstation and gaming laptop that supports graphics card upgrades just like a desktop PC?
Specs at a glance: Framework Laptop 16 (2025)OSWindows 11 25H2CPUAMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (4 Zen 5 cores, 4 Zen 5c cores)RAM32GB DDR5-5600 (upgradeable)GPUAMD Radeon 860M (integrated)/Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (dedicated)SSD1TB Western Digital Black SN770Battery85 WHrDisplay16-inch 2560×1600 165 Hz matte non-touchscreenConnectivity6x recessed USB-C ports (2x USB 4, 4x USB 3.2) with customizable “Expansion Card” donglesWeight4.63 pounds (2.1 kg) without GPU, 5.29 pounds (2.4 kg) with GPUPrice as testedRoughly $2,649 for pre-built edition; $2,517 for DIY edition with no OS
Even in these days of mostly incremental, not-too-exciting GPU upgrades, the graphics card in a gaming PC or graphics-centric workstation will still feel its age faster than your CPU will. And the chance to upgrade that one component for hundreds of dollars instead of spending thousands replacing the entire machine is an appealing proposition.
Upgradeable, swappable GPUs would also make your laptop more flexible—you can pick and choose from various GPUs from multiple vendors based on what you want and need, whether that’s raw performance, power efficiency, Linux support, or CUDA capabilities.
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