Framework launches modular desktop AI PC
Framework has added a modular desktop AI PC to its repairable laptop.
The Framework Desktop is a Mini-ITX desktop with AMD’s Ryzen AI Max processors as well as a configuration options.
Framework has used the Expansion Card system from Framework Laptops, with two slots at the front of Framework Desktop enabling front port customization. The front panel of the case is made up of 21 colour-customizable tiles, with an open source design for 3D printing,
“You may still be wondering, why does Framework need to build a desktop? Aren’t desktops already modular and upgradeable? They are. In fact, the desktop PC ethos is part of what inspired the Framework Laptop to begin with,” said Nirav Patel, co-founder of Framework.
“There is a broad, long-lived, interoperable ecosystem with hundreds of brands and hundreds of millions of consumers participating. You can build, upgrade, repair, and personalize to the limits of your imagination (and budget, and desk space). We want to make this space as accessible as we possibly can by building a desktop that is simultaneously small and simple and customizable.”
The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 has 16 CPU cores at 5.1GHz boost clock, discrete-level Radeon 8060S graphics, and support for up to 128GB of unified LPDDR5x in a power envelope of 120W and 140 at boost. This enables 1440p or higher gaming displays, large creative and workstation workloads, and true local AI use cases.
The mainboard is a standard Mini-ITX form factor with ATX headers, a PCIe x4 slot, and rear I/O including with 2x USB4, 2x DisplayPort, HDMI, and 5Gbit Ethernet. Framework developed a semi-custom 400W power supply with Taiwanese manufacturer FSP in a standard Flex ATX form factor and standard 120mm CPU fans with a thermal system co-developed with Cooler Master and Noctua. Two PCIe NVME M.2 2280 slots allow for up to 16TB of storage and Wi-Fi 7 through an RZ717 Wi-Fi module.
“There is one place we did have to step away from PC norms though, which is on memory,” said Patel. “To enable the massive 256GB/s memory bandwidth that Ryzen AI Max delivers, the LPDDR5x is soldered. We spent months working with AMD to explore ways around this but ultimately determined that it wasn’t technically feasible to land modular memory at high throughput with the 256-bit memory bus.”
The company has also launched a modular 12.2in touchscreen laptop and a 13in laptop using the AMD AI 300 processor.
The PC units are planned for shipping in the third quarter of 2025 starting at $1099 for the base unit with an 8-core Ryzen AI Max 385 configuration with 32GB of memory.
www.frame.work
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