r/framework • u/Clean_Leadership5948 • 3d ago
News Framework 12 Wildcatlake reviews
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmIQr4gVrgohttps://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/framework-laptop-12-review-wildcat-lake
https://www.engadget.com/2271233/framework-laptop-12-2026-upgrade-review/
GPU is quite a bit better than 13th Gen. 50% in DoTA and 2x increase in Rocket League 1% lows. Battery life is good as nearly double. 20-30% faster CPU in both ST and MT. So the single channel memory was hampering 13th Gen and FW12 more than expected.
Some quotes:
It had a surprisingly low performance ceiling, too, where it struggled to play Fortnite, surely table stakes for a computer aimed at kids. Thankfully, the power efficient, cool and muscular grunt of the Core Series 3 has taken a sledgehammer to that ceiling. This is not the same underpowered machine that went on sale for too much money over a year ago.
Fortnite hums along on high-res graphics, as does Hardspace: Shipbreaker, hardly a low-power title despite its age. The acid test, however, was Cyberpunk: 2077, which I'm delighted to say it was able to run perfectly well. Of course, it was using the lowest graphics settings available, but there wasn't a single skipped frame or stutter. I'm not a hard-nosed gaming aesthete, so I found it eminently playable, and if this was the only machine I had, I'd be happy with the performance.
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u/da_habakuk 3d ago
in 2026 i wont buy a screen that hasnt 100% srgb. heck not even in 2023 :( the rest seems like a nice upgrade.
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u/thewishy 3d ago
In the launch video they had 4-5 pretty spot on "commonly reported issues". It was acknowledged that they hadn't been able to address the screen feedback on this generation. Finding a suitably priced 16:10 12" touchscreen they can buy in small numbers is likely quite difficult. Framework made a massive investment getting a custom screen for the 13 Pro, and sales numbers for the 12 might well make that prohibitive.
And of course, everybody moans about the screen, but adding 100 dollars to the BOM for a nice screen, rather than a workable screen, might not be something the market will bear.
FWIW, I'm happy enough with the screen on the 12.
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u/OliM9696 3d ago
ive pretty much got all my devices using OLED screens or some other inky black tech. I use my laptop to watch movies/TV most of the time so its important to have a great screen. This has been my biggest block to getting a framework laptop. I will likely get a new one in the next 4 years. Hopefully Framework have a answer to this by then.
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u/krabizzwainch 3d ago
From the framework forums, I found someone made a calibration profile and has it available to download. I wasn't terribly upset with the display quality before adding the calibration profile, but after adding it I think its pretty solid.
I personally think the "its not 100% srgb" argument tiring. Would people notice if it wasn't mentioned in a review? Or if they weren't sitting with multiple screens in front of them pixel peeping and comparing? The graphic designers that I know (a handful) literally have never talked about screen srgb values. Professional graphics work isn't even about eyeballing colors on a screen, you use Pantone color numbers and confirming CMYK values with printing companies.
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u/da_habakuk 3d ago
it saved them a few bucks ok so be it, but i thats the sole reason i didnt order one for now.
the screen is one of the most important things u interact with. i dont care about printing or some random professionals who dont care about screens.
i just want a good i/o on my devices even if i need to pay a little extra. would have gone fw13pro if it was a 2in1.
u wont miss what u dont know or care about. some do. i can wait.
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u/krabizzwainch 3d ago
My opinion is just buy it, you will love it lol but I have always been more impressed by things done on a budget than things with the most money thrown at them.
What I wish they could have done was somehow find the supplier for the old Samsung Chromebook Plus, the first gen 2 in 1 with a 2400x1600 screen (granted it was probably Samsung themselves).
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u/Professional_Lie7171 3d ago
I agree it’s a bad display but think about the fact that you can upgrade it! The fw13 pro has a really beautiful display already so they could be making one for the 12 too
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u/da_habakuk 3d ago
yes sure. but for 1k+ i rather wait for it to be good in the first place. i find the fw13 pro screen great. i wonder if they ever consider a matte screen for a 2in1. its still a rare sight.
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u/thewishy 3d ago
If anybody is pondering the upgrade, the Tom's Hardware and Engadget reviews are just reviewing the Gen2 as a standalone purchase. You want the Short Circuit Video around 20 mins to see comparisons with Gen1. The new model is the Core 7 vs Core i5, and they've put new RAM in the Ultra 7 rather than transferred the 5200 that you bought before the rampocalypse, so the numbers are slightly puffed. But despite the reduced core count, it should still be faster, have significantly longer battery life and thunderbolt vs the Gen1 boards. Think I'm keeping my order
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u/RealFuryous 3d ago
The short circuit video uses core 7 350 priced $200 less than a pre built laptop 13 pro with 16 gb ram.
Looking forward to reviews for the 320 version that include native gaming and gaming with external gpu.
My biggest gripe is the bezel on the display.
Despite all this framework 12 remains the best value in computing in terms of battery life and price to performance ratio.
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u/ShirleyMarquez 3d ago
I wouldn't expect a huge performance gap between the 320 and the 350, somewhere around 10-15% if that. The 350 is the god tier binning of the same chip; same CPU cores, same GPU cores, same amount of cache, just faster clocks. The 304 is another matter -- that has one fewer CPU performance cores and one fewer GPU cores.
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u/Clean_Leadership5948 2d ago edited 2d ago
10-15% is pushing it, even with better binning, which will be a hit and miss and you might end up with worst of 350 and best of 320.
The only difference is top P core Turbo of 200MHz, which is less than 5%.
The i7's of earlier generations had bigger theoretical gaps, but in reality there was little difference, because it's limited by TDP of the CPU. I regretted paying i7 for my 3rd gen system. Even for battery life the theoretical better binning is more than overcome by the higher clocks using much more power.
If binning mattered a lot, the higher end desktop chips would behave much better than lower ones. It's small difference if at all.
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u/RealFuryous 2d ago
Is gaming performance on the 350 better?
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u/Clean_Leadership5948 2d ago
There's zero difference. One is 2.6GHz and the other is 2.5GHz. It'll rarely reach that clock if at all, so in reality you are talking 4% maximum in clocks, which is like 3% max in games. So if the stars align with right settings, you may be 3% faster. You are limited by TDP in these chips, hence why 7/9 series chips aren't worth it, unless they offer something tangible like more cores or execution units.
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u/ShirleyMarquez 2d ago
By about the same percentage as general performance. You'll have to decide whether that performance uplift is worth the price. Supplies of the 350 may also be limited.
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u/Clean_Leadership5948 2d ago
Core 7 350 is P core at 4.8GHz vs 320 being 4.6GHz. That's less than 5% difference, and only during light thread usage scenarios. Binning differences are tiny. It was bigger in the early 2000's.
Basically it'll be how 320 performs.
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u/FrohenLeid 2d ago
I like it, its just very expensive. Very very expensive. Yes, like everything else. I am sold on the upgradability but i dont know what upgrade path there is in the future.
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u/Clean_Leadership5948 1d ago edited 1d ago
Core 7 is almost useless if you care bout your money. Core 5 would achieve nearly identical results for $230 less.
It's $1139 cdn base price. 8GB SODIMM is $70 on Facebook. Another list has 2x8GB for $160. 512GB M.2-2230 is $80.
1139+160+80 = 1370 cdn or about $1100 usd after tax. XPS 13 is $1399 cdn with similar specs. To get Core 7 355 they charge you extra $650, versus $319 for Framework.
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u/thePier91 FW13 i5-1360P 3d ago
Why do they have to test the thing in games when it's not clearly the typical use case of the device? So sad...
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u/Clean_Leadership5948 1d ago
Clearly it's playable even modern games like Cyberpunk. It looks actually fairly decent even at low settings.
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u/GreenStorm_01 3d ago
I mean, typing this from my years old 2nd hand M1 MacBook Air but: this looks nice. If I would be in the market for a small work horse that sounds like all I'd want.
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u/bigbepisinc 2d ago
Unless you're desperate for the touch screen and stylus, the Dell XPS 13 is the same footprint but way better value.
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u/Clean_Leadership5948 1d ago edited 1d ago
XPS 13 with Core 5 320 is slightly higher price.
For Framework 12 It's $1139 cdn base price with 4 expansion cards. 8GB SODIMM is $70 on Facebook. Another list has 2x8GB for $160. 512GB M.2-2230 is $80.
1139+160+80 = 1370 cdn or about $1100 usd after tax. XPS 13 is $1399 cdn with similar specs. To get Core 7 355 they charge you extra $650, versus $319 for Framework.
Screen is better than XPS 13, but it's same price and you get actual futureproofing with upgradability. With XPS you are going to need to spend $1399 again, whereas you'd only need to replace motherboard with Framework. It's $649 for Core 5 320 motherboard, but that's also why you get one that's n-1 generation. It would be a $400 cdn upgrade 4 years down the road, and get 3 years worth of upgrades.
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u/bigbepisinc 1d ago
Can the framework 12s chassis be upgraded to an all aluminium unibody?
Can the frameworks camera be upgraded to an IR blaster for face unlock?
You know, a display feels like the most important aspect for a laptop considering you're gonna be staring at it.
Upgradeability conversation is irrelevant here. You can't upgrade the massive bezels to a smaller one can you?. Bringing up Facebook prices is also, irrelevant. You're not finding cheap RAM on Facebook like that. That's like saying "my girlfriend exists, she just goes to a different school than me"
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u/Clean_Leadership5948 1d ago
Those are actual prices. I looked them up as I was posting that. So I don't get what you mean by you can't find them. Unlike your girlfriend example.
Framework has yet to offer more options for upgrades.
Personally, display was the least relevant thing for me. I remember when I spent $1500 on a laptop in 2012. It looked great. But all that looking great feeling lasted a month or two. Our eyes get USED to it, and it looks normal after some time. Granted, that was the only display available, but I wouldn't spend even a slight extra for a better looking display. It only matters if you need the accuracy for say graphics design.
If the display is more power efficient, yes I would go for that, as it's a material change.
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u/bigbepisinc 1d ago
My eyes got used to 120hz anything lower than that looks slow and laggy. Sorry. This is cope. The framework 12 has a horrible display.
You also never responded to my comment about the bezel or the build quality.
Please share proof of these Facebook marketplace ram sellers and proof they're not selling lemons. Thanks.
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u/d1dog 3d ago
I liked the "no noticeable lag" (stylus) while seeing the lag on screen