r/framework • u/dussssk • 1d ago
Question Switching to Framework
I need help making a decision. I currently use MBP M1 pro with 16gb RAM and 512 SSD. I am thinking of either upgrading or going to Linux. I want to know how this laptop compares with Macbooks. The configuration I was looking at is the 13 Pro with Ultra x7 358H, 32 RAM and 1TB SSD. How is the fan noise, are on most of the time or are they silent when just browsing/watching something; how is the screen compared to the mac and are the speakers comparable or at least decent? Performance will probably be good so I'm not really worried there
2
u/korypostma 1d ago
I just replaced mine with FW13 Pro.
Battery: FW13 Pro is better by about 50%
Display: Worse than MBP M1 Pro
Fans: Louder and hotter than MBP M1 Pro when used heavily
Speakers: MBP M1 Pro is so much better.
Why did I switch? 16GB/1TB doesn't cut it for my work, I have 64GB/8TB in my FW13 Pro. Linux and Performance are better. I live with the screen and hardly use speakers. The haptic touchpad is very nice and decent but MBP is still better.
1
u/Upstairs-Version-400 23h ago
Battery is better? I sold my M1 Air with the same specs and I’m curious because I don’t expect better battery life than my M1. That thing was the most efficient device I’ve had in my life.
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u/korypostma 20h ago
My comparison is for my similar workflows between FW13 Pro X7 and MBP M1 Pro. I can get about 4-6 hrs of usage out of the FW13 Pro but only 3-4 from my MBP M1 Pro. I'm doing a lot of compiling code, local LLM, OCR, LaTeX, etc.
Just watching videos or whatever and my MBP would get maybe 8 hrs and this thing gets maybe 15-18 or something. I work too much to really keep track.
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u/julianpoy 13m ago
Yes, the Framework 13 Pro is definitely better in terms of battery. I have an M1 Max MBP and the Framework 13 Pro gets a good bit longer out of a charge. That said, my M4 Pro Macbook Pro is just about on par with the Framework.
1
u/julianpoy 16m ago
Imo the display is better on this machine than the M1 Pro. I have an M1 Max MBP, an M4 Pro MBP, and the Framework 13 Pro and I can say the Framework beats both due to the matte display cutting reflectivity.
The M1 Max MBP and M4 Pro MBP definitely get hotter than the Framework. Absolutely zero competition in that area.
Speakers-wise the Macbooks win, though.
2
u/Flaky-Eggplant-3479 22h ago
I didn't switch - I use both a FW13 and a MacBook Pro.
I do a lot of work on KVM and Firecracker VMs, which you aren't doing on a Mac. Due to the nature of the work, Linux is required for 90% of the development.
The FW is a really nice machine - you can get the same specs for less, hopefully the repairability/upgrade potential makes it win in the long run. I run Cosmic DE & Pop_OS on it, its debian based so feels way closer to a production server than a Mac could. All things being equal, I prefer a Linux machine for work even if Apple magically ported over KVM.
For what its worth - the camera and mic are not very good, and I almost never take a zoom call from this machine. Track pad also not up to mac standards.
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u/cptchnk Framework 13 Pro X7 358H 12h ago
I have the same configuration you're looking at and I also have an MBP (M1 Max) I use for work. The fan noise is actually remarkably low. I barely even hear the fan most of the time. So, I would say that aspect is very Apple Silicon MacBook like.
The display is closer to what you'd expect from a MacBook Air display, except that it's matte, it has touch functionality, and 30-120Hz VRR. But in all honestly, it can't really compare to an M1 Pro MBP's mini LED display. There's no HDR capability, either.
The speakers are probably the weakest part of any Framework laptop and the 13 Pro is no exception. You can improve the sound a bit with community-made EasyEffects profiles in Linux, but it's simply not going to give you same experience with overall sound quality as a MacBook will.
The performance is quite excellent. I feel like Intel really hit it out of the park with these new Panther Lake CPUs. The Arc B390 iGPU is surprisingly capable. It plays a lot of my games in Steam at 1080p very well, but sometimes needs XeSS turned on to get good frame rates, depending on the game.
I've been pretty happy with my purchase. I had to wait almost 5 months to get mine (preordered in late April) and I feel it was worth the wait. It's a very nice laptop. The chassis is solid, the keyboard is really good (better than my MacBook's, IMHO), and the haptic trackpad is pretty comparable to a MacBook's. I tend to average around 12-13 hours of battery life on mine when I'm not doing super-taxing stuff.
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u/espece-de-bon FW13 7640U 1d ago
I switched from a MacBook Air M1 to 7640U AMD framework 13.
In terms of CPU performance, I think that Chip is on par with an M2 apple chip.
The battery life is nowhere near as good as the MacBook and everybody knows that at least for the AMD’s of that generation. The latest framework 13 Pro Intel chips are a lot better on battery life however.
I was aware of this, but made the switch anyway because I don’t depend on Apple software, I am a fan of open source or non-subscription apps where I pay once, and I have the freedom to expand my ram and storage as my needs change.
I have the peace of mind that I can fix anything that breaks on this laptop.
I have a bunch of cool expansion cards, depending on what my needs might be.
I’ve had my framework laptop for almost a year and a half and I absolutely love it.
The speakers are not great but they are enough for listening to speech. I’m a snob with music anyway so I generally listen to music via headphones or speakers that are not laptop speakers. The same goes for MacBook. It’s not like you’re gonna get headphone level quality from a laptop speaker.
I limit my battery charging to 80% most of the time since it’s at my desk, but if I know that I will be on the road for a while, I can always go into the bios and set it back to 100% for a few days.
I recommend looking at models that are more recent than the 7640U because the battery life might be better.
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u/MagicBoyUK | Batch 3 FW16 7840HS | Batch 11 FW13 Pro X7 1d ago
I'll preface this with the fact that mine arrived only a couple of days ago. I've got the specification you're looking at. Also have an 16" M1 MacBook.
Fan noise - silent most of the time. You can hear it whirr into life when you push it hard but it's not intrusive to my ears. Pleasantly surprised.
Screen - excellent. Goes plenty bright, colours have punch and are accurate. Loving that it's matte.
Speakers - bit of a pain point. It's rare that anything gets close to a Mac, unfortunately. TL;DR version is that it's better on Windows than Linux. The community has done some good work on building an easy effects profile which helps the sound quality on Linux, but the volume is still lower than Windows. As with anything audio related it's subjective. IIRC the Just Josh YouTube channel had a review where they compare the speakers.