Framework Let Us in for an Early Teardown of the Refreshingly Open Framework Desktop
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Background
Framework, the company that got its start making modular, upgradeable, and repairable laptops (like the Framework 13 and Framework 16), announced their foray into the desktop space on February 25th, 2025 at their "[2nd Gen]" event keynote in San Fransisco, launching the Framework Desktop.
The Framework Desktop is a 4.5L small-form-factor desktop PC built around the standard mini ITX form factor, with a custom board using AMD's new Strix Halo Ryzen AI Max series APUs. Targeted squarely at the emerging local/offline LLM scene, the Framework Desktop was also advertised to perform well in gaming workloads, thanks to RDNA3 GPU firepower in the AI Max APUs.
The board features a soldered APU and soldered LPDDR5x. Built on the mini ITX motherboard size, it also features two PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots for storage, standard motherboard headers and fan headers, standard ATX power ports (24-pin board and 12-pin CPU power), and a single PCIe x4 expansion slot. The cooling solution was developed in partnership with Cooler Master and Noctua.
The case, at 4.5L, also includes a custom FSP flex ATX power supply, customizable front fascia, and Framework expansion cards as front ports.
Marketed partly as a Mac Studio alternative, the Framework Desktop is available with up to 128 GB of LPDDR5x-8000 memory over a 256-bit bus. Starting at $1099 for the 8-core, 32 GB configuration, the Framework Desktop is also available with 16-cores / 64 GB for $1599, and 16-cores / 128 GB for $1999, plus numerous aesthetic options. If you provide your own case and power supply, the base mainboard is available by itself for $799.
At its highest configuration, the Framework Desktop costs over $3800.
Identification
The Framework Desktop is easily recognizable by its signature customizable tiled front panel, its expansion card ports, and its custom AMD mini ITX board.
Technical Specifications
APU (Processor):
- AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (8-core, 16-thread, 3.6–5.0 GHz, 32 MB L3 cache, 120–140W)
- Configurable to AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (16-core, 32-thread, 3.0–5.1 GHz, 64 MB L3 cache, 120–140W)
APU (Graphics):
- With Ryzen AI Max 385: Integrated Radeon 8050S (RDNA3, 2.8 GHz, 32 CUs, 32 MB cache)
- With Ryzen AI Max+ 395: Integrated Radeon 8060S (RDNA3, 2.9 GHz, 40 CUs, 32 MB cache)
Cooling:
- Custom 6-heatpipe heatsink with 120mm Cooler Master Mobius 120
- Configurable to 120mm Noctua NF-A12x25
- Configurable to 120mm Cooler Master Mobius 120p ARGB
- Honeywell PTM7958 TIM
Memory:
- With Ryzen AI Max 385: 32 GB LPDDR5x-8000 (256-bit bus, 8000 MT/s, soldered)
- With Ryzen AI Max+ 395: 64 GB LPDDR5x-8000 (256-bit bus, 8000 MT/s, soldered)
- Configurable to 128 GB LPDDR5x-8000 (256-bit bus, 8000 MT/s, soldered)
PSU: Flex ATX 400W 80+ Gold (in collaboration with FSP)
Storage: 2x NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 2280 slots, up to 16 TB total
Connectivity:
- AMD RZ717 Wi-Fi 7
- Realtek RTL8126 5 Gbit Ethernet
Audio: Realtek ALC623
Front ports:
- 2x Framework expansion cards (customizable, USB-C, 3.2 Gen 2)
Rear ports:
- 1x HDMI 2.1 w/CEC
- 2x DisplayPort 2.1 (10G)
- 2x USB-C (USB 4)
- 1x RJ45 Ethernet (5 Gbit)
- 2x USB-A (3.2 Gen 1)
- 1x 3.5 mm audio combo jack
Additional motherboard connectors:
- 3x 4-pin fan headers
- 1x 9-pin front panel button header
- 2x 20-pin USB Type-E front panel headers
- 1x 9-pin front panel HD audio header
- 1x 4-pin ARGB header
- 1x RTC battery connector (Molex 51021-8502)
- 1x PCIe x4
Size:
- Volume: 4.5 L
- Case: 96.8 x 205.5 x 226.1 mm (3.81 x 8.09 x 8.90 inches)
- Weight: 3.1 kg (6.83 lbs)
