Framework, the modular computer company, has just announced its first desktop PC, which is something it absolutely did not need to do — but I’m glad it did.
Partly because the world needs more tiny 4.5-liter mini-ITX PCs, partly because it uses AMD’s most powerful APU ever (Strix Halo) with some actual gaming chops and up to 128GB of unified LPDDR5x memory… and partly because it looks like this.
Yes, you can create your own front panel out of 21 interchangeable (and freely 3D printable) tiles, pick your own two front I/O ports, and yes that’s a standard-size mini-ITX motherboard below, along with a custom thermal system co-developed by Cooler Master and Noctua with standard 120mm fans, a semi-custom 400W Flex ATX power supply co-developed by FSP, a whole lot of seemingly perfect-length cables for a relatively cable-light system, your choice of black or translucent side panels… and, at left, an optional LAN party carry handle!
Just don’t look for any memory slots — it’s 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,” writes Framework.
Below, find a closer look at Framework’s desktop motherboard and cooling; you only get a PCIe x4 port, not PCIe x8 or x16, and no legacy connectors like SATA, but it’s more loaded than the image lets on: Framework says it’s got onboard 5Gbps Ethernet, two USB4, two DisplayPort, one HDMI, not one but two M.2 2280 NVMe SSD slots for up to 16TB of storage, and a Wi-Fi 7 module, plus what appear to be two full-size USB-A ports and a headphone jack (at the rear).
Here’s a little bit of the build process, as told by the images Framework sent us:
And here’s some better images of the Framework Desktop mainboard’s I/O, in a rack-mounted, daisy-chained configuration that the company expects some AI enthusiasts might snap up — thanks to the local AI chops and 128GB of memory on the highest-end Ryzen AI Max Plus 395 Plus config.
“With Framework Desktop, you can run giant, capable models like Llama 3.3 70B Q6 at real-time conversational speed right on your desk,” the company claims, adding “With USB4 and 5Gbit Ethernet networking, you can connect multiple systems or Mainboards to run even larger models like the full DeepSeek R1 671B.”
Framework CEO Nirav Patel says it was also designed with LANs in mind — though with a bit less bulk than the massive CRT moniotrs and desktops of old.
What kind of gaming chops might it really have? My colleague Antonio has seen in his time with the Asus Z13 gaming tablet that Strix Halo is roughly around the performance of an Nvidia RTX 4060 mobile chip. AMD gaming architect boss Frank Azor was also here with some 1080p benchmarks at high settings; it apparently can’t quite play the most demanding games (like Black Myth Wukong and Starfield) at over 60fps at native resolution with everything turned up, but the claim is that even 1440p at 60fps is possible with AMD’s FSR upscaling.
Even if you’re not getting your money’s worth out of AI, though, the prices on these desktops don’t seem all that outlandish. While a desktop with a 16 CPU cores, 40 graphics cores, 80MB of cache of the 395 Plus chip, and 128GB of memory will cost $1,999 — not including bring-your-own storage and OS — you can pick one with 8 CPU cores, 32 graphics cores, 40MB of cache and 32GB of memory for $1,099. There’s also an 395 Plus with just 64GB of RAM for $1,599. Or, you can buy a mainboard alone for $799 if you provide your own mini-ITX case and power supply, too.
If you are looking for the most powerful mini-PC, Patel suggested the $1,999 model compares favorably to an Apple Mac Studio, which can cost over twice as much for the same 128GB of RAM.
Framework says these desktops and mainboard should be avaialble to preorder today, with plans to ship in Q3. If you’re reading these words, I’m currently at a Framework event in San Francisco, where the company also just introduced a new AMD-powered version of its Framework Laptop 13 and the new Framework Laptop 12: its first budget laptop, its first touchscreen, and its first convertible.
