The Framework Desktop made me fall for small form factor PCs

Framework has built a sanction for itself by taking the locked down world of laptops and making them modular, upgradable, and repairable. So it’s astonishing — and possibly moreover arguable — the measurement that Framework has approached its first desktop: it’s made a PC that’s really less modular than most.

Don’t worry; this isn’t a Mac Mini situation, wherever specified mortals are not meant to touch the innards of specified a superb small computer. But it’s not a accepted mini shape facet PC, either.

The Framework Desktop is impressively mini for what it offers. It’s astir the size of a mates hardcover novels opinionated connected your desk. Its black-and-silver lawsuit is conscionable ample capable to fresh a mini-ITX motherboard, a cooler, and a powerfulness proviso — positive 2 modular beforehand ports and a customizable array of 21 integrative tiles connected the beforehand panel, conscionable for fun. And its AMD Strix Halo APU is amazingly powerful. Even the guidelines configuration is tin of respectable gaming framework rates astatine 2.5K resolution, and the highest-end spec, pinch a much powerful processor and 128GB of shared memory, is capable to tally beefy section ample connection models for illustration Llama 3.3 70B.

Yes, you tin bargain aliases build a bigger, much powerful small-form-factor desktop, and it’ll really beryllium much upgradeable than the Framework. And if you conscionable want a mini desktop for the basics, location are plentifulness of brands offering cheaper prebuilts. But nary of them are rather for illustration the Framework Desktop. It’s a simple, compact machine that’s bully capable for superior gaming aliases contented creation and doesn’t travel pinch a shred of bloatware. It’s incredibly easy to combine (you don’t moreover person to use thermal paste), competently powerful, and its creation is endearing and unmistakably Framework.

The Framework Desktop’s mainboard is built astir AMD’s Strix Halo APU: a single, beefy spot that contains some CPU and graphics cores. The guidelines config starts pinch a Ryzen AI Max 385 spot (8 CPU cores, 32 graphics cores) and 32GB of shared RAM for $1,099. The Max Plus 395 models (16 CPU cores, 40 graphics cores) travel pinch 64GB aliases 128GB of RAM for $1,599 and $1,999, respectively. At each level, that value gets you the mainboard pinch a preinstalled cooler and Wi-Fi module, the case, and a 400W FlexATX powerfulness supply.

Adding a powerfulness cord, Cooler Master CPU fan, 2 modular beforehand description cards, a Windows license, a 512GB SSD, and the requisite front-panel tiles, will tally you astatine slightest $287 more. Of course, you tin walk other for much retention (which you should, fixed the size of modern games), a higher-end instrumentality for illustration a Noctua, aliases further front-panel cards. Aside from Framework’s proprietary hot-swappable description cards, you tin root each those components yourself if you already person them aliases find them cheaper elsewhere.

Our $1,600-ish reappraisal portion came pinch the Ryzen AI Max 385 mainboard, 2 1TB SSDs, a guidelines fan, optional transportation grip (“coming soon”), translucent broadside panel, Windows 11 Pro, a powerfulness cord, and a assortment of description cards and nosy tiles for the front. Framework besides sent the Max Plus 395 mainboard pinch 128GB of RAM (which tin besides beryllium purchased separately for $1,699 to put into your ain Mini-ITX case) and a 3rd 1TB SSD, truthful I could benchmark the higher-spec config and effort the DIY upgrade.

Like Framework’s DIY Editions for its Laptop 13 and Laptop 12, the Desktop is simply a partially prebuilt affair. You’re conscionable installing the fan, up to 2 NVMe SSDs, 2 beforehand description cards, beforehand sheet tiles, and attaching the transportation grip (which I deliberation is simply a must-buy for the nosy of it, though it’s not yet disposable for order, and Framework has yet to corroborate its price). The OS instal will apt return you longer than the first hardware setup.

Build value is top-notch each around, and the ammunition and soul framework of the lawsuit are intuitively designed. It’s conscionable large capable to clasp the motherboard and powerfulness supply, pinch the 120mm CPU instrumentality pulling successful aerial done the perforated broadside sheet and complete the APU cooler’s ample radiator, from which it exhausts from the rear panel. There’s besides a spot for a 80mm instrumentality nether the beforehand magnetic cover, if you favour a small much affirmative airflow.

The outer panels are plastic, but they’re securely fresh pinch easy unlockable clips — conscionable region the apical panel’s thumb screws and everything other easy unlocks by hand. The ornamental beforehand is attached magnetically, and its 21 interchangeable tiles easy popular retired for elemental rearranging. Inside the chassis, the included screwdriver pinch Torx and Philips heads are each you request to instal / alteration retired the fan, SSDs, and mainboard.

Framework’s step-by-step guideline connected swapping retired mainboards was not disposable to maine during our reappraisal period, but I figured it retired connected my ain and changed from a 385 to the 395 successful a small nether an hour. That’s really good put together and logical the desktop’s chassis creation is: if you’ve worked connected PCs earlier (even if, for illustration me, the past clip you built 1 was 2013), past you tin easy putz astir and find your way. It was elemental to region the intelligibly branded screws securing the committee and apical obstruction of the chassis frame. The CPU cooler and moreover the rear I/O shield are attached to the mainboard, truthful they each travel retired together. The only infinitesimal that gave maine region was realizing the Wi-Fi module mounted to the rear of the committee — which I had to switch from 1 mainboard to the different — needed a caller thermal pad, but luckily I had immoderate extras from an aged SSD enclosure.

I first tested the Ryzen AI Max Plus 395 APU successful the Asus ROG Flow Z13. This is the spot that proved to maine integrated graphics aren’t conscionable a laughingstock — it could moreover clasp its ain successful 2.5K gaming. But that was connected a tablet, and this is simply a desktop PC, pinch a 400W powerfulness proviso and overmuch amended cooling, and that makes a difference. The Framework Desktop’s lower-end 385 spot came adjacent to aliases moreover hit the higher-end 395 spot successful the ROG Flow Z13. Both its 385 and 395 chips bested the ROG Flow tablet successful various crippled benchmarks, for illustration Black Myth: Wukong and Cyberpunk 2077, contempt the Asus still managing to return them successful a fewer single-core tests for illustration Geekbench and Cinebench.

In the Framework, the higher-end spot was 16 percent faster connected mean successful gaming benchmarks than the little extremity one. I don’t deliberation that justifies spending an further $500 if you’re willing successful the Framework chiefly arsenic a mini gaming rig. The top-end Strix Halo spot is billed by Framework arsenic offering RTX 4070 laptop-level graphics capacity without the request for a discrete GPU, and that bears retired against our Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 tests from past twelvemonth — which ran the RTX 4060, 1 rung beneath the 4070. Both the 385 and 395 Desktop mainboards handily hit The Verge’s perennial darling of a gaming laptop. The 385 falls conscionable awkward of matching the newer 2025 type of the Zephyrus G14 pinch an RTX 5060, while the 395 still edges it out. Impressive.

When it comes to really playing games, you tin expect coagulated framework rates astatine 2.5K (2560 x 1440 aliases 1600) solution astatine low-to-medium settings, depending connected the game. Your indies and unrecorded work games for illustration Fortnite that activity connected astir thing should tally easy astatine precocious framework rates. I played a bunch of Elden Ring Nightreign connected the Framework, and it ran conscionable fine. FromSoftware games are not the champion optimized titles, but I could play connected the 385 mainboard pinch mean settings astatine 2560 x 1440 and enactment successful the 50fps range. Playing it connected the 395 allowed a crisper 4K solution astatine mean for a akin 50-or-slightly-below fps — aliases I could support it astatine 2.5K and support the game’s 60fps ceiling.

I assumed indie breakout Peak would play awesome moreover astatine max settings astatine 4K, but I underestimated the assets demands of its large mountain. I had to support Peak’s cartoony graphics group to medium, arsenic well, but that ensured my comedic in-game falls were moving good supra 70fps to 80fps astatine 4K resolution. On the 395, I could push to precocious settings for astir the same.

Outside of gaming, the Framework Desktop successful immoderate of its mainboard configurations is much than tin for mundane productivity worldly and my accustomed work. The instrumentality often goes susurration quiet erstwhile multitasking crossed elemental mixed-use tasks for illustration messaging apps, moving successful a document, and listening to euphony aliases streaming a YouTube video pinch a bunch of Chrome tabs open. You’ll perceive it rotation up for immoderate short stretches, but it quickly quiets backmost down until you’re doing thing much intensive. And I’ve yet to brushwood immoderate thermal throttling that impacts performance. As overmuch arsenic I emotion laptops, a compact and quiet desktop that’s flush pinch ports is specified a treat, particularly erstwhile I tin take those beforehand ports.

The Framework is besides a coagulated mini workstation for imaginative apps. Both the 385 and 395 chips hit retired the 14-inch MacBook Pro M4 successful our Premiere Pro 4K video export test. And the 395 committee trailed the 16-inch MacBook Pro pinch M4 Pro spot by conscionable 21 seconds. The 395 and each that RAM spoiled maine a spot erstwhile importing 60-megapixel RAW photos into Lightroom Classic. It zipped done that import and a speedy light-touch edit without immoderate noticeable slowdown — though the instrumentality was rather audible.

I mentioned earlier that the Framework Desktop is really little modular than astir desktops. That has its benefits and its drawbacks. It uses a modular mini-ITX motherboard shape factor, but because it uses a mobile APU pinch integrated memory, you can’t upgrade the spot aliases RAM without replacing the full board. And you can’t upgrade the graphics, either; there’s nary PCIe x16 slot, and while there’s an PCIe x4 connector, the default lawsuit doesn’t springiness you immoderate room to usage it.

The Strix Halo spot successful the Framework Desktop is arsenic bully arsenic integrated graphics get correct now. If you want amended gaming capacity successful a mini shape factor, you’ll request to get a accepted mini-ITX motherboard and find a 10- aliases 15-liter lawsuit that fits a desktop GPU and processor. But accommodating that GPU and a desktop CPU is simply a symptom successful the ass, from constituent action to cablegram guidance to cooling. It’s nary wonderment that galore owners springiness up and time off disconnected broadside panels aliases conscionable opportunity “eff it” and trim holes successful cases — they’ve moreover made a subreddit to commiserate.

With the Framework Desktop, you springiness up immoderate of that imaginable successful speech for a desktop that’s dormant elemental to build and maintain. But it’s a truism that you tin get much powerfulness for little money if you spell bigger.

Even prebuilts successful the $1,000 scope rocking a low-to-mid 50-series desktop paper are going to hit the Framework Desktop successful games. Just look astatine this stormtrooper of an HP Omen 16L pinch an RTX 5060 Ti arsenic an example. A 16-liter lawsuit is decently compact, and if you’re conscionable looking for an affordable turn-key gaming machine, it’s apt a-ok. But 16L is much than 3 times the 4.5L Framework Desktop. And galore prebuilt machines are notorious for cutting corners aliases having limitations to what further upgrades you tin put into them.

When it comes to desktops the size of the Framework aliases smaller, you’re successful Asus NUC and Mac Mini territory. There are besides bladed clients, for illustration the Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny, but they are much enterprise-focused, pinch humble specs. And respective different small-form-factor Strix Halo desktops are opening to harvest up. HP already has its Z2 Mini G1a that’s smaller than the Framework, and Corsair precocious announced an upcoming AI Workstation 300, but nary of these are upgradeable for illustration the Framework Desktop.

The Framework Desktop is an adorably nosy PC that makes building and owning a mini shape facet machine dormant easy. Sure, it can’t stack up to the capacity of full-size builds, mini shape facet gaming PCs pinch discrete GPUs, aliases prebuilts successful the aforesaid value range. However, it’s a unsocial replacement if you want a mini PC for lighter / 2.5K gaming, media creation, aliases moving section AI models. Like a batch of Framework stuff, it’s somewhat niche, there’s thing other rather for illustration it, and though it’s affordable-ish, you’re still paying a spot of a premium compared to much accepted alternatives.

Having specified a mini point beryllium connected my table and present coagulated gaming capacity sewage maine to commencement rethinking my neverending pursuit of higher graphical fidelity. Do I really request to strengthen the changeless instrumentality sound of a gaming laptop aliases interest astir a power-hungry GPU successful a full-size desktop adding to my monthly energy bill? Maybe a nosy small instrumentality that delivers bully capable graphics is, well, bully enough.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge