No reason why it can't be your only PC, but if something dies in your laptop, you would be SOL until you fix it
this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
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I use my FW as my whole setup as well. I have a tower PC but I'm only using that for heavy tasks. That's because I need to work on the go and don't want to move files all the time.
Do it!
The 780M GPU is ~25% slower than your gtx970: https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare/4818vs2954/Radeon-780M-vs-GeForce-GTX-970
However the 4790k has 30% slower single core and half the cores: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/5322vs2275/AMD-Ryzen-7-7840U-vs-Intel-i7-4790K
Yeah, I looked a bit harder and realized that what I said about the GPU isn't true. Thank you!
The benefits of having both is that you don't sacrifice performance for portability. You have the best of both worlds. However, that desktop could probably benefit from an upgrade.
I do
I am not a heavy gamer but I am a programmer.
- having a second machine (even an old one) can be nice for redundancy
- the desktop can have more internal storage
- desktops don't (usually) get dropped, lost, or stolen, since they mostly stay in one place
- desktops normally support more external monitors than laptops
- you can use the desktop as a backup target for your laptop (and vice-versa)
- desktops have PCIe slots, which are useful for more than just GPUs
That said, if your needs are limited, it's probably fine. But a high-end laptop is usually more expensive and less performant than a high-end desktop plus a basic laptop.
These are all very concise and well-explained reasons to keep your desktop.
You, u/T900Kassem, can also use the old desktop as a media server with the GTX 970 for H264 transcoding (not sure about H265, Intel Arc would be a good upgrade for that), or as a home theater PC for playing games or replacing an array of consoles with emulators. Those systems are also fun to mess around and tinker with using expansion cards. For example, I'm using a cleaned up 2009 Mac Pro with a spare GTX 745 I had lying around to experiment with virtual machines and PCIe passthrough.
If you also play games, maybe get a eGPU which you can use as a docking station. You could also connect a faster dispay to that. About the only thing I dont like on my Framework is the slow screen.
I daily drive my FW with an eGPU. And to be quite honest, it's even saved me money in comparison to getting an older mid-range laptop and a desktop upgrade.
However, the eGPU comes with it's fair share of downsides. First of all, you'll want to plug the hub and eGPU into two separate ports to not take bandwidth from the GPU (on the intel laptops, you'll have to use one port on each side, not on the same), and it is also less stable than alternatives.
Sometimes a simple knock against the cable will immediately disconnect the GPU causing half your programs to crash, so you'll want to put it somewhere where it doesn't move.
Also, drivers can be a bitch. I know nvidia can cause issues if you have both an integrated and external nvidia gpu, not sure about AMD.
Things like screen sharing or streaming will also significantly cut into your GPU performance as it will take further bandwidth from your GPU that is already hungering for more, so you'll want to avoid applications what want to capture your monitor video as much as possible. Although in practice, you won't notice this very much unless you are actually pushing gpu limits without the capture.
I plan to use mine as my only computer once the growing pains/BSODs I've been having are figured out. Another nice benefit will be that it's insanely efficient by comparison, drawing less under full load than your old CPU alone and far, far less under idle/light use conditions.
You can always add in an eGPU dock down the line if you want some more graphics power, too (though keep in mind that's more viable for a current gen midrange card since the data bandwidth becomes more of a bottleneck toward high end cards). A nice benefit of that will be that you can dock up with only a single cable for graphics, power and peripherals, too, and so far with my GPD G1 (also AMD based), I've found I can just hotplug it without any issues which is super convenient - it may be a bit more convoluted if you're running an Nvidia based card in your enclosure, but I can't say for sure.
The only reason to have a desktop PC these days IMO is if you need something very powerful (for gaming, video editing, CAD etc.), otherwise laptops today can generally have plenty of power for most people.
So, yes, I'd just buy a dock for your FW and use that. Also worth getting a laptop stand to improve airflow around the case just in case things get toasty.
The only thing that comes to mind is battery damage. Keeping your laptop constantly plugged in and heating up during intensive work / gaming sessions will speed up the rate at which the battery ages. However, it's a Framework, so repairs are reasonably cheap and doable - so even this point has shakey ground to stand on.
Aside from that - there is no loss. I, too, use my laptop as a desktop replacement with a dock nowadays. Laptops have gotten so good that while surely desktops are still better, many users - even heavy ones - are fine with the performance output that laptops give you.
For gaming you might face thermal throttling sooner on a laptop. That highly depends on what games you play. However, for testing, you should use it for a longer session and monitor thermals and clockspeed.
Why not? Even your phone can be your only PC if you push it.
I am looking at selling my desktop as well. If you were looking at power gaming or more gpu power amd does support usb4 and could use an egpu. Gpd makes the g1 portable epgu but is not upgradable. Maybe someday framework will bring a dpgu system to 13 like they have for the 16.
Using your 13 for gaming might damage your hardware in the long run.
I used my r7 7840u for gaming several times and it was always above 85°C, sometimes even over 90°C. Although mobile APUs are designed to withstand more heat than desktop CPUs, I wouldn't risk damaging my hardware.
I have the same problem as you with my old desktop gaming rig beeing as fast as my Framework 13 but the temperatures really concerns me.
My solution would be an eGPU dock like the GPD G1 or the OneXGPU, so my APU wouldn't run too hot.
Anyone here with experience on these two?
I use an EGPU and I love it (when it actually works)
You can re-purpose the desktop for many more use cases than even a Framework laptop. Look at the r/HomeServer subreddit for more examples. Some include using it still as a gaming system with even a $200 GPU upgrade (like an RX 6600), a media server with some inexpensive hard drives, a home server running backups or services such as pi-hole, or just as a system to experiment with. I have a desktop with a Ryzen 5 3400G and 2 PCIe x16 slots that I would use to experiment with PCIe passthrough. That experience would have been far more difficult with a laptop due to the proprietary configurations used for laptop motherboards, and the difficulty in managing screen outputs even on a laptop with two GPUs.
My point is that even if the Framework laptop is faster in certain workloads for you, this can easily be alleviated with an upgrade to some of the desktop's components. Even without an upgrade, there are many possibilities for you to still use your desktop which, honestly, still has decent components for a variety of use cases. I'd love to use that system as an emulation PC.
As someone who remembers having a gaming Desktop since I was 10, I think it’s mostly pride that’s keeping me from ditching my setup fully.
No, you are not missing much. Just make sure to get a thunderbolt/USB4 dock to get more ports than the framework could provide
FW 13 does make for a nice main computr.
I would still want access to another PC to help create USB install media, setup/clown drives as needed should your FW 14 go down or for initial setup.
If you want a desktop, get a FW16 and wait for the 7800M or better module to be released or buy the 7700M module and make your FW13 into a keyboard or tablet or some other project. There is so much you can do with Framework boards.
Only get/keep a desktop if you are doing insanely heavy CPU and GPU workloads and every second counts.
As someone whose Framework has been down for 2+ weeks because of a defective fan, slow support, and currently traveling outside the region where I bought the computer (massive issues with getting a replacement part from Framework)... keep a backup machine :D
If you want to save space, sell off the PC and use the money to buy a used laptop that can get you through Framework downtime. My 5-year-old ThinkPad has been a massive lifesaver!