One big news from the Game Developers Conference 2023 that I did not want to miss to cover is actually a hardware that should mean a good future on portable gaming computers, specifically, an upgradable gaming laptop.
This is what is behind the Framework 16, a gaming laptop that aims to be the first one to have the user with the capacity of upgrading componente, mainly its GPU in an accessible way.
Framework 16 will have six expansion slots, an upgrade of the 4 that its predecessors had and the extra two will allow the laptop to have more complex modules added, including AI accelerators and a new eGPU module will let you plug it into a Thunderbolt 4/USB4 host.
Also, the Framework 16 will have more complex keyboard configuration options such as an optional number pad, mechanical or non-mechanical keyboards all with either a standard backlit and RGB backlit keyboard options.
The main and important aspect is about the capacity of having the user to swap GPUs, including the current generation of RTX GeForce Lovelace series.
Also, Framework 13 was announced as a “little brother” but will lack the complex keyboard configuration options.
If you are interested, you can pre-order(opens in new tab) the Framework Laptop 13 starting at $849 for the DIY edition and $1,049 for a pre-built model. The DIY edition is optimized for Linux while the pre-built ships with Windows 11.
Meanwhile and available for everybody, the documentation on the expansion bay, keyboard and expansion card system on GitHub as open-source material.