Framework 13 AMD Setup with FreeBSD | Hacker News Reader

Framework 13 AMD Setup with FreeBSD

euroquis.nl

65 pointshggh33 comments

I finally pulled the trigger and bought a Framework 13 AMD this year due to two things:

This repo: https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/freebsd-on-framework

And this: https://freebsdfoundation.org/blog/laptop-support-and-usabil...

Sadly, I'm running Windows on the thing at the moment, due to needing a reliable laptop for a long-distance work trip last month. But will definitely be putting FreeBSD on it in the next month or so.

Also, I've had zero regrets on the purchase its a very nice laptop!

You could always do what I do with mine: use Rufus to install Windows to one of Framework's storage modules in "Windows2Go" mode, and then just pop that in when you need to turn your otherwise-BSD laptop into a Windows laptop. Since the storage module fits flush with the laptop's chassis, it doesn't have the jank factor that you'd usually feel from running off a USB drive.

The only downside is that you lose a module slot, which hurts when you've only got four of 'em like with the Framework 13. It'd be neat to see storage modules that expose Type-C ports of their own, making this downside less painful.

That's not a bad idea. Thanks for the suggestion I might go that route!

My adventures of swapping out the internal NVME drive have not been very good. I have to disable secure boot for FreeBSD and then re-enable it for Windows (else have to hand-enter a bitlocker key) and even when doing that Windows "forgets" my Pin and Fingerprint. Possibly due to the way I set it Windows initially but still, annoying.

Recently picked up a new WiFi card that works with FreeBSD but haven't had a chance to install it yet.

If anyone's interested, there's a slightly more recent update on this work at the link below, dated about a week after this post (23 March vs. 16 March 2025 on the main link).

[1] https://euroquis.nl/freebsd/2025/03/23/framework.html

Something both this blog post and the Github Repo[0] do not point out very clearly is that the stock wireless card that comes with (if you choose it), at least, the AMD 13 isn't supported by FreeBSD[1]. Of course, you can swap it for a compatible one though.

[0] https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/freebsd-on-framework

[1] https://wiki.freebsd.org/Laptops/Framework_Laptop/13_AMD_Ryz...

If anyone from Framework is reading, I've noticed something weird about your website which I think would be worth fixing. When I go to the Framework Laptop 13 page [1] the only buttons I see are "pre-order now" which makes me think I can't buy one today. But when I click "pre-order now" and go to the shop, I can choose older version of the 13 and buy them today.

Context is I've a friend who told me last night he wants one of these laptops but that they're not currently available...overall seems the website is a bit misleading on current availability.

[1] https://frame.work/laptop13

It's the AMD 7000 series that is available. Only the AI 300 can be pre-ordered if I understand correctly, and that's the one being referenced by the featured model on that page.

Point is, they need a link saying there is an option available, even if it's not the new new new (which is in pre order).

I just bought an AMD 13", and had the same "wtf, that's silly" thought about the site.

Also, Ubuntu 24.04? Lts works great. Suspend eats some battery, but can't be more than 1% an hour. If I suspend it overnight, it's not the end of the world.

I have it hooked to some Amazon USB4 dock, with wireless dongles for keyboard and mice, and 2 1080p displays. One horizonal, one vertical. Those work as expected, and all scaling between them works and makes sense. It did take a few moments to get it all to align up but once it did it's worked great.

New bios update mangled my battery charge limit behavior in weird ways. Prior to mid month update, it worked great! Sometimes now it works, sometimes it's at 100%. Since the battery can be replaced in no time, I've honestly not fret it much.

The speakers are not great but I found some customized eq settings for an app. (Easy .. something) That made them sound 80% better, immediately).

Battery life, I dunno. I'm one of those people who kills all their batteries by panicking at 56%. If light duty, 6 hours no problem, maybe 8?

I love it. A bit of coin but I'm hoping they stay around so when things break , they can be replaced.

Tired of forced updates and controlled subscribe behaviors. A laptop one can replace broken pieces themselves and an OS that thus far lets you use the damn computer.

Cool, I hope efforts like these help make framework the goto laptop for power users.

Could someone with a Framework desktop let us know the situation of:

1. Running Linux 2. Inference speed of any of the LLMs

I'm thinking about getting the 128GB one.

Framework Desktop won't be out until Q3 this year. Other devices with Ryzen AI Max+ 395 are just starting to ship.

At best, you may find answers to these questions in a few months.

Is anyone here using Framework with GNU/Linux and not with a big list of caveats? That means suspend working, battery life above 6 hours, palm rejection working, wifi working, fractional scaling working?

Ubuntu 24.10 - works just fine. I lose about 1% battery per hour while suspended. I’ve made no Os config changes. It just works like most Linux experiences I’ve had the last few years with not bleeding edge hardware.

Battery life while using is super variable by task, so it’s hard to give a data point. The battery life is _fine_ for me, but nowhere near an M series MacBook in my experience

Well, M Series is the best experience that there is. What is important is how much use time you get. If you get 8 hours, you can work just fine. 12 would be ideal. More than that yes, but since I charge at night is not a must. So the question is how much time do you get.

All except fractional scaling worked for me out of the box with Mint. Fractional scaling isn't working just for Linux reasons rather than a Framework limitation (in my case, I'm using Regolith, and wayland is still experimental and not default).

For fractional scaling on my Fedora setup under Gnome, I just load up the Tweaks tool, click on Fonts, and adjust the Scaling Factor on the bottom. This seams to work about as good as fractional scaling would (at least for me). I used to need to also set the default scaling factor in Chrome / Firefox separately, but they seem to be picking it up correctly now too.

Cool to hear that Regolith is working on sway support! Currently, Im using a Gnome extension for similar tiling window support. But its really really buggy.

I loved the idea of Regolith, just not the idea of going back to X11.

Will need to keep an eye on progress.

I am. Running arch with sway. Im on an older intel one, everything just works.

Suspend works Fingerprint reader works Battery life when not running heavy workloads is around 13 hours

> Fingerprint reader works

That blew me away when I found that out. Fingerprint readers never work on Linux, and yet (with openSUSE Aeon) the fingerprint reader built into the Framework 16's power button works out of the box. Felt like fucking magic.

Yup. Framework 13 AMD with Fedora 41, gnome or sway. Works great.

Not Linux specific, but the thermal paste is pretty poor. Mine disintegrated in two years of heavy use. (13", Intel 12th gen)

Popping off the heat sink to apply a fresh dab is no big deal, but I didn't find out until the top-center keys (y, 6) began failing.

Replacing the keyboard is $50 and about a hundred tiny screws.

Framework 13, 11th Gen Intel, running Fedora 41. I've gone through many Fedora upgrades since buying this in 2021, my unit was I think the 3rd batch of the original laptops.

Everything generally has worked fine over the years, though I did have to replace a broken fan recently. Super easy to repair with a new fan/heatsink unit - cost me about 50$, 10 mins to install.

Trackpad has always been mediocre... workable, but not as good as leading brands. Fingerprint reader always worked well, and no issues with Wifi or Bluetooth. Battery life has always been crap, but I usually have it docked (which also works great with a Dell Thunderbolt unit).

Yep, archlinux with gnome 48-testing with experimental features enabled to allow VRR, as well as fractional scaling. I prefer using my 2.8K display at 150%. Appears to be working fine with everything I've used. I have had some issues with wifi cutting out intermittently, but I think that might be a misconfiguration of roaming on my APs kicking the laptop too eagerly.

power-profiles-daemon works well, I didn't like how much the battery drains overnight on the s2idle suspend mode, so I've set up a systemd unit to hibernate after 30 minutes of sleep.

Yes, I've had the Framework 13 AMD ryzen 7840u for about 1.5 years. First few months had a lot of "use this distro with this kernel" but after 1 or 2 linux kernel releases it's been good, on Arch Linux with Cinnamon Desktop on Xorg with 150% scaling.

It can be helpful to enable the "Game mode" in the bios to allocate more system memory to graphics, this can avoid some weird crashes triggered by hardware video decoding and such (probably more important for the first year or so, maybe not so much now).

Debian 12 / AMD -- love it, no problems at all. Just make sure you have the latest kernel from backports.

1000% recommend a framework laptop w/ linux

NixOS, with Cinnamon DE and all of that seems to work just fine. I am plugged in 99.9% of the time so can't comment on battery life but it doesn't seem to use much the hour or so when I do occasionally unplug.

I also don't use the fingerprint reader but that's supposed to be working too.

Battery life is much better recently, though I couldn't tell you why. The other day I streamed video for hours on end after starting with a full battery. That was an awesome feeling!

That really depends on which main board you're using.

The latest AMD board is not perfect for Linux (yet).

The oldest Intel board is basically perfect.

Are you using a supported distro?

See https://frame.work/linux for the distros we recommend for each generation.

No worse than all the same with my X1 Carbon or Vaio.

KDE+arch works perfectly out of the box

battery life above 6 hours

bwahahaha, get real.

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