Framework laptop owners can now upgrade to 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs

The same laptops are updated every year, and in most cases, they are refreshed with the latest chips from Intel, AMD, or Nvidia. If you bought the previous model, you can’t help but envy the more powerful new versions while you wait for it to be time to upgrade again.

Unless you bought the Framework laptop.

The Framework laptop, which hit the scene last year, is every DIYer’s dream device: a modular notebook that can be manually upgraded, not replaced. It’s essentially a functioning Lego kit: a fully user-serviceable laptop with interchangeable parts.

Today, Framework introduces a new Framework laptop with a few major upgrades, including 12th Gen Intel Core processors. Before you freak out, Framework is delivering on its promise to early adopters who bought the first-generation model by making a removable Intel 12th-generation motherboard available to all customers, new and old.

Framework laptop (Image: Framework)

As for the specific Intel processors, the Framework laptop now supports Intel Core i7-1280P, i5-1240P, and i7-1260P CPUs. That means you can remove the 11th-gen Intel motherboard from your old laptop and install the 12th-generation model just like you would on a desktop. This way, you get a significant gen-over-gen performance boost without buying a brand-new laptop.

Framework was made a 12th-generation CPU module available and listening to customer feedback, and revamped the top cover, creating a sturdier version using a full CNC process instead of aluminum forming. Again, owners of the first-generation Framework laptop can purchase the stiffer body ($89 ($124)) and upgrade their system without buying a brand-new one.

Framework laptop (Image: Framework)

If you want to give your laptop a performance boost with Intel 12th Gen and make it more structurally sound by installing the reinforced lid, Framework sells an upgrade kit that combines the two. It supports 2.5Gbit and 10/100/1000Mbit Ethernet and will be available later this year. Framework also provided an example of an Ethernet expansion card made with a Realtek RTL8156 controller.

This is truly the moment early adopters have been waiting for to prove that Framework can deliver on its promises. By making individual components available to customers, the company eschews the tradition of most tech manufacturers of selling products and forgetting about them so that those same customers can buy a similar product a few years later.

The question now is whether it is a financially viable strategy to give customers a choice to buy parts. I hope so. On the other hand, when I ask myself if Framework laptops’ owners should upgrade to 12th Gen Intel chips, the answer is probably not. I assume most people are fine with using the previous-generation chips. Thinking Framework is still doing its thing in a few years; it might be time to upgrade.

Framework laptop (Image: Framework)

Those who do want to upgrade may need to act quickly. Framework laptops with 12th Gen Intel Core processors are available today through a batch pre-order system that requires a fully refundable $100 ($139) deposit. Motherboards with 12th Gen Intel Core chips, the top cover, and the upgrade kit are now available for the waiting list in the market. You can find full pricing details in the chart above. The first batch of new laptops and the new Marketplace items will ship next month.