Framework laptop prices drop to $639 thanks to refurbishments and ‘factory seconds’ – Ars Technica

Part of Framework’s sales pitch is that the company’s modular laptops are a (somewhat) more sustainable and responsible alternative to purchasing a hermetically sealed, non-upgradeable model from one of the major PC manufacturers. The company has tried to encourage reuse and recycling by offering refurbished models and 3D-printable cases to turn laptop motherboards into tiny desktop computers.

Earlier this month, the company took another step in that direction, opening a Framework Outlet section on its online marketplace to sell refurbished products and items returned by their original buyers. The company is also expanding its “factory seconds” offering: it previously offered select 11th Gen Core i5 Framework laptop motherboards this way, but now this deal is extended to Core i7 motherboards and select full-featured models. Framework laptops built with cases and displays that have minor manufacturing. defaults.

“With the excess displays we received from the factory, we found a slight cosmetic defect on some of them,” wrote Nirav Patel, CEO of Framework. “There is a wavy pattern and non-uniformity in the backlight that is visible at certain angles. For this reason, we call these systems “B-Stock” and are priced even lower than our 11th generation retrofits. As always, you can upgrade any part of the system, including the display, using parts from Framework Marketplace whenever you need them.

The Core i7-1165G7 version of these laptops starts at $639, which is $40 less than the standard Refurbished Edition of the same system and $40 more than the Refurbished Edition of the Core i5-1135G7 Laptop . A second factory version of the Core i7-1185G7 laptop costs $759, which is $140 less than the refurbished version.

These are all DIY Edition laptops, which means you’ll need your own RAM, SSD, expansion cards, and Wi-Fi card, and you’ll need to be comfortable following Framework’s assembly instructions . They also include the standard 55Wh battery and not the larger 61Wh version introduced by Framework earlier this year. All laptops come with a standard one-year warranty, although the warranty does not cover cosmetic defects that have led to their classification as “factory second.”

According to Patel, offering its discounts primarily by steering shoppers toward refurbished and B-stock products is an alternative to offering limited-time deals like the ones you’d see during (the now endless) Black Friday, Prime Day. , or other real or invented shopping vacations.

Intel’s 11th generation processors have been vastly outperformed by newer models from Intel and AMD at this point, but they’re still more than adequate for everyday browsing, office work, light photo editing, and more. other general purpose laptop stuff. And the modular nature of Framework’s laptops means that in a few years, when your needs start to eclipse the processor’s capabilities, you’ll have upgrade options that don’t require you to throw out the entire laptop and start again . .

We’ve looked at both current-gen versions of the Framework Laptop 13: the 13th-gen Intel Core version and the all-new AMD Ryzen version. Both offer a substantial improvement in CPU performance over the older 11th Gen Core version, but only the Ryzen edition has improved integrated graphics performance. Keep this in mind when deciding whether to upgrade to a new model or save money by purchasing something older.