Pros & Cons
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- Powerful, removable RTX 5070 GPU
- Modular, customizable design
- Helpful DIY and upgrade guides
- Unparalleled connectivity
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- Middling battery life
- DIY edition and upgrades could overwhelm the average user
Framework Laptop 16 (2025) Specs
| Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested) | 1 |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Class | Desktop Replacement |
| Dimensions (HWD) | 0.82 by 14 by 11.4 inches |
| Graphics Memory | 8 |
| Graphics Processor | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU |
| Native Display Resolution | 2,560 by 1,600 |
| Operating System | Windows 11 |
| Panel Technology | IPS |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 |
| RAM (as Tested) | 32 |
| Screen Refresh Rate | 165 |
| Screen Size | 16 |
| Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes) | 7:04 |
| Variable Refresh Support | G-Sync |
| Weight | 5.29 |
| Wireless Networking | Wi-Fi 7 |
After establishing itself with 13-inch laptops, modular PC maker Framework leveled up to discrete graphics in its first 16-inch model last year. Now, the sequel crosses our test bench, with the 2025 Framework Laptop 16 (starts at $1,799 pre-built; $3,198 as tested) that's improved across the board. The AMD Ryzen AI 300 processor and potent Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics chip add-on module options are the stars of this show. What could be overly complicated ends up as an accessible, highly customizable, and fast-performing modular large-screen laptop, a testament to the thoughtfulness of Framework’s design. An innovative high-end desktop-replacement laptop with real graphics chops, the 2025 Framework Laptop 16 earns our Editors' Choice award.
Design: Build It Your Way
I’m no stranger to Framework's design and build philosophy, having reviewed the company’s first system and iterations since. If you’re not familiar, Framework's goal is to create a fully repairable system, with user-removable parts that allow for individualized upgrades or replacements you can carry out yourself, rather than replacing the whole laptop. I'll get to this edition's marquee upgrades—the AMD Ryzen AI 300-series processor and a superior Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics module option—after discussing the design.
(Credit: Matthew Buzzi)If you're less tech-savvy, you can order a fully built system, or you can choose the DIY version I reviewed, which requires you to install and plug in several components. If you want to embark on the DIY path, the company provides many easy-to-follow guides. The systems typically take 30 to 45 minutes to assemble—less if you've done it before. This laptop also uses Framework’s signature expansion cards, removable and swappable USB-C header modules containing ports such as USB-C, HDMI, and Ethernet connections, among others. You should add at least six to your order to cover all of the available slots, but you can always order singles later.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The Framework Laptop 16 DIY build includes installing memory and storage (located under a removable plate), followed by the keyboard, touchpad, and screen bezel. Some spacers also go alongside the keyboard, a clever solution that allows you to re-align inputs or add a number pad. The default spacers are blank, but you can order different colors and even an LED matrix strip. Exclusive to the 16-inch model is the rear expansion bay shell—the default end cap for the laptop that includes cooling and an optional injection of graphics rocket fuel.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Framework's 16-inch model distinguishes itself from the 13-inch Framework Laptop with this feature, which has a separate installation guide. The graphics attachment comes with its own cooling that replaces the shell. With the default expansion bay shell, the laptop will run on the processor’s integrated graphics.
We reviewed the first Framework Laptop 16 last year, so you can find a rundown of each part and the required installations in that review. The two 16-inch models are mostly the same in design and are easy to assemble. You can even purchase just the new graphics module and install it in the original Framework Laptop 16 for $699.
(Credit: Matthew Buzzi)Beyond the component updates, Framework has improved this laptop's design and features, though it's not immediately apparent. Framework upgraded the thermal system with superior phase-change material, redesigned fans, and optimized air flow. The 1080p webcam now features a 9.2-megapixel sensor (addressing previous sharpness concerns), the laptop connects via Wi-Fi 7, and the screen supports Nvidia G-Sync refresh rates when the GPU module is attached. The power supply is also smaller, which I appreciate especially for a bigger laptop.
(Credit: Framework Computer)Framework has one display option: a 16-inch, 165Hz, 2,560-by-1,600-pixel IPS screen with G-Sync support, but it’s sharp and bright. All told, it’s a solidly built laptop, thanks in part to a new aluminum lid. The latches for securing spacers, lines around the spacers, and the non-unibody design do subtract from the Laptop 16's appeal, particularly compared with similarly priced high-end laptops. It's a reasonable price for the customization and user-friendly assembly.
(Credit: Framework Computer)Configurations: Your Options Abound
When ordering your Framework 16, you can choose between the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor to start ($1,799 pre-built with Windows 11) or the faster AI 9 HX 370 ($2,549 pre-built), with a midrange Ryzen AI 7 350 option in between. The pre-built configurations start with 16GB of memory, a 512GB solid-state drive, and a power adapter. (However, Framework includes just six USB-C expansion cards in these pre-built configurations.)
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The removable Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 GPU attachment option, which replaces the expansion bay shell, is available for any pre-built configuration for an additional $650.
The DIY model is less expensive than the pre-built version, starting at $1,499 for the Ryzen AI 7 350 platform. This is as close to a bare kit as possible, with no expansion cards, memory, storage, operating system, or even a power adapter included—it assumes you will bring all these components on your own. You can add one or all of these parts to your order, including a Windows 11 install key if you don't want to run a Linux distro.
(Credit: Matthew Buzzi)The same applies to memory and Framework-specific extras, such as expansion cards, spacers, extra input modules, and more. Upgrading from the base version to the Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 processor costs an additional $300, and the graphics upgrade costs $650 as a DIY upgrade, too.
For pricing my exact review unit, let’s stick to what I installed and consider it part of the product. For expansion cards, we received two USB-C cards, two USB-A cards, an Ethernet card, a DisplayPort card, a 3.5mm audio card, and an SD expansion card. (These range from $11 to $39 each.) I also installed the 32GB of memory (two DDR5 16GB sticks) and a 1TB SSD that I received, and Framework finally sent a few of the keyboard deck spacers, a lavender bezel, and the optional number pad extension.
(Credit: Matthew Buzzi)Adding those to the RTX 5070 graphics module, a Windows 11 key, and the power adapter, our review configuration would run you a steep $3,198. Framework sent a few other extras, including another 2TB SSD, but since all memory and storage expansion is totally optional for the user, I left those out of the final test configuration. The final test unit represents a realistic build that a power user may order and assemble themselves, with some optional spacers and add-ons to swap in or out as needed.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Regardless of which model you choose, the upgradable GPU module is particularly exciting, fulfilling Framework's promise of a completely upgradable laptop. Framework’s solution is surprisingly elegant but not exactly cheap. (Then again, has buying a new graphics processor ever been?) At least you can upgrade just the GPU if you want to in the future, without throwing out your whole laptop. Let’s see how well it performs.
Performance Testing: Ready for Productivity, Media, and Even Gaming
We put the Framework Laptop 16 through our usual benchmark test suite to gauge its performance, pitting its results against the following systems:
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This group of comparison laptops provides a decent mix of processor types and graphics chips. First, options from Apple and Asus in the Apple MacBook Pro 16-Inch (2024, M4 Pro) ($3,649 as tested) and Asus Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) ($1,699.99 as tested). We haven’t finished our reviews of these next two yet, but we have tested them, and they’re too relevant as comparisons to pass up. The Dell 16 Premium (DA16250) ($3,199.99 as tested) and LG Gram Pro 17 (17Z90TR) ($2,349.99 as tested) have quick processors and discrete GPUs of their own, so they stack up well to the Framework. Note that we ran our graphics and gaming tests with the GPU module attached.
Productivity and Content Creation Tests
Our primary overall benchmark, UL's PCMark 10, puts a system through its paces in productivity apps ranging from web browsing to word processing and spreadsheet work. Its Full System Drive subtest measures a PC's storage throughput.
Three more tests are CPU-centric or processor-intensive: Maxon's Cinebench 2024 uses that company's Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene; Primate Labs' Geekbench 6.3 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning; and we see how long it takes the video transcoder HandBrake 1.8 to convert a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p resolution.
Finally, workstation maker Puget Systems' PugetBench for Creators rates a PC's image editing prowess with a variety of automated operations in Adobe Photoshop 25. (You'll notice the MacBook Pro missing from the PCMark tests because macOS doesn't support that benchmark. Also, the LG gram could not complete the HandBrake test, and neither nor the Zenbook could finish the Photoshop test either.)
Across these tests, the Framework Laptop 16 was just about the fastest PC performer here, second only to the often-dominant MacBook Pro (and a third-place HandBrake result). Whoever put this computer together must have done a great job! Jokes aside, the results demonstrate that Framework's highly modular and accessible design presents no noticeable performance concessions. Framework has created a machine that users can disassemble and reassemble, which is as fast as any in its class for daily productivity and more demanding work. That's still impressive this far into Framework's life as a laptop maker.
Graphics and Gaming Tests
We challenge all systems’ graphics with a quintet of animations or gaming simulations from UL's 3DMark test suite. The first two we use, Wild Life (1440p) and Wild Life Extreme (4K), stress the Vulkan graphics API to measure GPU speeds. The next pair, Steel Nomad's regular and Light subtests, focuses on APIs more commonly used for game development, like Metal and DirectX 12, to assess gaming geometry and particle effects. Last, we turn to Solar Bay to measure ray-tracing performance in a synthetic environment.
The Framework Laptop 16 is not a traditional gaming laptop, but given the RTX 5070 laptop GPU add-on, we wanted to see how it performed in this arena. Our real-world gaming testing comes from the in-game benchmarks of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 2024. These three games—all benchmarked at the system’s full HD (1080p or 1200p native) resolution—represent competitive shooter, open-world, and simulation games, respectively. If the screen is capable of a higher resolution, we rerun the tests at the QHD equivalent of 1440p or 1600p. Each game runs at two sets of graphics settings per resolution for up to four runs total on each game.
We run the Call of Duty benchmark at the Minimum graphics preset—aimed at maximizing frame rates to test display refresh rates—and again at the Extreme preset. Our Cyberpunk 2077 test settings aim to push PCs fully, so we run it on the Ultra graphics preset and again at the all-out Ray Tracing Overdrive preset without DLSS or FSR. Finally, F1 2024 represents our DLSS effectiveness (or FSR on AMD systems) test, demonstrating a GPU’s capacity for frame-boosting upscaling technologies. The capacity of these frame-rate boosts changes with the version of frame-generation tech available, with DLSS 2 and 3 stitching in one AI-generated frame for every originally rendered frame, and DLSS 4 inserting up to three additional frames. (FSR can generate up to four new frames per original, while XeSS can only stitch in one new frame per original frame.)
Simply put, the RTX 5070 attachment placed the Framework Laptop 16 in its own class among this group. If you’re looking for graphics power, this is a legitimate option, not just a modest boost. It outperformed the more traditional RTX 5070 implementation in the Dell 16 Premium, and it smoked the rest of the competition, including the MacBook Pro. With the graphics module removed, the Framework Laptop 16 performed much like the two laptops with integrated graphics in this group, which is nowhere near enough for users with graphically intensive workloads.
Now it's time for the fun part: Let's see how the Framework Laptop 16 runs our real-world game benchmarks. If you’re buying this as a desktop replacement or your sole PC, it can be an important factor. Since we didn’t run gaming benchmarks on the previous comparison laptops listed, the following table replaces those with gaming systems, including their primary components. (The Katana is absent from the 1440p/1600p tests since its screen tops out at 1080p.)
These results showed that not only is the Framework capable of handling professional graphics workloads, but it’s also an effective gaming platform. In fact, it surpassed many of these traditional gaming laptops and closely matched the Zephyrus G16 with a superior RTX 5070 Ti GPU. (The Framework even outpaced the Zephyrus in Call of Duty.) The bespoke rear GPU module and its internal cooling system produce performance comparable with dedicated gaming machines, more than ready for 60fps-plus modern gaming. As with all these systems, Nvidia's DLSS 4 can help bridge the gap in the most demanding scenarios, such as Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing.
Battery Life and Display Tests
We test each laptop's battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file (the open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel) with display brightness at 50% and audio volume at 100%. We make sure the battery is fully charged before the test, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.
To gauge display performance, we use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its Windows software to measure a laptop screen's color saturation—what percentage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes the display can show—and its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per square meter). (We've not been able to display-test the 16-inch MacBook Pro, so it's not included in those charts.)
The battery life didn’t blow me away; 7 hours is certainly above the acceptable baseline, but short of many longer-lasting laptops we see today. As a desktop replacement or gaming laptop, that’s a fine duration, but as a frequent travel companion away from an outlet, you may find that shorter than alternatives that last twice as long or more, like the MacBook Pro.
Framework's Laptop 16 display results are impressive, though. The IPS panel has a bright screen, both subjectively and empirically, and its color coverage is competitive for professionals seeking a media editing machine that won't need to be replaced wholesale in a few years' time.