Framework Desktop (AMD Ryzen AI Max, 2025)

The Framework Desktop is a Mini-ITX workstation announced at the 2nd Gen event in February 2025¹²³. It features an AMD Strix Halo APU and is designed to be modular, containing two front-side expansion card slots as seen in Framework's laptop models³⁴. The front panel has slots for 21 interchangeable tiles for user customization³⁴. Pre-orders opened February 25, 2025 with shipping planned for early Q3 2025⁴. After missing that target by ~6 weeks⁵, Batch 1 units shipped the week of August 11, 2025 alongside the review embargo lift⁶⁷. Memory is soldered LPDDR5x (non-upgradeable)⁸ — Framework worked with AMD for months but concluded it was not technically feasible to land modular memory at high throughput with the 256-bit memory bus⁹.

A 192 GB configuration ("coming soon") was previewed in July 2026, enabled by new LPDDR5 module support added in BIOS 3.05¹⁰.

Specifications

Component	Max 385 (32 GB)11	Max+ 395 (64 GB)12	Max+ 395 (128 GB)12
CPU Clock	3.6 / 5.0 GHz	3.0 / 5.1 GHz	3.0 / 5.1 GHz
Cores/Threads	8C / 16T	16C / 32T	16C / 32T
L3 Cache	32 MB	64 MB	64 MB
GPU	Radeon 8050S (32 CUs)	Radeon 8060S (40 CUs)	Radeon 8060S (40 CUs)
GPU Frequency	2.8 GHz	2.9 GHz	2.9 GHz
NPU	50 TOPS	50 TOPS	50 TOPS
Memory	32 GB LPDDR5x-8000	64 GB LPDDR5x-8000	128 GB LPDDR5x-8000
Memory Bus	256 bit	256 bit	256 bit
Memory Bandwidth	256 GB/s	256 GB/s	256 GB/s

General Specifications

Component	Details
Rear Ports	1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR10), 2x USB 40Gbps Type-C (DP 2.1 UHBR20 Alt Mode), 2x USB 10Gbps Type-A, 1x RJ45 5 GbE, 1x 3.5 mm combo audio
Expansion Cards	2x front user-selectable Expansion Cards (USB 5Gbps, configurable to 10Gbps in UEFI)
Wireless	AMD RZ717, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Weight	3.1 kg
Volume	4.5 L313
Dimensions	96.8 x 205.5 x 226.1 mm (W x D x H)
Customization	21 interchangeable front panel tiles4
Pricing	$1,099 – $1,9998
Sustained / Boost Power	120 W / 140 W9
PSU	400 W FlexATX (Gold 110 V / Silver 230 V)9

Reviews

The review embargo lifted August 7, 2025. Consensus: excellent for local LLMs, Radeon 8060S ≈ RTX 4060 laptop GPU, but soldered RAM and a cheap exterior are the main drawbacks^14151617.

Outlet	Verdict
Ars Technica	"A mash-up of a regular desktop PC and the Mac Studio." Soldered RAM is "the ugly"14
The Verge	"Made me fall for small form factor PCs." 2.5K gaming capable; "not for 4K gaming"15
PCMag	"This Mighty Mini PC Has Modular Mojo, CPU Go-Go"16
Tom's Hardware	"AMD's Strix Halo in a petite, powerful, pricey PC"17
Phoronix	"Excellent, Linux-Friendly Performance." Primary Linux review18
ServeTheHome	Notable criticism: Noctua fan shipped installed in wrong orientation on pre-assembled review units19

The 128 GB config can run Llama 3.3 70B locally; AMD's beta Adrenalin driver allows allocating 96 GB as VRAM (32 GB to OS)¹⁵.

Known Issues

• NVMe drives hit above 100 °C under load — The EC only reads temps for ambient/CPU/GPU, not NVMe or RAM, so the stock fan curve ignores SSD temps. Community fix: install the 80 mm front fan (reduces SSD temps 10–20 °C), add external USB fans, or use third-party fan-control tools²⁰²¹.
• PSU overheating causing shutdowns/reboots — The 400 W FlexATX PSU runs hot; community mods include external fans and an Overtek 500 W replacement PSU²².
• Improper heatsink contact / shipping damage — Some units hit 100 °C at under 70 W load due to a dislodged PTM7958 thermal pad; Framework sells a replacement PTM + thermal pad kit for $9²³²⁴.
• GPU hangs / "fabric floods" (error 0x08000800) / SMU deadlocks — Triggered by hardware video acceleration in Chrome/Firefox and heavy LLM inference on Linux. Workarounds: kernel parameters amdgpu.cwsr_enable=0, amdgpu.gpu_recovery=1, amdgpu.no_vpe_idle_pg=1, or downgrade to kernel 6.18.5. Vulkan backend is more stable than ROCm for LLM inference²⁵²⁶.
• Rear USB-C and USB-A ports die after suspend/resume — Reproducibly linked to iGPU memory allocation (Custom ≥16–32 GB); setting iGPU Memory = Auto / 0.5 G avoids it²⁷²⁸.
• No boot after BIOS 3.04 LVFS update — Machine shuts down mid-update and won't reboot; mainboard reset fixes it²⁹.

Linux Support

Works out of the box on modern distros: Fedora 42+, Ubuntu 25.04+, Arch/CachyOS, Debian 13. Requires Linux 6.1x kernel + Mesa 25.x for RDNA 3.5 graphics¹⁸. Framework does not officially support Ubuntu — only Fedora is first-party supported (resource constraints), though Ubuntu works via community + upstream AMD support³⁰. Notable performance gains land going from kernel 6.14/Mesa 25.0 (Ubuntu 25.04) to kernel 7.0/Mesa 26.0 (Ubuntu 26.04)³¹. ROCm 7.1 on Ubuntu 25.10 enables local LLM serving; Strix Halo = gfx1151³². Framework also lists Playtron OS and Bazzite as gaming-focused supported distros³³.

Firmware

Detail	Info
UEFI	InsydeH2O by Insyde Software
EC	Open-source, based on CrOS EC
Latest UEFI	3.05 (April 27, 2026)34

BIOS release history

Version	Date	Key changes
3.02 / 3.03	~Q3 2025 launch	Initial release
3.04	Nov 27 2025	AMD PI → 1.0.0.2; 3 A charging profiles on USB-C ports; PXE/Power-On-AC fixes. Introduced GRUB/Linux slow-boot regression35
3.05	Apr 27 2026	New LPDDR5 128 GB module support (enables "192 GB coming soon" SKU); fixed GRUB/Linux slow boot; downgrade allowed again (3.04 had blocked it). Known issue: certain USB-C peripherals may exhibit intermittent PD/DP Alt Mode handshake issues34

Footnotes

1. Framework 2nd Gen Event 2025 — Framework (YouTube) ↩

2. Framework moves into desktops, 2-in-1 laptops at 'Second Gen' event — Tom's Hardware ↩

3. Framework's first tiny Desktop beautifully straddles the line between cute and badass — The Verge ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. Introducing the Framework Desktop — Framework Blog ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. Updated July 22 — Q3 2025 pre-order shipping update — Framework Team ↩

6. Framework Desktop Batch 1 Guild — tracking deliveries — Framework Community ↩

7. Framework Desktop press reviews are live — Framework Blog ↩

8. Framework's first desktop PC is optimized for gaming and local AI inference — TechCrunch ↩ ↩²

9. Framework Desktop deep dive — Ryzen AI Max — Framework Blog ↩ ↩² ↩³

10. Framework Laptop 13 Pro press reviews and previewing a 192GB Framework Desktop — Framework Blog ↩

11. AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 — AMD ↩

12. AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 — AMD ↩ ↩²

13. Framework Desktop is 4.5-liter Mini-PC with up to Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 — VideoCardz ↩

14. Review: Framework Desktop is a mash-up of a regular desktop PC and the Mac Studio — Ars Technica ↩ ↩²

15. Framework Desktop review — made me fall for small form factor PCs — The Verge ↩ ↩² ↩³

16. Framework Desktop review — This Mighty Mini PC Has Modular Mojo, CPU Go-Go — PCMag ↩ ↩²

17. Framework Desktop review — AMD's Strix Halo in a petite, powerful, pricey PC — Tom's Hardware ↩ ↩²

18. Framework Desktop Linux review — Excellent, Linux-Friendly Performance — Phoronix ↩ ↩²

19. Framework Desktop review — A solid AMD Strix Halo mini PC — ServeTheHome ↩

20. NVMe crazy high temps (100°C) under load — Framework Community ↩

21. Extra cooling on FW Desktop — Framework Community ↩

22. Custom Enhance ENP-7660B PSU fitted in my Desktop — Framework Community ↩

23. High temperatures — am I doing something wrong? — Framework Community ↩

24. FW Desktop heatsink not mounted properly — Framework Community ↩

25. Framework Desktop general stability — Framework Community ↩

26. Strix Halo GFX1151 GFX ring timeout under mundane GL load — Framework Community ↩

27. GitHub — FrameworkComputer/SoftwareFirmwareIssueTracker #163 — GitHub ↩

28. GitHub — FrameworkComputer/SoftwareFirmwareIssueTracker #158 — GitHub ↩

29. SOLVED: Framework Desktop unresponsive after BIOS update to 3.05 — Framework Community ↩

30. Plans for Ubuntu support — Framework Community ↩

31. Ubuntu 26.04 Strix Halo improvements — Phoronix ↩

32. Strix Halo + Lemonade ROCm guide — Ian MacDonald ↩

33. Framework known for upgradable laptops intros not particularly upgradable desktop — Ars Technica ↩

34. Framework Desktop BIOS 3.05 Release STABLE — Framework Community ↩ ↩²

35. Framework Desktop Ryzen AI Max 300 BIOS 3.04 Release STABLE — Framework Community ↩