Framework’s first OCuLink eGPUs cross over from laptop to desktop

Remember when Framework made the first laptop where you could easily upgrade the entire internal video card In three minutes flat? The company enters into external Game graphics too. As promised last Augustyou’ll be able to convert Framework Laptop 16’s GPUs to external ones instead. Or you can plug in a desktop graphics card (or network card or other PCIe cards) for more power than most laptops can dream of, with eight lanes of PCI-Express bandwidth.

The framework calls it the OCuLink Dev Kit, because it uses the OCuLink standard to transfer data between your CPU and an external GPU, and because the company wants you to know that this isn’t exactly Consumer friendly product. “It’s not like Thunderbolt where it’s a simple plug-and-play solution,” says Framework CEO Nirav Patel. Edge. “It’s for that enthusiast or power user.”

As I discovered When I connected the RTX 5090 to a portable gaming rig Last year, the benefit of OCuLink was that even a relatively weak laptop could become a GPU powerhouse when you had a powerful direct link to the external card. The downsides are that the OCuLink connectors aren’t particularly robust, they only transfer PCIe data (no USB, no power for your laptop) and they’re generally not fast to connect. “Our recommendation to users is that you will need to turn it off and back on again,” Patel says.

The other reason it’s called a Dev Kit is that what the Framework offers is a deliberately stripped-down structure to keep costs low. Framework provides GPU adapters, but it brings in your desktop computer’s power supply and perhaps 3D prints your own docking station. “We release design files so people can 3D print their own solutions,” Patel says.

You’ll be able to choose as many (or as few) of the three components that the Framework builds in, if you want to mix and match with other OCuLink solutions already on the market. These three components (which you can see in the gallery earlier in this post) are:

Framework hasn’t announced a price or release date for these parts yet, but Patel says they should ship this year. There’s no solution here for other Framework laptops, just the Laptop 16, but there are some other computers with an OCuLink port, including a variety of Relatively inexpensive mini computers and That GPD Win Max 2 Which I reviewed. Perhaps this could help the Framework Laptop 16 discrete GPUs get a second life after their owners upgrade.

theoretically, Thunderbolt 5 eGPU The connection may be more useful than an OCuLink connection, but most laptops that could really benefit from a discrete GPU don’t have Thunderbolt 5 ports, among other considerations. There is also CopprLink For those that should have a PCIe x16 connection to an external card, but that’s a bulky, expensive, and currently rare connector.

We’ll try to take a look at these OCuLink stuff in action at today’s Framework event – but we’re making a beeline for the company’s new 13-inch “Pro” laptop and perhaps Her sofa keyboard Firstly.