Framework’s first eGPUs turn its laptop into a desktop PC

Remember when Framework made the first laptop where you can easily upgrade its entire internal video card in three minutes flat? The company’s getting into the external graphics game, too. As promised last August, you’ll be able to turn the Framework Laptop 16’s GPU modules into 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 ever dream of having, with eight lanes of PCI-Express bandwidth.

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

As I discovered when I plugged an RTX 5090 into a gaming handheld last year, the benefit of OCuLink is that even a relatively weak laptop can become a GPU powerhouse when you’ve got a beefy direct link to the external card. The downsides are that OCuLink connectors aren’t particularly robust, only transmit PCIe data (no USB, no power for your laptop) and generally can’t be hotplugged. “Our recommendation to users is you’re going to need to shut down and power back up,” says Patel.

This OCuLink solution will be more powerful than the one I tried, though: Framework told PCWorld it’ll be the first OCuLink 8i connector in a laptop, with a full eight lanes and 128Gbps of bandwidth, compared to the 4-lane, 64Gbps solutions you’ve generally seen before. It shouldn’t bottleneck GPUs the same way. (Not that four-lane OCuLink was too terrible a bottleneck to use.) That’s even more bandwidth than Thunderbolt 5.

The other reason it’s labeled a Dev Kit is because what Framework is offering is intentionally barebones to keep costs low. Framework provides the GPU adapters, but it’s bring-your-own desktop computer power supply and maybe 3D-print your own docking stand. “We’re releasing design files for people to be able to 3D print their own solutions,” says Patel.

You will be able to pick as many (or as few) of the three components that Framework is building, though, if you want to mix and match with other OCuLink solutions that are already available in the market. Those three components (which you can see in the gallery earlier in this post) are:

Framework isn’t sharing price or release date for these parts quite yet, but Patel says they should ship this year. There’s no solution here for Framework’s other laptops, only the Laptop 16, but there are some other computers with an OCuLink port, including a variety of relatively inexpensive mini-PCs and that GPD Win Max 2 that I reviewed. Maybe this could help Framework Laptop 16 discrete GPUs get a second life after their owners upgrade.

Theoretically, a Thunderbolt 5 eGPU connection might be more convenient than an OCuLink one, but most laptops that could really benefit from a discrete GPU don’t have Thunderbolt 5 ports, among other considerations. There’s also CopprLink for those who absolutely must have a PCIe x16 connection to an external card, but that’s a hefty, pricy, and, currently, rare connector.

We’ll try to get a look at these OCuLink items in action at Framework’s event today — but we’re making a beeline for the company’s new 13-inch “Pro” notebook and maybe its couch keyboard first.

Update, April 22nd: Added PCWorld’s additional reporting on OCuLink 8i.