Framework’s first OCu Link e GPUs hack its laptop into a desktop PC | The Verge

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Framework’s first e GPUs turn its laptop into a desktop PC

Only power users need apply — and you’ll have to shut down the laptop before you plug or unplug.

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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 OCu Link Dev Kit, because it uses the OCu Link 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.”

The add-in board to give the Framework Laptop 16 an OCu Link port.

Using a Framework Laptop 16 with a desktop GPU requires a desktop power supply. (And you’ll still need to charge the laptop, too.)

The “Desktop Replacer” frame for the discrete Laptop 16 GPU.

The laptop discrete GPU, connected to an OCu Link e GPU board with Framework’s interposer.

As I discovered when I plugged an RTX 5090 into a gaming handheld last year, the benefit of OCu Link 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 OCu Link 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.

I plugged an Nvidia RTX 5090 into a gaming handheld

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.

Your old Laptop 16 discrete GPU could make for a fairly tidy dock, though you may need to 3D print the stand yourself.

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 OCu Link solutions that are already available in the market. Those three components (which you can see in the gallery earlier in this post) are:

An add-in card that fits inside the Framework Laptop 16’s default Expansion Bay Shell to give it an OCu Link port

An adapter to add an OCu Link port and board power to a Framework Laptop 16’s removable graphics card

An adapter to add an OCu Link port and board power to a desktop graphics card

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 OCu Link 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 e GPU connection might be more useful than an OCu Link one, but most laptops that could really benefit from a discrete GPU don’t have Thunderbolt 5 ports, among other considerations. There’s also Coppr Link for those who absolutely must have a PCIe x 16 connection to an external card, but that’s a hefty, pricy, and, currently, rare connector.

We’ll try to get a look at these OCu Link 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.

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