Modular laptop maker Framework has announced its first drop-in device for the Framework Laptop 16 Expansion Bay — adding in two M.2 slots for high-speed storage or machine learning accelerators.
"When we first announced Framework Laptop 16, we shared that one of the core design goals was unlocking desktop-like modularity within a slim notebook form factor with high performance PCIe-interfaced modules," Frameworks' Nirav Patel explains. "Our first modules were the Graphics Module with an AMD Radeon 7700S discrete GPU and the Expansion Bay Shell which provides cooling along with an open central area for modules to drop into. The new Dual M.2 Adapter is the first module that installs into the Expansion Bay Shell."
Framework teased the larger 16" model of its eponymous modular laptop back in March last year, promising not only a bigger screen and interchangeable keyboard modules but a new "Expansion Bay" that could house a discrete graphics card. It's this module which is the focus on Framework's latest release, though this time around it's adding more storage rather than more powerful graphics.
The module slots into the Framework Laptop 16 Expansion Bay — and can't be used with the smaller Framework Laptop 14 — and delivers support for two M.2 devices in 2230, 2242, 2260, or 2280 footprints, with four full-speed PCI Express Gen. 4 lanes per slot. When used for storage, Framework says, it will deliver room for an additional 16TB of Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) storage capacity on top of the mainboard's two slots — or the slots can play host to any of the growing number of accelerators for on-device machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML and AI).
The board breaks out eight PCIe Gen. 4 lanes to two M.2 slots, ready for NMVe storage or AI accelerators. (📷: Framework)
The company is, as always, keen to see the community deliver other options for the Expansion Bay — and makes design files for building your own modules available to all under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, including design files for the new dual-M.2 module.
The Dual M.2 Adapter is now available on the Framework store at $39; users will need to upgrade their Framework Laptop 16 to BIOS revision 3.05 or higher before installation, the company says. For the DIY crowd, meanwhile, the module's design files are available on GitHub as a "reference design."