Framework Desktop with AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 beats RTX 4060 laptop in 3DMark, sustains 95W TDP
We recently saw how the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip performs in an upcoming 16-inch gaming laptop. And now, we are revisiting the Max+ 395's performance once again, but this time in the Framework desktop PC.
For the uninitiated, Framework, the OEM famous for making modular laptops that you can buy once and keep upgrading forever, launched its first-ever desktop, more specifically, a modular mini-PC, a few months ago. And right now, you can pre-order the Framework Desktop either with a 16-core, 32-thread AMD Ryzen Max+ 395 or with an 8-core, 16-thread Max 385.
Months after the launch, now we have a first look at the real-world performance of the Framework Desktop courtesy of YouTuber ETA PRIME. As mentioned, the model tested had the Max+ 395 chip along with 128GB LPDDR5X RAM. We recently saw how the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip performs in an upcoming 16-inch gaming laptop. And now, we are revisiting the Max+ 395's performance once again, but this time in the Framework desktop PC.
The YouTuber assembled the unit himself using just the included screwdriver, which made the whole DIY process beginner-friendly. After installing a 2TB Western Digital Black SSD, ETA Prime opted for the Noctua fan variant, one of the three available cooling options from Framework. The fan was mounted using a provided shroud and connected to the APU-labelled 4-pin header inside the case.
Under full load, the chip sustained around 95 W TDP, with temperatures peaking at just 75.9°C and hovering around 69.5°C, an impressive thermal performance for a compact PC, ETA PRIME mentioned. In Geekbench 6, the Framework Desktop scored 2,952 in the single-core test and 21,976 in the multi-core test. It outperformed the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D in multi-core performance but fell slightly behind in single-core performance.
The Framework Desktop also returned a 3DMark Time Spy score of 11,251, comparable to an RTX 4060 laptop GPU paired with an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS system, despite being entirely iGPU-powered.
In real-world gaming, Cyberpunk 2077 ran at 73 FPS at 1440p High with FSR Balanced, Spider-Man 2 hit 130 FPS with FSR Frame Generation enabled at 1440p High, Borderlands 3 averaged between 70 to 85 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and Forza Horizon 5 delivered over 100 FPS at 1440p Extreme and 78 FPS at 4K Ultra.
If you want more in-depth testing and benchmarks across additional titles, be sure to check out the full video linked down below.
Source(s)
