Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 review: New 2.8K 120 Hz display with Arc 8 graphics

Framework is proving its resilience with yet another rerelease or update for its well-known Laptop 13.5 series. This time, the model has been updated with the latest Intel Core Ultra CPUs for both faster performance than before and integrated AI acceleration alongside a few other refinements.
Our unit in review is a higher-end configuration with the Core Ultra 7 155H CPU and new 2.8K 2880 x 1920 120 Hz display for approximately $1500 USD. If purchased as a barebones set with no RAM or storage, configurations with the base Core Ultra 5 125H and standard 2256 x 1504 60 Hz display can start for as low as $900.
Alternatives to the Laptop 13.5 include other 13-inch or 14-inch subnotebooks from larger manufacturers like the Dell XPS 13, Lenovo Yoga Book 9, HP Spectre x360 14, or Asus ZenBook 14.
More Framework reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Version | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
84 % | v8 | 08 / 2024 | Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Core | 1.4 kg | 15.85 mm | 13.50" | 2880x1920 | |
87.5 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 10 / 2023 | Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U R7 7840U, Radeon 780M | 1.3 kg | 15.85 mm | 13.50" | 2256x1504 | |
86.5 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 05 / 2024 | Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Core | 1.2 kg | 15.3 mm | 13.40" | 1920x1200 | |
87 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 04 / 2024 | Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 Ultra 7 155U, Graphics 4-Core | 1.4 kg | 15.95 mm | 13.30" | 2880x1800 | |
91.4 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 02 / 2024 | HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Core | 1.5 kg | 16.9 mm | 14.00" | 2880x1800 | |
88.6 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 05 / 2024 | Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA R7 8840HS, Radeon 780M | 1.2 kg | 14.9 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1200 |
Hinweis: Wir haben unser Rating-System kürzlich aktualisiert und die Ergebnisse von Version 8 sind nicht mit den Ergebnissen von Version 7 vergleichbar. Weitere Informationen dazu sind hier verfügbar.
Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here .
Case — A Few More Color Options
While there are no changes to the chassis, Framework now offers several other colors for the bezel portion around the screen including gray, orange, green, lavender, or red. The bezel is otherwise black like on previous iterations of the Laptop 13.5. The base and keyboard keys continue to be silver and black only, respectively.
Speaking of the keyboard, the Framework 13.5 is one of the very few Meteor Lake-H laptops with no dedicated Microsoft Co-Pilot key and so it still has two individual Ctrl keys. This is likely due to the fact that the model was designed to be OS agnostic.
Connectivity
The four USB-C 4.0 ports have not changed when compared to last year's iteration with 13th gen Intel Core CPUs. All four ports are identical in terms of features unlike on the AMD version of the Laptop 13.5 where only certain ports support DisplayPort or are USB 3.2 instead of 4.0.
New this year are additional expansion cards in several color options similar to the bezel colors as noted above. These colored expansion cards, however, are plastic instead of the usual silver aluminum. Users can still order the familiar silver cards to better match the silver chassis.
SD Card Reader
One of our complaints last year was the lack of an expansion card for full-size SD cards. Framework has now answered our prayers and then went the extra mile by offering one of the fastest SD card readers we've seen on any subnotebook. Transfer rates approach 200 MB/s which is over 2x faster than the MicroSD expansion card. If you move a lot of files or videos between your SD card and laptop, then the full-size SD expansion card is definitely the way to go.
Most competing laptops like the XPS 13, Zenbook 13, Spectre x360 14, or Yoga Book 9 13 don't have SD card readers at all.
SD Card Reader | |
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 (AV Pro UHS-II V60) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel (AV Pro UHS-II V60) | |
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 (AV Pro UHS-II V60) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 12th Gen Intel (AV Pro UHS-II V60) |
Communication
Webcam
Camera quality is still fixed at 2 MP with no other options whereas competing models like the Spectre x360 14 integrate 9 MP webcams. One would think that an upgradeable design like the Framework would offer multiple webcam options, but that is unfortunately not the case.
A privacy shutter comes standard but there is still no IR or Facial Recognition support.

Accessories
The retail box includes a screwdriver alongside the paperwork and AC adapter. Annoyingly, there are no expansion cards included at all even though it's highly recommended to have at least one USB-C card for easier charging. Expansion cards range from $9 for USB-C up to $125 for 1 TB of storage.
Maintenance
Sustainability
Sustainability is a key pillar of Framework to help distinguish the company from other PC makers. The base and top cover consist of 50 percent post-consumer and 75 percent pre-consumer recycled aluminum, respectively, while 30 percent of the plastics are post-consumer recycled. The packaging itself is all cardboard and fully recyclable.
Beyond the manufacturing and packaging, Framework also sells new and refurbished parts directly to consumers via its official marketplace. Repairs are therefore easier and more encouraged when compared to competitors especially since most major makers don't sell or tout replacement parts. Additionally, Framework users can sell their unwanted or older parts to other Framework owners via the official community market.
We would love to see Framework press the advantage by offering trade-in services similar to smartphone manufacturers. For example, an easy-to-use service that accepts MacBooks or Windows laptops to reduce the final price would likely persuade even more users to make the switch to a Laptop 13.5 or Laptop 16.
Warranty
A one-year limited manufacturer warranty comes standard with extension options of up to three years. Higher-end business laptops like the Dell Precision or HP Elite series may come with three-year warranty as standard, but they also tend to be much more expensive.
Display — New 2.8K 120 Hz Panel
After three years with the exact same 2256 x 1504 60 Hz display, Framework has finally added a second panel option with both a higher resolution and refresh rate of 2880 x 1920 and 120 Hz, respectively. The new panel also supports Windows VRR down to 60 Hz and slightly faster black-white response times than the older panel, but other key characteristics like color coverage and contrast ratio remain the same. This means that the Laptop 13.5 still lacks support for both HDR and P3 colors in contrast to most competing laptops in this price range where OLED is becoming more common.
Despite the upgrades over the base 60 Hz option, the 120 Hz panel is still not for gaming due to its relatively slow response times. Ghosting is noticeable when playing fast-moving 3D titles which is unfortunate as the new integrated GPU is otherwise much faster than on previous iterations of the Laptop 13.5.
|
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 498.5 cd/m²
Contrast: 1385:1 (Black: 0.36 cd/m²)
ΔE ColorChecker Calman: 4.27 | ∀{0.5-29.43 Ø4.81}
calibrated: 1.26
ΔE Greyscale Calman: 4.7 | ∀{0.09-98 Ø5.1}
72.9% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 3D)
98.6% sRGB (Argyll 3D)
72.8% Display P3 (Argyll 3D)
Gamma: 2.09
CCT: 7417 K
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H BOE NE135A1M-NY1, IPS, 2880x1920, 13.5", 120 Hz | Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U BOE CQ NE135FBM-N41, IPS, 2256x1504, 13.5", 60 Hz | Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 SHP1593, IPS, 1920x1200, 13.4", 120 Hz | Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 SDC ATNA33AA02-0, OLED, 2880x1800, 13.3", 60 Hz | HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng SDC4197, OLED, 2880x1800, 14", 120 Hz | Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA ATNA40CT02-0, OLED, 1920x1200, 14", 60 Hz | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display | -2% | -3% | 24% | 20% | 19% | |
Display P3 Coverage (%) | 72.8 | 69 -5% | 69.4 -5% | 99.7 37% | 99.8 37% | 98.6 35% |
sRGB Coverage (%) | 98.6 | 99.1 1% | 97.8 -1% | 100 1% | 100 1% | 99.9 1% |
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage (%) | 72.9 | 71.1 -2% | 71.7 -2% | 97 33% | 89.3 22% | 87.3 20% |
Response Times | -27% | -10% | 94% | 98% | 96% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * (ms) | 41.9 ? | 50.4 ? -20% | 43.2 ? -3% | 1.88 ? 96% | 0.77 ? 98% | 1.31 ? 97% |
Response Time Black / White * (ms) | 23.7 ? | 31.5 ? -33% | 27.6 ? -16% | 2.1 ? 91% | 0.75 ? 97% | 1.2 ? 95% |
PWM Frequency (Hz) | 60 ? | 480 | 480 ? | |||
Screen | 18% | 7% | 8% | 29% | 372% | |
Brightness middle (cd/m²) | 498.5 | 436 -13% | 429 -14% | 362.6 -27% | 378 -24% | 387 -22% |
Brightness (cd/m²) | 464 | 416 -10% | 407 -12% | 368 -21% | 384 -17% | 386 -17% |
Brightness Distribution (%) | 86 | 89 3% | 90 5% | 97 13% | 97 13% | 98 14% |
Black Level * (cd/m²) | 0.36 | 0.36 -0% | 0.28 22% | 0.01 97% | ||
Contrast (:1) | 1385 | 1211 -13% | 1532 11% | 38700 2694% | ||
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.27 | 1.81 58% | 2.6 39% | 4.66 -9% | 1.4 67% | 1 77% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 7.08 | 4.73 33% | 6.6 7% | 7.25 -2% | 2.2 69% | 2.4 66% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.26 | 0.45 64% | 1.4 -11% | 0.56 56% | ||
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 4.7 | 2.9 38% | 4 15% | 2.6 45% | 1.7 64% | 1.4 70% |
Gamma | 2.09 105% | 2.27 97% | 2.23 99% | 2.2 100% | 2.17 101% | 2.24 98% |
CCT | 7417 88% | 6784 96% | 7332 89% | 6055 107% | 6256 104% | 6466 101% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | -4% /
7% | -2% /
3% | 42% /
26% | 49% /
39% | 162% /
248% |
* ... smaller is better
Framework does not offer factory calibration and so color temperature out of the box is relatively cool at 7417 which negatively impacts grayscale and color deltaE values. Calibrating the panel ourselves with an X-Rite colorimeter addresses these shortcomings for final grayscale and color DeltaE values of 2.4 and 1.26, respectively. We recommend applying our calibrated ICM profile above to get more out of the display.
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
23.7 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 11.5 ms rise | |
↘ 12.2 ms fall | ||
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 52 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.4 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
41.9 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 18.7 ms rise | |
↘ 23.2 ms fall | ||
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 66 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (31.8 ms). |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM not detected | |||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8228 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. |
The new 120 Hz panel is slightly brighter than the base 60 Hz panel (500 nit vs. 400 nits). However, the increase isn't enough to make a noticeable difference when outdoors and so visibility is only passable when under sunlight or bright overcast.
Performance — Comparable To AMD Ryzen 7 7840U
Testing Conditions
We set Windows to Performance mode prior to running the benchmarks below.
Processor
It's worth noting that the original Laptop 13.5 in 2021 shipped with Core U-series processors. Newer models would offer Core-P and Core-H options which are faster but also more demanding than Core U. Since the underlying cooling solution remains largely the same, configurations with Core-P and Core-H should therefore be more susceptible to throttling when stressed. This is unfortunately what we see as the Core Ultra 7 155H in our test unit would drop in performance by 22 percent after the first or second loop into our CineBench R15 xT loop test as shown by the graph below. The Core i7-1370P in last year's Laptop 13.5 would exhibit similar drops as well to the point where performance would equal the Core Ultra 7. Thus, anyone upgrading from the Core i7-1370P to the Core Ultra 7 155H will find almost no benefits in terms of processor performance.
The wild card in favor of the Core Ultra 7 155H is its integrated NPU for AI acceleration. At this point in time, however, its applications are limited for the majority of usage scenarios.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 6.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 6.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
Performance Rating | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (6670 - 18470, n=50) | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (40905 - 93181, n=50) | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (1940 - 4436, n=50) | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng |
AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (64698 - 94181, n=50) | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (5639 - 10647, n=50) | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (18236 - 47685, n=50) | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (45713 - 152179, n=50) | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (557 - 1250, n=50) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA |
AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (3569 - 9802, n=50) | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (32719 - 54223, n=50) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U |
Stress Test
Average effective clock rate and CPU package power would boost to 3 GHz and 44 W lasting for only a few seconds until reaching 96 C. Thereafter, the CPU would drop and stabilize at 1.3 GHz and 31 W in order to maintain a cooler core temperature of 82 C. The low to mid 80 C range is similar to what we recorded on all Latop 13.5 configurations thus far including the AMD version. This also shows that Turbo Boost benefits on or Intel unit don't last for very long due to thermal limitations which align with our CineBench R15 xT loop observations above.
Core temperature when running games would show more interesting differences. Our Core Ultra 7 unit would stabilize at 85 C when under such conditions which is noticeably cooler than on the Core i7-1370P configuration (93 C) but warmer than on the Ryzen 7 7840U configuration (73 C). The differences may demonstrate the efficiency levels between the three different iGPUs available on the Model 13.5 (Iris Xe 96 EUs, Arc 8, and Radeon 780M).
Average CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Average CPU Temperature (°C) | |
System Idle | -- | -- | 54 |
Prime95 Stress | 1.3 | -- | 82 |
Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 0.7 | 1100 | 82 |
Cyberpunk 2077 Stress | 0.4 | 1650 | 85 |
System Performance
PCMark results are ahead of last year's Laptop 13.5 on average with the widest advantage in the Digital Content Creation subtest due to the much faster integrated Arc 8 GPU. On the other hand, the Ryzen 7 7840U version holds the advantage in the Productivity subtest because of its faster multi-core performance.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
WebXPRT 3: Overall
WebXPRT 4: Overall
Mozilla Kraken 1.1: Total
PCMark 10 / Score | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (4809 - 7529, n=34) | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (7605 - 11289, n=34) |
PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (6042 - 10591, n=34) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (4985 - 10709, n=34) | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
CrossMark / Overall | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (1366 - 1903, n=34) | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng |
CrossMark / Productivity | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (1291 - 1798, n=33) | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng |
CrossMark / Creativity | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (1519 - 1929, n=33) | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (939 - 1802, n=33) | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng |
WebXPRT 3 / Overall | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (252 - 299, n=34) | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 |
WebXPRT 4 / Overall | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (166.4 - 309, n=29) | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA |
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 / Total | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU (517 - 614, n=35) | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U |
* ... smaller is better
PCMark 10 Score | 6853 points | |
Help |
AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (62397 - 96791, n=50) | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U |
AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (60544 - 90647, n=50) | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA |
AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (58692 - 93451, n=50) | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
Average Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (116.2 - 233, n=50) | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Framework offers only Western Digital SSDs at checkout for consistency whereas other PC makers tend to deploy a range of SSDs from different manufacturers. The WD SN850X in our unit is an upgrade over the PC SN740 series offered on last year's Laptop 13.5. Transfer rates can reach 7000 MB/s compared to ~5200 MB/s on the PC SN740, but some very slight throttling would occur after 5 or 6 minutes into our DiskSpd loop test as shown by the graph below.
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
One of the biggest gains when jumping from last year's Core i7-1370P to the new Meteor Lake-H platform is the integrated Arc 8 GPU which is significantly faster than the aging Iris Xe 96 EUs by 1.5x to 2x. It's therefore one of the biggest reasons for owning a Core Ultra Laptop 13.5 over a Core i7 Laptop 13.5 especially since processor performance is flat year over year. This also puts Intel more in line with the competing Radeon 680M/780M series.
Power Profile | Graphics Score | Physics Score | Combined Score |
Performance Mode | 8513 | 20723 | 2856 |
Balanced Mode | 8469 (-1%) | 19171 (-5%) | 2780 (-3%) |
Battery Power | 7354 (-14%) | 18469 (-11%) | 2361 (-17%) |
Running on Balanced mode instead of Performance mode entails no major performance deficits as shown by our Fire Strike results table above. Running on battery power impacts performance by 10 to 15 percent.
3DMark 11 Performance | 12550 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 28946 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 7671 points | |
3DMark Time Spy Score | 3725 points | |
3DMark Steel Nomad Score | 753 points | |
Help |
* ... smaller is better
Gaming Performance
The Arc 8 is capable of running most games at 1080p so long as settings are on low or low-medium. Even so, gaming is not the primary function of the Laptop 13.5. Gamers may want to check out the Laptop 16 or Asus ROG Flow X13 instead for such purposes.
The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
GTA V - 1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 |
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark - 1920x1080 High Quality | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
Strange Brigade - 1920x1080 ultra AA:ultra AF:16 | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
Dota 2 Reborn - 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U | |
HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng | |
Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 | |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H | |
Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 |
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra FPS Chart
low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GTA V (2015) | 144.9 | 140.1 | 43.5 | 17.5 | 12.2 |
Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 102.7 | 76.9 | 67.2 | 62.1 | |
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 70 | 38 | 27.2 | 20.5 | |
X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 56 | 41.6 | 33.7 | ||
Far Cry 5 (2018) | 62 | 42 | 40 | 38 | 28 |
Strange Brigade (2018) | 162.1 | 70.6 | 59.6 | 48.5 | 34.9 |
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (2022) | 50.8 | 44.5 | 30.7 | 24.2 | 16.6 |
F1 22 (2022) | 73.9 | 68.6 | 52.9 | ||
Baldur's Gate 3 (2023) | 36.9 | 30.7 | 26.7 | 25.7 | 17.7 |
Cyberpunk 2077 2.2 Phantom Liberty (2023) | 34.3 | 27.8 | 23.4 | 21.1 |
Emissions
System Noise — Low Lows With High Highs
Fan noise may be a bit quieter when running demanding loads, but its behavior hasn't changed as it still pulses more regularly than on most other laptops. The internal fan has a tendency to go from silent to loud with not much in between even when set to Balanced mode.
Noise Level
Idle |
| 24.1 / 25.1 / 27 dB(A) |
Load |
| 38.4 / 45.8 dB(A) |
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30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
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min: ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H Arc 8-Core, Ultra 7 155H | Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U Radeon 780M, R7 7840U, WD PC SN740 512GB SDDPNQD-512G | Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 Arc 8-Core, Ultra 7 155H, Micron 2550 512GB | Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 Graphics 4-Core, Ultra 7 155U | HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng Arc 8-Core, Ultra 7 155H, Kioxia XG8 KXG80ZNV2T04 | Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA Radeon 780M, R7 8840HS, Micron 2400 MTFDKBA1T0QFM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Noise | 5% | 1% | 16% | 13% | 2% | |
off / environment * (dB) | 24 | 22.6 6% | 25.1 -5% | 23.3 3% | 23.4 2% | 25.1 -5% |
Idle Minimum * (dB) | 24.1 | 22.6 6% | 25.1 -4% | 23.3 3% | 23.4 3% | 25.1 -4% |
Idle Average * (dB) | 25.1 | 22.6 10% | 25.1 -0% | 23.3 7% | 23.4 7% | 25.1 -0% |
Idle Maximum * (dB) | 27 | 24.2 10% | 25.1 7% | 24.6 9% | 25.6 5% | 25.1 7% |
Load Average * (dB) | 38.4 | 35.8 7% | 37.4 3% | 26.2 32% | 25.6 33% | 35.9 7% |
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * (dB) | 43.7 | |||||
Load Maximum * (dB) | 45.8 | 48.9 -7% | 42.5 7% | 27.3 40% | 32.6 29% | 42.2 8% |
Witcher 3 ultra * (dB) | 46.5 | 42.5 | 27.3 | 30.9 | 39.3 |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
Surface temperatures are very similar to what we recorded on the AMD version of the model despite the processor difference. The results are to be expected since Framework is targeting similar TDP values on both versions with no other major changes to the chassis or cooling solution.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 42.8 °C / 109 F, compared to the average of 34.3 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 45.2 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.2 °C / 77 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 27.6 °C / 81.7 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.6 °C / 81.7 F (0 °C / 0 F).
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU | Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U AMD Ryzen 7 7840U, AMD Radeon 780M | Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU | Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 Intel Core Ultra 7 155U, Intel Graphics 4-Core iGPU (Arc) | HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU | Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS, AMD Radeon 780M | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heat | -3% | 7% | -3% | 9% | 0% | |
Maximum Upper Side * (°C) | 42.8 | 42 2% | 41 4% | 39.2 8% | 39.3 8% | 43.1 -1% |
Maximum Bottom * (°C) | 45.2 | 47.4 -5% | 43.5 4% | 41 9% | 45 -0% | 50.2 -11% |
Idle Upper Side * (°C) | 27.2 | 28.8 -6% | 25.3 7% | 32.2 -18% | 23.8 12% | 25.8 5% |
Idle Bottom * (°C) | 28.6 | 29.6 -3% | 25.5 11% | 31.6 -10% | 24 16% | 26.4 8% |
* ... smaller is better
Speakers
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (79.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 14.5% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.6% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.5% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (14.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 11% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 85% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 21%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 18% of all tested devices were better, 4% similar, 78% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | bass is linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (2.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (4.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Idling on desktop consumes between 2 W and 6 W which is actually lower than on last year's Core-P configuration even after accounting for our 2.8K 120 Hz display. The higher CPU efficiency between Raptor Lake-P and Meteor Lake-H offsets our more demanding display.
When more demanding loads like games or Prime95 are introduced, system consumption would be within just a few watts from what we recorded on the Core-P configuration. This is particularly noteworthy as our Arc 8 GPU can offer up to 2x the performance as mentioned above without needing to consume more power for significantly higher performance-per-watt.
The model ships with the same super-small 60 W USB-C AC adapter as on the original 2021 model.
Off / Standby | ![]() ![]() |
Idle | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Load |
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Key:
min: ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Core, , IPS, 2880x1920, 13.5" | Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U R7 7840U, Radeon 780M, WD PC SN740 512GB SDDPNQD-512G, IPS, 2256x1504, 13.5" | Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Core, Micron 2550 512GB, IPS, 1920x1200, 13.4" | Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 Ultra 7 155U, Graphics 4-Core, , OLED, 2880x1800, 13.3" | HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Core, Kioxia XG8 KXG80ZNV2T04, OLED, 2880x1800, 14" | Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA R7 8840HS, Radeon 780M, Micron 2400 MTFDKBA1T0QFM, OLED, 1920x1200, 14" | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Power Consumption | -19% | -25% | -98% | 2% | -17% | |
Idle Minimum * (Watt) | 2.5 | 4 -60% | 3.8 -52% | 7.1 -184% | 3.2 -28% | 3.6 -44% |
Idle Average * (Watt) | 5.2 | 6.5 -25% | 7 -35% | 9.1 -75% | 4.2 19% | 6.6 -27% |
Idle Maximum * (Watt) | 5.8 | 6.8 -17% | 7.3 -26% | 18.4 -217% | 4.9 16% | 7.4 -28% |
Load Average * (Watt) | 47.5 | 48 -1% | 52.6 -11% | 51.3 -8% | 40.5 15% | 47.1 1% |
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra external monitor * (Watt) | 52.4 | |||||
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * (Watt) | 54.5 | |||||
Load Maximum * (Watt) | 61.5 | 55.2 10% | 62.7 -2% | 65.5 -7% | 68.6 -12% | 54.3 12% |
Witcher 3 ultra * (Watt) | 52.3 | 38.3 | 41.5 | 37.9 | 47.4 |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Cyberpunk / Stress Test
Power Consumption external Monitor
Battery Life
At 10.5 hours, WLAN runtime is longer than on the Core i7-1370P version but shorter than on the Ryzen 7 version. Battery life is expected to be longer if configuring with the less demanding base display option due to its lower resolution and refresh rate.
Charging from empty to full capacity takes under 90 minutes.
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Core, 61 Wh | Framework Laptop 13.5 Ryzen 7 7840U R7 7840U, Radeon 780M, 61 Wh | Dell XPS 13 9340 Core Ultra 7 Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Core, 55 Wh | Lenovo Yoga Book 9 13IMU9 Ultra 7 155U, Graphics 4-Core, 80 Wh | HP Spectre x360 14-eu0078ng Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Core, 68 Wh | Asus Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406HA R7 8840HS, Radeon 780M, 75 Wh | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battery Runtime | 15% | 35% | -4% | 18% | 32% | |
Reader / Idle (h) | 38.3 | |||||
WiFi v1.3 (h) | 10.5 | 12.1 15% | 12.8 22% | 10.1 -4% | 9.3 -11% | 12.9 23% |
Load (h) | 1.5 | 2.2 47% | 2.2 47% | 2.1 40% | ||
H.264 (h) | 17.6 | 16.7 | 17.4 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict — Still Versatile After Three Years
The resilient and familiar design of the Laptop 13.5 means it can likely continue to support new and upcoming processors at cheaper costs for both the manufacturer and consumer. This is great news from a repairability and sustainability perspective, but it also means that most existing drawbacks from the original 2021 launch will continue to haunt the series for years to come. For example, newer SKUs support faster Core-P and Core Ultra CPUs instead of only Core-U, but they're also more demanding on the aging cooling solution and so they tend to throttle more heavily when compared to competing laptops with the same Core options like the Lenovo ThinkPad P14s G5. In other words, you're kind of stuck using older parts and any significant internal or external upgrades like vapor chamber or liquid metal to improve cooling or fan noise would risk complicating the repairability angle of the series.
If you have no interest in the integrated NPU, then you can get essentially the same CPU and GPU performance with the Ryzen 7 7840U configuration for hundreds of dollars less than our Core Ultra 7 configuration.
The Core Ultra 7 Laptop 13.5 integrates AI support and faster graphics performance than older Intel options. Otherwise, it doesn't offer much else over the less expensive and existing Ryzen 7 configuration.
Upgrades elsewhere to the model like the new display, faster iGPU, and additional expansion cards all help to keep the otherwise stale Laptop 13.5 competitive against the constantly evolving subnotebooks from bigger manufacturers. Just keep in mind that you'll have to trade away the slimmer, lighter, and more rigid designs of competing subnotebooks for that increased repairability.
Price and Availability
Framework ships the Laptop 13.5 directly to consumers. The base Core Ultra 5 1200p configuration starts at $900 as a barebones unit while our configuration as reviewed retails for $1500.
Hinweis: Wir haben unser Rating-System kürzlich aktualisiert und die Ergebnisse von Version 8 sind nicht mit den Ergebnissen von Version 7 vergleichbar. Weitere Informationen dazu sind hier verfügbar.
Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here .
Framework Laptop 13.5 Core Ultra 7 155H
- 08/15/2024 v8
Allen Ngo
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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