Framework is raising memory prices on the Intel version of its upcoming Laptop 13 Pro after its LPCAMM2 supplier quoted costs far above what the company expected, chief executive Nirav Patel said in a company blog post.
The change hits buyers who configure the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 model with LPCAMM2 memory. Framework’s AMD Ryzen AI 300 versions will continue to use SO-DIMM memory, according to Patel. That split matters because the pricing problem is tied to LPCAMM2, the memory format Framework chose for the Intel model.
Patel said Framework had planned for a low-to-mid double-digit percentage increase in LPCAMM2 costs from the second quarter to the third quarter. Instead, he wrote, the supplier’s new prices were “more than double” the cost of the inventory Framework had already bought. Absorbing that increase, Patel said, would put the company’s ability to operate at “real financial risk.” That is CEO-speak, but the math is ugly enough without the varnish.
The new module prices are blunt. Framework will keep selling 16GB LPCAMM2 modules for $239 until its current stock runs out, then raise that price too. The 32GB module is now $800, up from $439. The 64GB module is now $1,600, up from $849.
Framework says the problem is not only total supply. Patel wrote that the company has enough LPCAMM2 modules for existing pre-orders overall, but not in the same mix of 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities customers selected.
To stretch the inventory it has, Framework is assigning 64GB modules to Laptop pre-order batches through Batch 4 and Mainboard pre-orders through Batch 7. Orders beyond those batches that selected 64GB are being changed to 32GB, priced at the original 32GB module cost.
After that, Framework is allocating the remaining 32GB modules to DIY Edition and Mainboard pre-orders configured with 32GB through Batch 4 for laptops and Batch 7 for mainboards. Later DIY Edition and Mainboard orders that selected 32GB are being moved to 16GB at the original 16GB price.
Patel said Framework has not changed pre-built orders that originally included 32GB on the Core X7 Ultra configuration because the company does not currently sell a 16GB pre-built version of that model. He said Framework plans to introduce that configuration later.
The price increases are not limited to LPCAMM2. Patel wrote that new orders for systems and mainboards will also cost more because X7 and X9 chips, Windows licenses, and some memory, storage, and silicon costs for Ryzen AI 300 Series configurations have risen.
Some parts are moving the other way. Framework says its supply chain team has lowered costs on 48GB DDR5 modules and on SN850X 8TB and SN7100 1TB SSDs. Prices are rising for 16GB DDR5 modules and for SN850X 1TB and SN7100 4TB drives.
For pre-orders that have not shipped yet, Patel said Framework will reduce prices where component prices have fallen. Where component prices have increased, Framework says it will honor the price customers already paid at pre-order.
Framework’s website lists the first Laptop 13 Pro pre-order batch as shipping in July. That leaves the company little time to turn the inventory math in Patel’s post into boxes leaving the warehouse.
This story draws on original reporting from Tom's Hardware.
