Framework just made Oculink impossible to ignore

Thunderbolt’s rival, Oculink, has always suffered from a big problem: the lack of PCs that choose to support it. Now this high-speed external I/O connection for gamers has found support from an unexpected source in Framework, the modular PC manufacturer.

Framework said Tuesday that it’s creating its Oculink Dev Kit kit to support the nascent standard, with plans to implement it inside the Framework Laptop 16 later this year. It’s the most credible boost for Oculink’s external graphics ambitions yet.

A key problem with high-performance PC graphics is simply cooling the graphics chip itself. That’s not a problem for a desktop or even laptops, but it requires extra mass and weight. Trying to fit in a gamer-class GPU inside of a slim productivity laptop is nearly impossible — but placing it outside the laptop is not. In that case, however, a high-speed I/O cable is required.

Thunderbolt connections are prevalent across Intel laptops, while AMD Ryzen laptops use the functionally equivalent USB4 connection. Both use copper signaling, and Thunderbolt can bundle high licensing fees. Oculink is open source, and the Optical Copper Link (OCuLink) uses optical connections which don’t require extensive cooling. The problem is that Oculink simply hasn’t gained much traction, either from host PCs or device manufacturers. Dock makers haven’t built in Oculink, either.

Framework appears to be one of those companies willing to stick its neck out for the new I/O standard, with a proof of concept that it showed off at a launch of new Framework laptops at an event in San Francisco on Tuesday.

The company’s Dev Kit will take advantage of the design of the Framework Laptop 16, which includes an Expansion Bay that can house external discrete graphics modules that can be connected to the laptop via an internal PCI Express x8 connection. As it turned out, Framework executives said, both its customer base and its internal developers began work on Oculink connectors in parallel.

Framework developed an Oculink adapter board which drops into the Expansion Bay Shell, providing an external Oculink connector to the outside world. From here, Framework offers two choices: a Graphics Module Oculink Dock, and a PCIe Oculink Dock. The first takes Framework’s internal Graphics Modules and places them in an outside dock, giving them better cooling and presumably offering the Framework Laptop 16 user a lighter-weight laptop to use during work hours. The PCIe OcuLink dock is more like what other eGPU makers provide. It’s an external graphics docking station inside which an ordinary GPU can be connected.

What Framework has done is to expose the entire Oculink 8i (128Gbps) interface to the graphics card; that’s slightly more than the 120Gbps that Thunderbolt 5’s unidirectional graphics mode provides. It’s also the first time, according to Framework, that a laptop maker has exposed the 8-lane (8i) Oculink interface.

It’s an important step forward for the Oculink standard. To date, many Oculink connections have been attached to lesser-known names and devices like the GPD G1 dock or the GMKtec NucBox M8. You can add even more performance with CopprLink, PCI SIG’s next-gen standard for handling a PCI 5.0 x16 connection — but there’s virtually no support at all for that standard.

Instead, Oculink gains a brand in Framework that more people know. And if Oculink is going to be a success, it will need that mainstream appeal.

Framework said Tuesday that it also added a one-piece haptic touchpad and keyboard to the Laptop 16, in addition to a new “translucent smoke” gray bezel and a Ryzen 5 340 processor option. The Ryzen 5 is available for pre-order in both a pre-built configuration starting at $1,599 and a DIY Edition starting at $1,249, Framework said.