Framework’s calling it the OCuLink Dev Kit, because it uses the OCuLink standard to transmit data between your CPU and the external GPU, and because the company wants you to know this isn’t exactly a consumer friendly product. “It’s not like Thunderbolt where it’s a simple plug-and-play solution,” Framework CEO Nirav Patel tells The Verge. “It’s for that enthusiast or power user.”

As I discovered when I plugged an RTX 5090 into a gaming handheld last year, the benefit of OCuLink is that even a relatively weak laptop can become a GPU powerhouse when you’ve got a beefy direct link to the external card. The downsides are that OCuLink connectors aren’t particularly robust, only transmit PCIe data (no USB, no power for your laptop) and generally can’t be hotplugged. “Our recommendation to users is you’re going to need to shut down and power back up,” says Patel.

This OCuLink solution will be more powerful than the one I tried, though: Framework told PCWorld it’ll be the first OCuLink 8i connector in a laptop, with a full eight lanes and 128Gbps of bandwidth, compared to the 4-lane, 64Gbps solutions you’ve generally seen before. It shouldn’t bottleneck GPUs the same way. (Not that four-lane OCuLink was too terrible a bottleneck to use.) That’s even more bandwidth than Thunderbolt 5.

The other reason it’s labeled a Dev Kit is because what Framework is offering is intentionally barebones to keep costs low. Framework provides the GPU adapters, but it’s bring-your-own desktop computer power supply and maybe 3D-print your own docking stand. “We’re releasing design files for people to be able to 3D print their own solutions,” says Patel.