Framework, the company known for making consumer-friendly, repairable, upgradeable laptops, has officially announced the first expansion bay for the Framework 16, its AMD-powered gaming laptop. The new storage module, which slots into the Expansion Bay, has dual M.2 slots for up to 16 TB total additional storage for the Framework 16. Part of the idea behind the storage expansion seems to be turning what is essentially a gaming laptop into a capable workstation. Crucially, upgrading the storage with the expansion bay requires removing the discrete Radeon 7700s GPU, although the Framework 16 already has dual M.2 slots on the motherboard, so this expansion isn't really intended for gamers, anyway.

One of the major selling points for the Framework 16 was that it offered PCIe expansion via a modular interface, and this is Framework's first real foray into expanding that ecosystem for its largest laptop. In addition to the storage expansion, Framework also announced a new Mystery Box system for its US and Canada Outlets to offload spare parts, like returned modules and components that it doesn't want to relegate to the e-waste pile but also cannot financially justify sorting through and refurbishing. These Mystery Boxes each contain at least three items and come with a warning that reads "Note that these don't come with a warranty and are non-returnable, so only get it if you want random scrap to play with!"

Refurbished Steam Decks have been a more affordable way to get into the handheld gaming PC space for a while now, but Valve just announced that it has now added the OLED version of the Steam Deck to its official refurbished device line-up. Now, you can get your hands on a Steam Deck OLED for as little as $439 for the 512 GB variant or $519 for the 1 TB version—a healthy $110 and $130 cheaper compared to new units, respectively.

Valve claims the refurbished Steam Deck units—generally customer returns—are functionally identical to new stock units, and it says that there is a strict inspection and testing process for all returned Steam Decks that go into the refurbished program. The only material difference between factory new and refurbished units are "cosmetic defects to be small blemishes or scratches (on the plastic casing, not the screen) generally caused from normal handling of the unit," and these will obviously vary from device to device. In case anything goes wrong, Valve offers the same warranty and support for the refurbished units as it does for its factory new Steam Decks. Unfortunately, the refurbished Steam Deck OLEDs are only available in Canada, the EU, the UK, and the US. Other regions are stuck with regular MSRP Steam Decks or third-party refurbished or used handheld consoles.

Looking for a new pair of earbuds? You don't have to pay premium prices if you shop open-box models. Simply put, they have imperfect packaging, so they're heavily discounted. These Sony LinkBuds S wireless noise-canceling earbuds are $99.99 (reg. $199.99) for an open-box pair. That's 50% in savings and they come in black and white.

Get AI-based noise reduction that's programmed with more than 500 million samples to actively suppress outside noise and enhance your listening experience. The earbuds also adjust ambient sound settings if you're hoping to be aware of your surroundings. The Sony LinkBuds S pair with two Bluetooth devices simultaneously, so you can connect to your smartphone and laptop and easily work and take calls without having to switch between the two. They also have an auto-play feature that starts your music after putting the earbuds in or ending a call.

Grab your open-box pair of Sony LinkBuds S wireless noise-canceling earbuds for $99.99 (reg. $199.99) while supplies last.

We're happy to share that Framework Laptop 16's are now in customer hands. It's been an excellent journey over the last two years designing and building an ultra-upgradeable, high-performance machine, and we're excited to see the early feedback. As always with Framework products, the first shipment is just the beginning, and we're looking forward to continuing to deliver on longevity, upgradeability, and repairability as we go. We've seen more press reviews go live as well, including by far the most thorough one, a deep dive from Jarrod's Tech that includes both a broad range of benchmarks and subjective evaluation of the overall experience. Framework Laptop 16 pre-orders are still open as we continue to manufacture our way through the pre-order batches. Most of our factory capacity, which we doubled last year, is now allocated to getting you Framework Laptop 16's as quickly as we can.

We recently uploaded the first set of developer documentation around Framework Laptop 16 internals on GitHub, adding to the existing material we have for the Expansion Bay and Input Module systems. The new release includes drawings and connector part numbers for the Mainboard to enable re-use. We'll continue to build out this documentation over time, like we have for Framework Laptop 13.

An Ebay Store—customgpu_official—is selling memory modified GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics cards. The outfit (located in Palo Alto, California) has a large inventory of MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti AERO cards—judging from their listing's photo gallery. Workers in China are reportedly upgrading these (possibly refurbished) units with extra lashings of GDDR6 VRAM—going from the original 11 GB specification up to 22 GB. We have observed smaller scale GeForce RTX 2080 Ti modification projects and a very ambitious user-modified example in the past, but customgpu's latest endeavor targets a growth industry—the item description states: "Why do you need a 22 GB 2080 Ti? Large VRAM is essential to cool AIGC apps such as stable diffusion fine tuning, LLAMA, LLM." At the time of writing three cards are available to purchase, and interested customers have already acquired four memory modded units.

They advertise their upgraded "Turbo Edition" card as a great "budget alternative" to more modern GeForce RTX 3090 and 4090 models—"more information and videos" can be accessed via 2080ti22g.com. The MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti AERO 11 GB model is not documented within TPU's GPU database, but its dual-slot custom cooling solution is also sported by the MSI RTX 2080 SUPER AERO 8 GB graphics card. The AERO's blower fan system creates a "mini-wind tunnel, pulling fresh air from inside the case and blowing it out the IO panel, and out of the system." The seller's asking price is $499 per unit—perhaps a little bit steep for used cards (potentially involved in mining activities), but customgpu_official seems to be well versed in repairs. Other Ebay listings show non-upgraded MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti AERO cards selling in the region of $300 to $400. Custom GPU Upgrade and Repair's hype video proposes that their modified card offers great value, given that it sells for a third of the cost of a GeForce RTX 3090—their Ebay item description contradicts this claim: "only half price compared with GeForce RTX 3090 with almost the same GPU memory."

Valve has announced that refurbished Steam Deck consoles are now available. As "Certified Refurbished" Steam Deck devices, these are tested, get full factory reset, and come with the same one-year warranty as a new Steam Deck. Valve was keen to note that these might come with "minor cosmetic blemishes", but still "provide a reliable, high-quality gaming experience at a lower cost."

Of course, refurbished Steam Deck devices are cheaper than the new ones, and actually depends on the model, as the discount is higher on the most expensive SKU. In most of the Europe, the refurbished 512 GB version goes for €539, a good €140 less than the price of the new one, while the 256 GB is down by €110, at €439. The least expensive 64 GB model is priced at €339, €80 less than the new one. In the US and the UK, the 512 GB model goes for $519 and £459, the 256 GB one goes for $419/£369, and the 64 GB model sells for $319/£279.