I'm sick of my laptop breaking after just three years. I want a laptop that:
- comes with a nice APU
- does not have a dGPU
- comes with a chonky thermal solution
- has lots of battery juice
- has lots of modern ports
- is repairable
- is rugged, bulky and thick
- is equipped with a nice, thonky keyboard
- isn't one of those stupid, low-quality "gAmIng lApTOp"
So far, only the X220 and MNT Reform comes close to this description - the former is a really slow machine for today's time, and for some reason, still damn expensive. The latter is just too expensive to the point that I'll have to sell all eight kidneys in my family.
Do they sell anything like this in today's time, with a reasonable price?
PS. Thick is a strong requirement. I want a really nice cooling solution, plus it also serves it's purpose as a melee weapon to removed-slap those ultra-book trash-talkers.
Short answer: No.
Long answer: Your laptop desires are common, but unprofitable. Even if manufacturers charged twice as much for them, they'd lose out in the long run. Because you wouldn't need to buy a new one every three years.
It's the same problem that mobile phones have. Year after year, the number one complaint in consumer surveys is: "I want longer battery life!" It's been like that for 20 years now. You're never gonna see it. The battery having a short daily life—as well as a short lifecycle (before you have to bin the device because the battery isn't replaceable)—is an intentional design choice. It ensures you keep buying The Coolest New Thing every few years. That's money in the bank, baby!
Surprised no one has mentioned System76 yet. They're expensive but quality laptops, with repairability as a priority.
Yeah, I'm check that out. Really impressed by the Toughbook SV1 and 55, although I wish there was a Ryzen model, and there also happens to be a few second-hand devices.
With those requirements why bother with a laptop? Just build yourself a desktop and setup up ssh and/or Remote Desktop if you really need access on the go.
I'd be interested in hearing out what part of the requirement sounds unrealistic to you, as a semi-mobile computing device? There are gaming laptops with low and full-profile mechanical keyboards. Then there's damage-resistant semi-rugged and fully-rugged books. And at least in my assumption, my reasoning for a thicker thermal solution was because I wished to see a laptop with some nice heat-spreaders. And then, a slightly bigger battery for more juice, which is common in a rugged device.
Oh, nothing about it sounds unrealistic, just kinda pointless. There absolutely are rugged laptops and gaming laptops and probably even some combination of the two out there somewhere. But they both tend to be quite expensive and nothing you mentioned seemed to indicate the need for portability. So, why a laptop and not a desktop? You’ll get a lot more bang for your buck and can have the exact keyboard, cooling system and whatever else you want, plus a much more repairable system.
