Laptops were much more modular back in the day and you could replace most parts (even the screen). Since capitalism breeds innovation, laptops became plastic bricks with planned obsolescence that couldn't be repaired easily. Apple computers were so much more customizable but now they are just metal bricks.

Frameworks are really expensive, you could try buying used models or their older gen ones and then slowly upgrade from there. Old thinkpads (like decades old by now) allowed you to swap thing a lot of things but their age is showing. The most you'll get outside of that is being able to replace the RAM/SSD/battery.

I have one and it’s pretty great, more expensive than a used thinkpad, but cheaper than most other new laptops with similar specs. The 3:2 screen on the 13” is the killer feature for me. I couldn’t go back to a 16:9 laptop at this point. Also not needing to pay the windows tax on the diy version is cool.

I might get a framework when the used thinkpads dry up. I have 4 atm so i don't think I'm running out any time soon

I have two (both sizes). They suck and they're magnificent:

Both are DIY editions. I love it. I lusted over some build your own laptop kit when I was young and these are basically that brought up to date. And that was in the days when you could get socketed mobile CPUs :D.

But back to the laptop.

Cons:

• the frames aren't as stiff due to the way they are attached on the 13 (just 4 or 5 screws) or the modular deck system on the 16 despite fixing the previous issue.
• Modular IO is wonderful but it could potentially not be enough in some use cases. Only 4 slots on the 13, and you lose one of the 6 on the 16 to an audio jack.
• The interchangeable screen bezels are ugly and too fun to play with. I've broken two already playing with them. And they have a cheap looking and feeling texture.
• Captive screws on the 13 aren't officially replaceable. When they strip (like one of mine ) the official solution is to BUY A NEW FUCKING CASE. As annoying as they can be to replace, stock replacements and use simple e clips on them or something goddamn. They're all the same size anyway mashallah. I gotta look into replacing them with non-captives.
• The original 11th gen intel motherboard on the 13 (which I'm still on) came with an annoying bug where the RTC battery would only charge on AC. So when I left it off and unplugged for a few months it was seemingly bricked. Fortunately after a quick search I just had to reset the config memory ("clearing the cmos" as I've heard it).
• THEY'RE EXPENSIVE. Go price one out and compare it to an Acer.
• They give you tech bro street cred. I don't want tech bro street cred.
• No open source firmware yet even though it was a commitment they made to the community to support years ago. The support amounted to I think 2 laptops sent to a pair of coreboot devs, however unsigned firmware hadn't been enabled and which apparently allowed the to get bricked. Also they didn't even offer to pay to the coreboot devs.

Pros: -They have stuck to their promise so far and offered upgrade motherboards for 2 or 3 gens of intel and now added AMD and plan to go forward with them.

• Genuinely repairable
• Just really cool, mostly cause I'm a nerd. But it's not even just computer nerds who think it's cool. But speaking of being a nerd:
• Nerd street cred. Unlike tech bros, nerds are welcome to walk up to me (respectfully) and chat about my laptop.
• Pretty damn good Linux support.
• One of the best screens I've had on a laptop
• One of the best trackpads outside Apple
• Modular IO has proven useful. The connectors that get the most wear and tear can be replaced easily (looking at you 3.5mm)
• Optional and upgradable GPU on the 16
• DIY option was fun to build, there are video guides if you need them, and I could imagine it would take some intimidation out of upgrading it or replacing parts yourself in the future.
• Speakers are pretty okay
• If you like or need to be on up to date hardware but need a laptop, as long as they keep their upgradability promise this is better than other options if you can afford it.

https://frame.work/ ?

several laptop brands are relatively easy to upgrade things like ram and storage. lenovo, dell, and system76 come to mind. i've got an old dell i've been keeping long past its shelf life with some judicious replacement parts and upgrades. i haven't used the frame work laptops, but those are intended to be more or less completely modular.

https://shop.mntre.com/products/mnt-reform ?

I can't imagine its economical. laptops aren't modular to cut down on size. At most, you can probably upgrade ram/harddrive. But replacing things like mobo, cpu, psu, gpu; not gonna happen. Just get a desktop!

Framework is neat because you can buy the components from them, but S76 and Thinkpad are good because they're easy to take apart and you can usually just slap off the shelf components on them as long as the main board still works.

Some older Thinkpads even have socketed CPUs.