Ok, to begin the price isn’t really that much of an issue as I am willing to sacrifice it for the modularity. However, the reason I’m into such a modular laptop in the first place is that I am comically clumsy and have horrible luck with technology. For example, I dropped my ThinkPad T450 at the perfect spot for its screen to get decimated. I know repair is an option, but the outdated and nonupgradeable i5-5300U made a newer laptop sound reasonable. My past with laptops is not something I am willing to discuss as of right now, I will be getting a new laptop. However, I have heard concerns about the durability of the FW16 being concerningly bad, but I’ve also read that the materials (on paper) should be able to withstand most of the trials my clumsiness would put it through, one of the simpler requirements being able to withstand a drop from table height with no visible damage. This is concerning as I’m aiming for a laptop I wont have to replace for a long time, similarly to the P151HM1 I used until 2019, for over 10 years, so durability is a large factor and the modularity serves in case the laptop ends up breaking (which it will, but it is in my interest to minimise how often it does so). The trick feature, that being the swappable GPU really only takes second place for me as I have a well-specced gaming PC capable of fulfilling that role. My primary factors are modularity, durability and CPU power, which is why I’m making this post: I’m concerned about the durability. I really only care about build quality as a factor of durability, I don’t need perfect spacer gaps or similar. I’m not willing to get a smaller laptop (see: Framework 13) because I’m interested in the higher computing capacity a 16 inch frame offers for future upgrades (e.g. dGPU, dual NVMEs, 96GB RAM, etc.). Battery life isn’t too much of a concern either, as I’m aiming for a more “dock rider” oriented laptop so I’d need maybe 3 hours of light CPU use.
So, the great thing about Framework is that if a part breaks you can just replace that part. This comes in really handy, and I’m speaking from experience, it really makes you realize that durability is not that big of a deal if you only have to replace a cheap part.
Some people have experienced QC issues on their FW16 but, Framework is really good about replacing parts if you are under warranty. The only thing you should know is that support is sometimes a little slow, so if this is going to be your only machine then maybe wait until they come up with the next CPU/GPU options.
I also plan to keep the laptop for a long time and I don’t see any reason I wouldn’t be able to