technology

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.