https://slickdeals.net/f/18984394-hp-omnibook-5-16-fhd-ips-r...
HP OmniBook 5 16 with an Ryzen 350 for 439$.
This is actually less than the framework mainboard for a full laptop with a better processor.
This actually
I brought my friend an HP because their PC wasn't booting for someone reason and it's more than enough.
If we really want to compare, I bet a refurbished Thinkpad would probably be about the same price as the typical Framework mainboard of similar performance.
If you like framework, thats great, but it's not really about saving money.
And a used laptop is cheaper still! Which is all entirely irrelevant to the original point and the goal posts aren't even in view anymore. Finding cheaper products that aren't equivalent isn't exactly hard. If the singular thing you want is CPU performance then a laptop is a bad idea in the first place.