Sounds like you want a refurbished older thinkpad. x230 with the classic 7 row keyboard. Max out the ram. Maybe replace the screen with a newer 13" panel?
There's a whole subculture of thinkpad-modders out there. If you're looking for a small formfactor, excellent keyboard, plenty of ports, not too pricy (inc mods), that might be your best option. YMMV.
Go for a used Thinkpad T or X series with i7 processor, swap harddrive for SSD, maximize RAM.
Thinkpads have the advantage that they are available cheap refurbished and you still get access to spare parts (anything from keybord, screen, mainboard...)
x201t is a cheap tablet PC with digitzer, available with i7 processor extended battery life about 8hrs.
T410 and T510 are nice ones too.
each about $200-$250 refurbished, add RAM+SSD for $350 total.
I would recommend a ThinkPad T420 or X220 (if you want the classic keyboard) or a T430, X230, or 2013 X1 Carbon (if you don't mind the new one). They're all pretty cheap on eBay, and you can get ones that have been barely used. Make sure you don't get the 2014 X1 Carbon, as it's an unmitigated disaster.
Also, remember to get a machine with maxed out RAM (if the RAM is not user-installable) or max it out yourself (if it is user-installable). Also, make sure you get the max resolution screen and replace the HDD with an SSD, if you get one with the former.
Something like a Thinkpad X1 extreme? Or maybe have a look at the P series - I vaguely remember something like the P51s might fit your bill - the modern equiv. They have a better keyboard than any previous macbook, and up to a 4K screen, up to 64Gb RAM. Shame it doesn't have Ryzen like my 8-core X13 has. Should have all the ports. Thinkpads don't have quite the fit and finish that macbooks do - but they come from a different background/purpose - toughness rather than look/feel. However, more recent Thinkpads are looking smarter these days compared to the bricks of yore (which I liked BTW). My X13 has a magnesium under chassis and glass fibre lid.
I bought a refurbished Thinkpad X230 earlier this year and I'm very happy with it.
What tipped me over the edge is the repairability and modifiability of the laptops. After an ASUS laptop broke and I was only able to fix it because some random eBayer was selling a working keyboard, I swore off non-business laptops. There's a whole community of people who do nothing but mod Thinkpads, and companies that just refurbish ones (which have often been sitting in some office somewhere and are in great condition). Linux runs fantastically on it as well.
As for the trackpad...well, it's not great, but I use the trackpoint which I've always preferred. The keyboard on the other hand is amazing.
look for second hand thinkpads, models from x220 to x270 should fill all your needs. Screen size is 12". best you can get for 100-300$. Should come with 8gb of ram and decent CPU.
Another vote for second-hand / refurbished Thinkpads, specifically Tx/Xx/Wx/Px series.
X-1 Carbons are good but avoid the touchbar (think it was gen 2), you want physical Fn keys.
I have an X-1 Carbon and a W520, W520 has a gorgeous keyboard, X-1s have chiclet keyboard which isn't as good as old school Thinkpads but still a step up from most laptops.
Thinkpads all good for Linux in terms of hardware. Probably avoid dedicated graphics cards on older models because they're not worth the hassle.
Just watch the screen resolutions and make sure there's no BIOS password problems when trawling eBay.
Older Thinkpads, in particular Thinkpad x230 is an overall a good powerful machine selling for around 150$ second hand. It also has good screen and really awesome keyboard.
One of the things I miss about older laptops is the keyboards. I would love to buy a laptop that is built like a PowerBook G4 or a ThinkPad X61 but with modern displays and modern internals, and with extra bonus points if it has user-replaceable batteries and user-serviceable storage and RAM. I've found the Thinkpad X62 (https://geoff.greer.fm/2017/07/16/thinkpad-x62/) and X210 (https://geoff.greer.fm/2019/03/04/thinkpad-x210/) projects rather intriguing. Unfortunately I missed out on the 2017 ThinkPad T25, which I would have purchased had I not been strapped for cash at the time.
One idea that I have is for a laptop manufacturer to develop a chassis that comes with a high-resolution display and a high-quality keyboard (like those of older ThinkPads), and where the user can supply an Intel Compute Stick or a similar device for computing power. This way the chassis can be used for a long time while the user upgrades compute sticks.
Does anybody have a recommendation for a modern equivalent of the x220 thinkpad? The most important factors would be a high res 12 inch display, long battery hours and a non-chiclet keyboard. I used an x230 and that keyboard design is really not for me.
I have an x230 with a mod chip that steals display port lanes so it can run a 1080p panel. Thinkpad users think outside the box to get laptops that fit their needs usually. Unfortunately I switched to a new dell XPS 13 because I need more battery life. Apples and oranges unfortunately, can't afford any of the new thinkpads with decent screens.
It's hard to answer, unless you define the budget, but I'd say refurbished ThinkPad T420 (Last model to has decent keyboard).
Put some RAM & SSD inside and you have nicely built and powerful machine.
In some sense Thinkpad X200 would fit what you're saying, its modding community is quite active and there are a lot of people selling old parts or parts designed to upgrade this laptop.
Last time I checked the only missing piece was a way to upgrade the display, which didn't age very well (IIRC original resolution was 1280x800 and no HiDPI)
If that's what you're looking for, buy an off-lease/refurb/used business class notebook that's a few years old. On the ThinkPad side, a T450 or T450s, maybe a T440s if you're going to disable the touch pad, maybe a T430s if you're willing to go back 6-7 years but then you're really going to be looking at likely battery issues and higher weight.
I haven't used old Thinkpads but my current x250 is great:
1)great pointing device - check (the buttons are back)
2)no annoying touch pad - it's there but it's small and easy to set to very low sensivity (I use it only for occasional quick click with my thumb)
3)highly portable - check + great battery life (I sometimes get more than 15 hours)
I've got 8gb of RAM but 16GB chip is already available (RAM is not soldered but there is only one slot). The display (IPS 1920x1080) is fantastic and the keyboard is fantastic as well (well, apparently it depends if you are lucky to get it from one manufacturer over the other).
I am not a fan of 16:9 but other than that I love almost everything about this laptop.
Used Thinkpad (T series or X series are probably the best bet) where you can upgrade the RAM and put in a new SSD. The whole thing should only cost you $400-500 at most depending on what SSD drive you buy.
There's a whole subculture of thinkpad-modders out there. If you're looking for a small formfactor, excellent keyboard, plenty of ports, not too pricy (inc mods), that might be your best option. YMMV.
reply