u/0xDEAD-0xBEEF

^ I'm based in Mexico, but open (and preferred) to buying in the US.

• Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US: $1000 USD and/or $17,000 MXN
• Are you open to refurbs/used? Yes
• How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? First priority is performance, then battery life, then build quality. 2-in-1 is a nice to have but NOT required.
• How important is weight and thinness to you? I'm willing to go up to MacBook Pro thickness/weight (1.5cm/0.61" thick and ~2.1kg)
• Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. 12 through 14" (hard limit)
• Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. Mostly light gaming, but I am running local AI inference and finetuning.
• If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want? I'm running mostly Minecraft and emulation (retro), high settings, probably using shaders, and I'm expecting at least ~60 fps.
• Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? Good trackpad and keyboard, haptic trackpad is a nice-to-have but not required, as well as the 2-in-1 form factor. Fingerprint reader with FIDO2 support is a must have.
• Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion. Specifically looking for non-Apple laptops with good Linux support.