Sure but outside a laptop, laptop processors make much less sense. $400 gets you a motherboard and a desktop class processor that is significantly faster.

That desktop motherboard and CPU likely requires more power, more cooling, and a bigger case.

I can see the "Framework motherboard as SBC" idea catch on for everything from set-top boxes (Steam Machines could make a comeback this way) to a poor man's blade server.

Laptop processors make sense when space is at a premium, even if it's not a mobile device. But if space isn't an issue, desktop parts are usually a better choice; you can usually power limit desktop cpus to laptop levels if power usage or heat are a constraint.

Being able to just buy something that works when you get it is a big plus IMO.

I’ve tried a few times in the last year and finding parts (that are actually available) for a sub- $500 small-form-factor system seems to be beyond my capabilities :)

You need to get on to aliexpress for stuff like that. Plenty of router type boxes in that price range. Even lenovo, Dell, etc. sell some of these labelled as IoT gateways.

"the average Core i5-1135G7 in our database is just as fast as the Core i5-10400H, Core i5-8300H, and Ryzen 7 3700U in multi-core benchmarks. The CPU acts even nicer when under single-core load, reaching similar heights as the Ryzen 7 5600X and Core i7-8700K."

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i5-1135G7-Processor...

It's better for SBC. Also laptop iGPU is better than desktop.