They were still using rebranded Clevo laptops the last time I looked while their desktops are their own. There have been rumors they are working on their own laptops, but AFAIK nothing has materialized out of those.

So I'd say System76 is currently good for desktops. If you need a laptop them IMO frameworks are by far the best option right now. Modular laptops are great and makes problems like you've heard about super easy to remedy as you can just replace the parts easily yourself.