Factorio runs great on the Intel iGPU. The AMD chip should have no problem whatsoever.

That depends. Some of their entry level models use some pretty slow drives.

If it’s purely about looks, they do make “dummy DIMMs” to make a four slot motherboard appear to look fully populated with just two actual sticks of RAM. 2x 32GB + 2x 0GB may be a better option than 4x 16GB to get 64GB.

Also, just in case it’s not clear 14th gen desktop is Raptor Lake refresh. Meteor lake is mobile only. The 14900k is pretty much just a 13900k with a new part number, so anything you see with the 13900k pretty much applies to the 14900k too.

Many of the 13th gen chips are rebadged 12th gen chips. As you probably have noticed, the i5-1335U is basically the same as the i7-1255U. These chips are nearly identical, the i7 can clock slightly faster, and has a slightly better iGPU, making it an all around better CPU, though the difference is negligible outside of benchmarks.

By the way, comparing laptop CPU’s benchmarks are tough since many laptops will thermally throttle and therefore are limited by their cooler. On top of that, these CPU’s also have a programmable TDP and it’s possible that the CPU has been limited. All other things equal, the i7 here will be slightly faster, but it’s possible if the laptop with the i5 has a better cooler or a higher power limit, it could actually be significantly faster than the i7.

One thing to also consider is that the 12400f is likely good enough for now. In a couple of years if it’s struggling a bit, you’d have a decent number of options for used LGA1700 CPU’s that would just drop right in.

It’s true for any motherboard with a PCIe Gen5 m.2 slot. It’s a limitation of the CPU.

With that said, a PC used for compiling code and running VM’s may have no need for a discrete GPU. If you’re using the iGPU, then there is no downside to using a Gen5 m.2 drive (other than cost).

vPro is something the CPU supports. Intel publishes a list at https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/details/processors/vpro/products.html but if you’re interested in a particular CPU I’d just search for Intel’s specifications page. Generally you’re not going to find vPro on anything lower than an i5, but just because it’s an i7 it’s not guaranteed either so it’s best to check.

These CPU’s are widely available in OEM prebuilts as well as boxed CPU’s available at retail. As I mentioned before it’s the motherboard support you really have to watch for. With prebuilts it’ll often be something the manufacturer will call out, and for OEMs you will likely will only find it on their business lineup.

There’s lots of Intel CPU’s with vPro. To pick a somewhat popular mid-range CPU, the i5-13600k supports both vPro Essentials and vPro Enterprise. The tricky part though is the motherboard support. Only the Q670 and W680 chipsets support vPro for LGA1700. Q670 is aimed at the the corporate PC market, and W680 is aimed at the workstation market. For the DIY crowd, there are boards out there but selection is kind of limited.

If you like to tinker and want a DDR3 system that’s good for overclocking I’d get a Sandy Bridge K series processor (2nd gen, 2000-series) and a socket LGA1155 motherboard with a “Z” chipset. Sandy Bridge has a pretty good reputation for overclocking and was even still competitive for gaming until a few years ago, particularly when overclocked to 4GHz+.

With that said, I’d only really go that route if you are trying to put together a vintage gaming machine or just like to tinker with things. Otherwise, you’d be better off putting your money towards something newer. Intel 6th-8th gen ex-corporate Dells are widely available and are pretty cheap.