I'm curious what it is about the Windows laptop's you have had, that didn't work fine? Trying to understand if it is hardware related or software configuration.

Doing a slight rebuild on the desktop every 5-ish years is indeed similar to buying a new computer. But that is still 5 years and not 2-3 years.
And is still not exactly like buying a new computer, as I'm not replacing everything. Can you continually rebuild & upgrade Mac's ? :)

As I said, all my PCs (desktop & laptop) have run very smooth & quick. That is not to say that it didn't take a little work to get them like that. I always reformat a computer when I get it, with a fresh copy of Windows. Get rid of the bloatware and set it up how I need it. After that 1st day it is usually smooth sailing from there.