So, I’m planning on buying myself a (second-hand) laptop once I get the money. I’m nowhere near tech-savvy so it has to be easy to use, but also I want something that is built to last, as opposed to certain (looking at you, Apple) devices that are desinged to become unusable within a next couple of years.
Any recommendations?
Apple products are notorious for lasting a long time. Why would you think they break quickly?
If you’re against apple i would suggest a second hand thinkpad.
I stopped using my MacBook Air after 9 years. I did a battery swap at some point, and I think I replaced the charger after the cable frayed. Best windows machine I ever ran.
What do you need it to do?
Enterprise grade models typically have a longer lifecycle. Dell latitude, Lenovo think pad for example.
I would stay away from Dell. I have 20 years of experience with these machines and both personal and enterprise laptops are complete shit.
Lenovo on the other hand are good, build tough, long lasting machines.
Except for when Lenovos are not and a whole model series fails within a year and they provide fucking no support. Like this example with the E15
I used to think ThinkPads were good because they make conservative decisions in product development and assure quality every step of the way.
Turns out that’s bullshit. I am on my second ThinkPad since 2019. The first one stopped receiving charges, and I got it fixed with a new motherboard. Now it kernel panicks every 15 minutes for no good reason, so it basically came back from repair effectively bricked. The second one one of two charging ports are not working reliably, and the physical mouse buttons and the nipple joystick don’t work at all. I’m just waiting for the day the remaining charging port breaks.
I’ve been careful with both, always carrying them in a solid sleeve and treating them well. My Fairphone goes through a lot worse and never has any problems.
I really would not recommend ThinkPad any more.
Isn’t the E series consumer, not a business line? (Not to excuse the shittiness, just that I’ve always found consumer lines of any brand to be the worst, so never spec them for anyone).
The only lines I’ve seen used in business are the T and X series. I’ve had great experiences with both of those, easy to repair (hell, the case screws are all captured now, finally!). I’m a big fan of the X, but the T series costs less and gets most of what the C has, other than cool stuff like compactness or Yoga stuff.
I’ve had decent luck with Dells. They’re not spectacular but not garbage either.
HP on the other hand…
If looking for a Linux or Windows laptop, this is the right answer. Look for one of these used, and get the highest spec model in your budget. I’ve still got ThinkPads from 2012 kicking around running Linux that are perfectly capable light duty machines, not that I’d go that old if it was my primary laptop.
If you can get your hand on a ThinkPad that would be great. They are usually rugged and built to last. You can install windows or Linux on it.
Framework laptops are built to last with nearly every part designed to be consumer-replaceable. They’re a bit expensive, though, and this Gateway laptop from Walmart has served me well.
Framework or used ThinkPad.
