From what I gather it might be the best way for me going forward to have a new PC. I see them as low as $150 on amazon that come with windows so I’d have to nuke the SSD and install something like Mint on it instead.
Maybe we can get a fundraiser going for me so I can finally get a new laptop and put this 12 year old piece of junk to bed.
Pick up a slightly older workstation or flagship model. If it has dedicated graphics, that’s the best you can get. It’s a really good, repairable option that can last for a really long time. It’s the “waste not, want not” option and probably the most utility per dollar you can go with a laptop.
you can get replacement parts for relatively cheap. that’s honestly the main hardware advantage they have. post-lenovo the build quality is just okay,
I bought a refurbished T480 for $200 back in March and installed Debian on it.
As a work laptop I use to console into servers, a second screen I watch youtube videos on, and something I take with me when I travel, it exceeds all of my basic computing requirements and I’d say it’s definitely worth the money.
However it hasn’t been a completely smooth experience. My Trackpoint has never worked, the trackpad sometimes doesn’t wake up when I open the lid, and the laptop sometimes hangs and can only be saved by a hard reboot. Considering the performance I get 99% of the time I’m using it, it’s a totally acceptable level of jank for the price point.
eBay thinkpads have been my last few laptops, ranging from t430 to t480. Depending on your use case you can pretty easily get one running for under $100.
Extremely cheap for performance and build quality via ex corporate market. Strong linux support and l largely unchanged form factor means parts are also cheap and widely available. Even stuff like trackpad assemblies can often be swapped between styles.
Performance is adequate for normal enthusiast computing. Excessive for common videos + internet but cheap enough to justify.
They’re good /shrug but they’re just a thing. Do what makes you makes you happy, you don’t have to impress anyone it’s just a grid of lights that make you sad in a distracting way.
