Well i started my B tech course this year, I am looking for a laptop for my use case. I am using linux as a main os for 3 years.
The laptop which i currently use is a Dell Inspiron N5110. Its a pretty old machine so i am currently looking for an upgrade.
Things which I do :
- Read documents
- Watch videos and listen to music
- Light coding
- Tinker with almost everything
- Try new software if i can.
I REALLY need a a laptop with good cooling and battery life like 5 hours is fine.
i dont really know about laptops but maybe get a used or refurbished one?
at least two people around me buyed refurbished ones and had no problem
Consider refurbished or second hand, please don’t buy a brand new laptop as there is so much waste in the world already. If you buy from big brands, you might be able to buy replacement batteries. If not, install Linux and use TLP. You could also ask the seller to measure the battery life. I was patient and managed to score a used ThinkPad and the battery health was 98% when I bought it.
A used framework laptop
Or a used MacBook pro, don’t spend more then $200.
Just don’t get a modern HP laptop, or any old ones for that matter. They’re crap (personal experience). If you are not planning on playing modern AAA games then probably an older thinkpad would do. A friend of mine has an upgraded X1 Carbon gen 1, but i recommend something a little bit more modern for your usecases. I don’t know about battery life tho.
I don’t plan on an HP or Dell. I have had the worst experiences with them. ThinkPad even if refurbished come for a higher price than $ 600 here.
Where do you live? Where i live, i can pick up old thinkpads for maybe around 200 euro.
Ok probably your best option is a used Thinkpad, or maybe a Chromebook with the Chromebook distro, but if you want to do something crazy you could try the Pinebook Pro. It’s a 14" arm laptop that comes with debian for $220. You might need some accessories, but it would still be <$400 for something new and interesting. However, it’s a bit slow, and arm doesn’t have as much software support. I think it could do everything a CS student needs, except browsing may be slow because web apps are so absurdly big and complicated now. Definitely would get more than 5 hours of battery.
refurbished thinkpad or dell xps. (buying something like a business model could save you money on the long run, because you’ll be able to service the laptop later on. Instead of owning one of the new cheap consumer electronics that has everything soldered on and glued shut. And is generally made more cheaply.) Make sure to save enough money to afford a replaceḿent battery. The second hand one won’t be at 100% capacity any more.)
