Submitted 3 months ago by hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone to [deleted]
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?
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’ve had decent luck with Dells. They’re not spectacular but not garbage either.
HP on the other hand…
Yeah, I currently have a Dell Xps13 and won’t be getting another Dell laptop after this one.
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.
Basic laptop stuff ig. Writing, scrolling, playing, nothing special.
Playing what?
Do you need a numpad? Touchscreen? Does it need to be very portable?
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 or used ThinkPad.
Get a used Framework 13. It’s totally repairable and upgradeable over time with excellent build quality.
What is your budget and needs? Used thinkpads from a certain time period are very hardy, but they’re getting old enough now for performance to be an issue for anything beyond basic web browsing and word processing.
Framework also makes laptops with the explicit goal of being more repairable. Even if you decide not to work on it yourself, it would be trivial for a repair shop to fix most things that could go wrong.
People saying Thinkpad are correct. I would also recommend Framework (I have neither, but Framework is built for repairs). Disclosure: I’m an Apple guy.
Look up an iFixit teardown or technicians manual for whatever model you fancy.
Decide on what you’re seeing if it’s too much of a bother. Avoid models that use glued assembly, try to aim for a model that supports eGPUs.
You’ll also want to consider putting a fresh SSD in whatever laptop you find.
As a freelancer IT consultant I could help you choose a laptop if you’d like as this was something I used to do back before the Reddit implosion
Well… Why don’t you do it then :D this is what the thread is about, you don’t need to state your credentials
Fair enough
although I asked as I didn’t want to flood this thread from the back and forth but thinking again maybe it’s ok?
@hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone I’ve got a couple of questions:
As you can see, some of these questions I typically ask can get a bit personal hence why I ask that responses as private conversations unless the person in question consents and acknowledges that they’re ok with sharing potentially private information (like even writing this out makes me sketched out mishandling any type of private information can be a serious legal risk)
I am in the same kind of situation. I personally hate both windows and mac. I have no tech rizz, but I ran ubuntu for the last 6 years (before surging currents killed my laptop) as win 8 gave my laptop “cancer”. My guess would be some kind of think pad with a linux distro on it. And don’t worry, if you can use a search function finding a linux distro and installing it is so easy even I managed.
I enjoy ‘galvanizing’ old abandoned chromebooks. If you find joy in simplicity, this is a great answer that will only cost abput $40US, but they struggle at video and audio, so basic web browsing and writing is about it.
I think you’ll need to give some more information to receive good advice:
What’s your budget
What’s your use case? Just web browsing, light office work or something more demanding like gaming or editing?
What form factor? Want a larger screen or something lighter and more compact? Touch screen/convertible yes or no?
I’m nowhere near tech-savvy so it has to be easy to use,
Easy to use or easy to repair? As far as use goes pretty much every windows laptop will be feel the same to use, same as with apple. I mean it is the same operating system, just depends on what you are used to, but neither are complicated. It’s only Linux where you have a larger variety of variants, some easier to use, others geared more towards advanced users. Bur you haven’t indicated that you specifically want to run Linux.
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.
Generally laptops aimed at businesses are more durable than consumer lines. Don’t go to cheap unless you are buying used business laptops. And if something is heavilu leaning towards thin and light, then usually it is at the expense of some durability.
Apple is actually decently durable and I’ve seen quite a few MacBooks running for over a decade while still being ok. Where they fall short is repairability, when something does break and their lowest specs paired with no real way to upgrade later (especially with the newer models that don’t even have SSDs that can be swapped) is bad for future proofing, if demands change. And they make you pay through your nose for reasonable configurations.
What are your usage/performance needs?
What operating system are you planning to use? If you are a Linux user or open to it, you can get amazing performance on older hardware than with Windows. The difference is astonishing, especially compared to Windows 10 or 11.
If you post some details about your budget and needs, it will be easy to make a recommendation.
Need DVD drive?
Need lightweight?
Stuff like that.
Gotta give us a budget and tell us what you do on your computer. I’ve been eyeing the Asus px13 but that’s only because of my specific needs
I have both models and they’re fantastic. Perfect for second hand, too, since you can modularly upgrade and maintain them.
I always buy 2-3 years old Dell, Latitude or Precision, some resellers on eBay have thousands of them, they come from companies replacing them, some are completely grade A like new, for a fraction of the price.
Do you gave an example link?
Here’s a 11th gen for instance
Just search for “dell 11th gen laptop” or 12th gen etc
Second hand thinkpad. I have a thinkpad t14s gen 1 and thinkpad t14 gen 3 they run great. The further you go back, the better the keyboard will be though, not too much of a fan of the gen 3
I guess it depends on what you intend to donwith the laptop as they’re not all built the same.
teft@lemmy.world 3 months ago
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.
admin@lemmy.haley.io 3 months ago
We just retired my MBP from 2014 this year. 10 years of usage for a laptop is crazy. And we could have kept it going with a battery swap but we opted to get a new Air which are super nice.
Apple is expensive but you get what you pay for.
gazter@aussie.zone 2 months ago
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.
TwinTusks@bitforged.space 2 months ago
So true ~