Best budget machine.

pezdispenser

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I've been browsing a few different places for a high value laptop, and I just don't trust Amazon or Google anymore to give me a straight answer as far as recommendations.

It is planned to be a gift for a friend. Chrome books are definitely out. Id like to get something that can run a real OS, and plan to put Linux mint on for him from the start. Price is a factor, but it doesn't have to be the cheapest option.

Priorities are:

1.reliable/durable
2.decent specs, but doesn't need to be a gaming PC. I think he'd be most happy with a good display, and good wireless card with decent range.
3.battery life
4.price

I was looking at a Thinkpad, because their quality is legendary, though I've heard the quality has gone down quite a bit since the brand being acquired by Lenovo. Disappointing, because Lenovo was my top choice for value, they seem to provide very good value for features vs. price.

Id love to hear people's thoughts for what is the best budget laptop for '24. Thanks!
 


@osprey, do you have any personal experience of these ?
 
Perhaps consider Thinkpad business models, T series. Lots of reviews online.
True to what condobloke said, I would prefer recommendations based off some personal experiences if I can get them.

I found some (what could be) great deals on refurbished x1 carbons though, and it would be awesome to be able to use a physical SIM card for connectivity. I'll definitely check the T series out though, thanks for the recommendation.
 
@osprey, do you have any personal experience of these ?
Yes! A long history stretching back to the beginning of the century when IBM made the machines. I notice that the T series is often recommended online with the explanation that second hand machines are at reasonable prices and have still have plenty of life in them. Here, a few colleagues are also proponents. My current laptop is a Thinkpad T15 Gen 2 and it's been flawless for me.

The rider is that I have no experience with Dell and HP which are the other two manufacturers that people in my neck of the woods tend to use.

Finally, there are the manufacturers who are favourable to linux like Tuxedo and Framework among others which may be worth a look at. I have considered them, but it would have to be after my current machine has run its course.
 
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You can get a used (refurbished) Thinkpad for cheap and it will absolutely be a good bang for the buck. It will also work with Linux out of the box and it will work well with Linux.

I've owned several. I like NewEgg for my computer shopping.
 
Yes! A long history stretching back to the last century when IBM made the machines.

Yup. I was expecting the line to go to pot when Lenovo purchased the PC business from IBM.

I've been quite pleased with them. Though I did recommend a refurb, I haven't ever bought a refurb. Mine have always been new. I've only purchased on refurb in my life and that's a desktop system. It was one heck of a bargain.
 
Are you looking for brand new or used? AMD or Intel? I personally prefer desktop PCs, I know laptops have their use case tho, and by that I mean I don't really have much experience buying laptops, but I've been looking one for my wife, too. In my case, I want something that supports DDR4, has an NVMe m.2 port, 1 HDMI port at least, USB 3 ports, and other specs/features might be "negotiable"; i.e. screen size. You could take a look on eBay and see if you find something, even if you don't end up buying there, you can use that as a reference.

You could find something like this

1729311342754.png


or this

1729311539974.png


Just take a look around, apply some filters; price, specs, features, and again, even if you don't buy there, you can use that as reference, and I'd say same goes for Amazon, then do an online search for those that "caught your eye", make a list or whatever you prefer (some will even create a spreadsheet, I won't), and as a matter of fact here are some "tier list"
Check the full specs, reviews, watch some videos, check the feedback on Amazon and eBay for a particular model you like, and finally, make sure to take all the necessary steps to do a "smart buy".
Hope this helps!
P.S: If you do find a good deal, please let me (us) know.
 
Id love to hear people's thoughts for what is the best budget laptop for '24.

...I would prefer recommendations based off some personal experiences if I can get them.

It turns out i asked a similar question 5 months ago - and documented my adventure:

After purchasing a laptop for Linux, before flipping the switch... (2024-May-2)​
Dell Inspiron 15 3520 as replacement for Insignia NS-P11W7100 (2024-May-19)​

Good luck finding that dream machine while avoiding all taxing trade-offs!

:cool:
 
P.S.:

Oh, i almost forgot to mention this:

Take a lab tour of this solid-state cooling tech (2023-Feb-24)​

Having ventilation from down under is quite a real nuisance, so this type of alternate heat removal now makes it possible to only rely on side openings instead...

;)
 
I am a Dell fan, Just bought a re-furbished Latitude [about 5 yrs old] for not a lot of money, it came with 16gb ram and an I5 quad core-8thread CPU, and it runs Mint [LMDE version] faultlessly, the Lenovo are also good machines, one thing to remember with any business machine it is likely to be be heavier than its commercial brothers as they are built for a more abusive marketplace]
There appears to be a growing number of Good [grade A] refurbished business laptops around as companies are now jumping to Win 11 machines, leaving a glut in some markets

oh I had to put a new battery [pattern part] it gives me just over 9 hrs off line, and around 71/2 hrs on line [normal work] or about 6 hrs streaming
 
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@pezdispenser :-

As others have said, how "new" are you looking for.....and what's your definition of "budget"? What one person may consider to be a budget machine can be completely beyond another person's price-range.....

Some actual numbers will help greatly here.

Second-hand refurbs are a totally viable route for Linux......because you do NOT need the newest hardware for them to run. In fact, the newest hardware often poses problems for Linux, due to the kernel not yet having the drivers for some of the bang-up-to-date chipsets new machines often use.....and since very few people actually get paid for working on code for the kernel, drivers can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months to get reverse-engineered from their Windows counterparts.

It's yet another item to factor-in to your research.


Mike. ;)
 
I've been browsing a few different places for a high value laptop, and I just don't trust Amazon or Google anymore to give me a straight answer as far as recommendations.
Google = No. Amazon = use the filters.

1.reliable/durable
2.decent specs, but doesn't need to be a gaming PC. I think he'd be most happy with a good display, and good wireless card with decent range.
3.battery life
4.price
That list: Dell 100%. Components are components across all brands, but Dell's built quality is at the top and the way they plan their layouts is well thought with regards to dust and heat. My current laptop, Dell Inspiron is turning 9. The only things wrong with it are the keyboard and trackpad; wear 'n tear. Keyboard's fked -- my fault for trying to repair a key and being to rough -- and the trackpad's micro-switches are a little buggered, which would be fine since I tap instead of click wrong, if not for the fact that the surface feels less responsive, making it harder to r-click w/o using the actual r-click, whose micro-switch is stuffed. Mem and hdd are fine, but I'm upgrading to 2x4GB as 4GB ain't cutting it for work (thank you Edge) and I may as well go dual channel and get that 10% boost. I'm also shoving my PC's old SSD in. And just like that I'll have a brand new laptop.

I found some (what could be) great deals on refurbished x1 carbons though, and it would be awesome to be able to use a physical SIM card for connectivity. I'll definitely check the T series out though, thanks for the recommendation.
Personal advice: that's a No on anything "refurbished", "recertified", "pre-owned" and all the other marketing bollocks. Up until I was an adult, I lived off hand-me-downs from family and their companies; basically "e-waste". So I know a thing or two: Firstly, the older tech was damned more reliable and second-hand wasn't so bad. Secondly, newer ("newer" up to about 19 years ago) stuff breaks quicker.... so I can only imagine today's markets. I did have one run-in: a "recertified" R460 whose fan stuffed out literally a week after the warranty. It was a loose bearing so it still worked but that sshhchtliik, sshhchtliik, sshhchtliik, sshhchtliik rythmic sound was infuriating and finding parts was near impossible. Not many places sell video card parts and we don't have Radioshack in South Africa so DIY'in things is a little tricky.

I'd cut down on mem and storage to get something newer. What matters most in a laptop are the parts you can't change: ports, CPU, battery (sadly removable batteries are becoming a thing of the past), and GPU (where it's discrete graphics). Mem? If it's not removable, don't buy it. Next is keyboard layout: Number pad is a must and try and find something with well-spaced arrow keys... unless they're gonna be using and external. Screen: Generally it depends: Soft finish looks way better at the cost of being vulnerable so my advice is stock to hard coats. Do ensure it is actually 1080p. 768, 720, etc. will not do for modern apps, especially as a work machine.
Look, keyboard and display aren't deal-breaks as there's the option of external monitor and peripherals and you get fold-up stands for Dell laptops, too.

EDIT: Meant to say: If you can find some new, old machines (ie, old models but never unboxed), that would be great. As others have pointed out, most Linux distros how lower minimum requirements than Windows.

"And that's all I have to say about that." -- Forrest Gump
 
Google = No. Amazon = use the filters.


That list: Dell 100%. Components are components across all brands, but Dell's built quality is at the top and the way they plan their layouts is well thought with regards to dust and heat. My current laptop, Dell Inspiron is turning 9. The only things wrong with it are the keyboard and trackpad; wear 'n tear. Keyboard's fked -- my fault for trying to repair a key and being to rough -- and the trackpad's micro-switches are a little buggered, which would be fine since I tap instead of click wrong, if not for the fact that the surface feels less responsive, making it harder to r-click w/o using the actual r-click, whose micro-switch is stuffed. Mem and hdd are fine, but I'm upgrading to 2x4GB as 4GB ain't cutting it for work (thank you Edge) and I may as well go dual channel and get that 10% boost. I'm also shoving my PC's old SSD in. And just like that I'll have a brand new laptop.


Personal advice: that's a No on anything "refurbished", "recertified", "pre-owned" and all the other marketing bollocks. Up until I was an adult, I lived off hand-me-downs from family and their companies; basically "e-waste". So I know a thing or two: Firstly, the older tech was damned more reliable and second-hand wasn't so bad. Secondly, newer ("newer" up to about 19 years ago) stuff breaks quicker.... so I can only imagine today's markets. I did have one run-in: a "recertified" R460 whose fan stuffed out literally a week after the warranty. It was a loose bearing so it still worked but that sshhchtliik, sshhchtliik, sshhchtliik, sshhchtliik rythmic sound was infuriating and finding parts was near impossible. Not many places sell video card parts and we don't have Radioshack in South Africa so DIY'in things is a little tricky.

I'd cut down on mem and storage to get something newer. What matters most in a laptop are the parts you can't change: ports, CPU, battery (sadly removable batteries are becoming a thing of the past), and GPU (where it's discrete graphics). Mem? If it's not removable, don't buy it. Next is keyboard layout: Number pad is a must and try and find something with well-spaced arrow keys... unless they're gonna be using and external. Screen: Generally it depends: Soft finish looks way better at the cost of being vulnerable so my advice is stock to hard coats. Do ensure it is actually 1080p. 768, 720, etc. will not do for modern apps, especially as a work machine.
Look, keyboard and display aren't deal-breaks as there's the option of external monitor and peripherals and you get fold-up stands for Dell laptops, too.

EDIT: Meant to say: If you can find some new, old machines (ie, old models but never unboxed), that would be great. As others have pointed out, most Linux distros how lower minimum requirements than Windows.

"And that's all I have to say about that." -- Forrest Gump
Thanks! I decided to ask some AI models too, to see what companies had the overall highest satisfaction, Dell was the standout, with the XPS being the major recommendation. The 2022 xps slate edition was the answer that came back after the most prompts to the chat bots, because I included having 5g SIM capability in the search results. I like what I see so much, I may give my current laptop as a gift and buy a dell XPS for myself instead. 15 GB of hotspot isn't enough....
I have a Esim from my wireless provider, but they also provide a physical sim card for every purchase, which is great. I have unlimited data, so it may work out.

As far as using the filters on Amazon, I definitely do. But the sponsored ads still come up first, and to find the best price typically involves a ton of scrolling.

Lately, when I find the lowest price for a product and select it, I have been getting up-charged. And about half of the things I've bought on Amazon this year have been the wrong item. I'm done with Amazon. It's just a search engine for me now.

As far as performance goes, I couldn't agree more. For gaming and other intensive tasks I use cloud services anyway, so I don't need a gaming PC, or a business machine with tons of RAM etc. I need reliable connectivity more than anything else. I have been effected by the hurricanes here in the USA, it's been three weeks since I have had Internet. That isn't a huge problem, I don't make my living online, but I do stock and crypto trading etc as a side hustle to earn money. This situation is making that extremely difficult.

Thanks for the response, that confirms my research. Which is good, at least I wasn't wasting hours of my time looking for what to buy next.
 
1.reliable/durable
2.decent specs, but doesn't need to be a gaming PC. I think he'd be most happy with a good display, and good wireless card with decent range.
3.battery life
4.price
1. I did use Asus motherboards since .... There fore I did decide to buy a Asus Laptop.
Same performance, same on top workmanship.
2. It can be a mystery, but AMD is my favorite, there fore take the AMD Ryzen that will fit your ideas. My decision, all ways take a look for my sympathy, wait one year and take it.
3. LI-IOn Accus like it to have only 60% that I do.
4. A bit more, but I have the VivoBook ASUSLaptop X515DA M515DA since 3 years, the next Laptop will be also a Asus Laptop.
 
1. I did use Asus motherboards since .... There fore I did decide to buy a Asus Laptop.
Same performance, same on top workmanship.
2. It can be a mystery, but AMD is my favorite, there fore take the AMD Ryzen that will fit your ideas. My decision, all ways take a look for my sympathy, wait one year and take it.
3. LI-IOn Accus like it to have only 60% that I do.
4. A bit more, but I have the VivoBook ASUSLaptop X515DA M515DA since 3 years, the next Laptop will be also a Asus Laptop.
I have a vivobook currently, and for what I paid it's a great laptop.
 
I've been browsing a few different places for a high value laptop, and I just don't trust Amazon or Google anymore to give me a straight answer as far as recommendations.

It is planned to be a gift for a friend. Chrome books are definitely out. Id like to get something that can run a real OS, and plan to put Linux mint on for him from the start. Price is a factor, but it doesn't have to be the cheapest option.

Priorities are:

1.reliable/durable
2.decent specs, but doesn't need to be a gaming PC. I think he'd be most happy with a good display, and good wireless card with decent range.
3.battery life
4.price

I was looking at a Thinkpad, because their quality is legendary, though I've heard the quality has gone down quite a bit since the brand being acquired by Lenovo. Disappointing, because Lenovo was my top choice for value, they seem to provide very good value for features vs. price.

Id love to hear people's thoughts for what is the best budget laptop for '24. Thanks!
A Thinkpad will definitely serve you well. Most T, L and X series models from 2005 to 2016 fit your requirements very well. There are some good Thinkpad E-series models, but they're mostly just Ideapad clones. I recently bought a Thinkpad L420, a model from 2011, and I've been very pleasantly surprised with its' performance, especially when paired with Linux, of course.
 
A Thinkpad will definitely serve you well. Most T, L and X series models from 2005 to 2016 fit your requirements very well. There are some good Thinkpad E-series models, but they're mostly just Ideapad clones. I recently bought a Thinkpad L420, a model from 2011, and I've been very pleasantly surprised with its' performance, especially when paired with Linux, of course.
It's definitely narrowed down to Lenovo or Dell now ... It's just going to come down to what the best deal vs features I find.

I like using AI but I don't want any NPUs in my PC , as is currently mandated for new phones, computers, etc. Thanks! That gives me plenty of options to choose from, without having far too many to research and price check. Much appreciated.
 

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