laptop thoughts?

[gone_fishing]

Hello

I am looking at buying a cheap laptop for Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon it will just be used for email, the odd document and viewing dash cam and cctv footage.

But most of all it will just have email (web interface) open all the time and maybe the flight radar / marine traffic website but only one will be open at a time.

Just wondering if the below system would work out of tje box with mint 19? From memory I may have had one of these running 18.X ..

Lenovo IdeaPad S130 14" Celeron
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/off ... slips130cl

[catweazel]

Lenovo IdeaPad S130 14" Celeron

You'd be better off looking on fleabay for a good second-hand lenovo thinkpad.

[majpooper]

Refurbished Lenovo Thinkpads like the T430 seem to be very popular by several folks on this forum. They are built like tanks and cost a fraction of what new laptops cost I have installed Mint Cinnamon on three so far - one for myself and two for others that were looking for a good dependable laptop that are quite compatible with Mint. I look for the ones with the i7 CPU and 8G of RAM. I got them all from Newegg.com. I like Newegg (it is a USA online seller of all things computer related at good prices) been a custome for years and never had any issues with them.

Keep in mind the difference between "refurbished" and "used." Used means "as is" - I guess that's OK if you know and trust the seller but the laptop/PC may not have been cleaned up and probably worn or broken parts have not been replaced. The refurbished ones like you get from Newegg are typically laptops that businesses issued to employees and are being replaced. They are cleaned up and worn and broken parts are replaced and you can even get a warranty at an additional cost, although I never do.

Just some examples:
Lenovo T440, i7, 8G RAM - $235
Lenovo T430, i5, 4G RAM - $158

[decrepit]

I have a refurbished x240 Lenovo thinkpad, very happy with it, but I'm running mate not cinnamon

[Spearmint2]

Don't get anything labeled "Signature Edition" because they are locked down to Microsoft Windows, and often require a special BIOS update to use AHCI. They cost more anyway, so maybe that won't be a problem looking for a "cheap" laptop.

[sdibaja]

I have a T61 Thinkpad that I would give away, and it would fill your needs, much better than that "new" one"
...but halfway around the world shipping would cost more than it is worth.
Shop used, and Local.

[AndyMH]

+1 on the T430, I have three.

[deepakdeshp]

Compatible list.
https://community.linuxmint.com/hardware

[LanceM]

If you are flush enough to afford new, you get new battery, all new parts, and better warranty than refurbished or used - something to think about.

[Petermint]

You do not mention battery requirements. Do you run on battery? Do you need battery when the power goes out? Some models are advertised as 5 hours and run out at 3 hours. Some advertise 10 hours and can run to 12. Some have easy to replace batteries while some are difficult or the batteries are expensive. I would check battery availability and cost before buying a used computer.

If the disk is magnetic, replace it with SSD. A disk with moving parts is the next part that will fail and create problems.

Check the fan. Find out how to open the case and clean the fan once per year. Look for a video on how to do it before buying that second hand machine.

For any other problems, it is easier to replace the whole machine. Read about Timeshift and Backintime. Buy a couple of external disks for backup. When your second hand, or new, machine breaks, you can switch to another machine in an hour.

The cheaper models, with a i3 instead of i5 or i7, use less power and can handle everything up to 2K video and Doom. An i5 with a basic graphic chip can play 4K. The i7 is for editing 4K and those games where you try to be a gangster in a stupid movie, like Fast and Furious.

Then there is the future. Is there a USB 3 port for your backup disks? Somewhere to plug in a big screen? what will you need three years from now? The best of my recent purchases were recent models on sale cheap because they were replaced by something that looks different but is almost the same internally.

As an example, one model was discounted by 35% because it had fake USB 3.1 and was replaced by a slight upgrade with real USB 3.1.

[catweazel]

If the disk is magnetic, replace it with SSD. A disk with moving parts is the next part that will fail and create problems.

Hellooooo? Anyone home?

Lenovo IdeaPad S130

eMMC.

[Petermint]

eMMC is the main reason I would not buy that model computer. If you cannot replace the storage, you have to throw out the machine when your requirements change.

[jglen490]

Used Lenovos have almost always been a great deal for the Linux user, not all models though. The T400s and T500s have a good reputation. I would say that if my desktop unit ever goes to the bit-bucket, I would definitely look for a T430.

[Petermint]

I had a quick look at local used t430s. $200 for one with a magnetic disk you would immediately replace with a decent SSD. $300 for one with an SSD that is too small. $450 for a refurbished unit with an SSD that is too small. $137 for a replacement battery which could be needed soon. looks like the $200 one is the best deal.

[AndyMH]

t430s

Note there are a number of different models, the T430S is the slimline version, it is less upgradable than the T430. There is also an L430, a cheaper version with more plastic. Go for a T430.

Screens come in two flavours, stock is 1366x768, quite a lot have 1600x900. You can upgrade from 1366x768 to 1600x900 (I have). Go for a 1600x900 if you can. Max memory is 16GB (2x8). The stock CPU is an i5-3320M, in the T430 it is socketed and I have replaced the i5 with an i7-3632QM. It can accommodate 3 drives, the main bay, a caddy in the ultrabay and an mSATA in the PCie slot (or you can put a WAN card in it). Most have bluetooth, but it is an option. Finally, there is a version with a separate nVidia GPU, not many around, expect to pay more, can't comment more cos I don't have one.

There isn't much you can't do with a T430 and parts are readily available and not expensive. You can download the reference manual from lenovo and it will tell you how to replace everything.

If there is any downside to the T430 - it's not a lightweight laptop.

A good alternative would be the T440p - note the 'p', it also comes in different flavours, some less upgradable.

I paid over £300 for my first T430 (3yrs ago to replace a T410, grade A, I knew less), the last one I bought (ebay) was < £100, i5-3210, 8GB RAM, 1366x768, 500GB HDD, no OS. I would say the quality was B+, I was really pleased. I've replaced the screen and put an SSD in it. I might put an i7 in it if I can get one cheap.

Any that you buy are likely to require a new battery at some point, think mine are down to around 50% capacity.