18h ago

What second hand laptop to buy

I would like to buy myself a second hand and install Linux on it. I was looking into ThinkPad T14 gen1 or gen2 devices because of their maintainability and repairability. I found one where I live with a Ryzen processor but it has the wrong keyboard. How easy and expensive would it be to swap this with US English? Are there any good alternatives to the ThinkPads? I fancy the X1 but don't like the fact that I cannot change or swap anything on it. The T14 looks very bulky and unattractive but at least can have the RAM upgraded and the battery changed.

I fancy the Framework laptops, but don't want to spend so much on a laptop. Especially the latest 16 inch with Ryzen AI CPUs.

The T14 G1 is at least cheap, like 350€ with the 400 nits low power display and the battery is at 99%. I guess with tlp installed and autocpugfreq I can get 5-6 hours out of it.

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T14 Gen 2 with Ryzen here. Great machine, no problems at all.

You answered yourself: ThinkPads. Beware of soldered RAM (and other "improvements) in newer models.
- To add to this comment. You should look out for the ThinkPad T series (no p or s after the number) if you want ease of repairs and upgrade.

Look at the Framework Refurb store.

Older MacBooks and MacBook Airs (pre-2018 or so) make awesome Linux machines and have really come down in price. If you can find one cheap, I highly recommend them.
Intel machines later than that have T2 chips and are still good but take a bit more research.
M1 Macs are pretty well supported now but that is a different universe.
- Older MacBooks still have that darned WiFi card which you need special proprietary drivers for. And basically nothing in that chassis is standard; everything is Apple-specific if you want to repair it. I don't recommend MacBooks
  
  Yes, exactly, what attracts me to Framework and ThinkPad is the repairability

Thinkpads are extremely well documented. For how to repair/replace parts, you need the HMM. Just Google for "Thinkpad t14 Gen 1 HMM" and you should find the official PDF on their site. That will tell you, step by step, how to replace the keyboard.
As for the part itself, you can again check Lenovo's site for all compatible parts (FRUs) and find the item number and details. While I wouldn't recommend buying directly from them due to cost, this should give you the information needed to find it elsewhere. eBay has tons of Thinkpads being sold for parts, and many of these will be parted out. You should have no issues finding what you're looking for.

How easy and expensive would it be to swap this with US English?
On the T14 (not T14s) it is easy. See https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/videos/nvid500443-replacing-your-keyboard-thinkpad-t14-and-p14s-gen-1-and-2-customer-self-service
Seems to be available from ~30USD https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Keyboard-5N20V44072-5N20V43774-5N20X68864/dp/B0B3RV3LK5
ifixit has genuine parts for ~75USD https://www.ifixit.com/products/5n20v44072-lenovo-laptop-keyboard-genuine

I got an X280 with 8 GB of RAM a few months ago, works great with Linux. Paid just $175. It even works with Haiku OS! Pic: https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/731/895/755/005/386/original/1b09c5a0d636d9a5.jpg

I was lucky to work at a college in their computer warehouse. I got steed discounts on hp laptops and desktops. If you can find a good deal on a hp z book those are fantastic and I ran Linux exclusively on the 5 or 6 I purchased. Easy to work on back than I guess it depends on how new you are looking.

You may want to specify what your needs are. What is this for?
- For personal use, I will use it just when traveling, as I have a more powerful desktop. Nothing too fancy, a bit of programming, tinkering. Will run probably Hyprland. What's important is to have 5-6 hours of battery life. I will probably run some containers, YouTube watching, browsing, should be portable and support charging over USB-C.
  
  About the last bit: There are these now. Available for all usual laptop plugs and voltages. Much easier to carry with you than a separate AC brick.
  
  This is basically the opposite of a thinkpad/framework, but m1 macbook airs are cheapish second hand, plenty of battery life, USBC, lightweight and durable. Definitely not repairable or upgradable though, so if thats important forget it.
  Can install Linux (asahi project), but macos is Unix like enough that I found it good enough.

but it has the wrong keyboard
you can also either manually reconfigure keys or just choose your habitual keyboard layout and ignore the markings (that's what i do. How often do you look at your keyboard anyway?)
- How often do you look at your keyboard anyway?
  More than I care to admit!
- In the night I do look every now and then, plus if I need some special symbol, it is much better if you have it on the keyboard instead of googling
  
  I've gone from German layout to UK layout to US, I definitely understand the pain of remembering where which symbol is. Apart from that I have to say, with a bit of practice your brain will adapt pretty quickly, there isn't that much difference between the "standard" layouts anyway
  
  i don't know why you got downVoted for writing about your preferences 🤷
  i have my permanent marker for those "special symbols" i rarely use and never learn :)

@filister , I got my laptop from Dellrefurbished.com , honestly the best Linux laptop I have ever bought. It was only $200 at the time, I run Fedora on it. I have to admit I love the fact the BIOS updates properly and not too infrequently, sort of giving the feel of being supported if anything alone.

If you're going to install Linux, Dell and IBM are generally very compatible. I've got a Dell 1500 series that runs Linux beautifully except the battery has given up the ghost and I need to replace it, also going to swap out the hard drive for an ssd. But Mate runs well on it, even the touch screen features work.

Toughbook cf-31

29 comments