Hi,
A problem I have been coming up against is that a lot of the newer, budget Windows laptop (which I will immediately replace with my distribution of choice upon receipt) have memory soldered on the motherboard. This is a decision which brings the utmost distate to my mouth; I’m looking for budget laptops around the $300 mark (new) that let me upgrade their parts. Which models should I be looking at?
I am aware that the used market is fairly decent right now but I’d like to take a look at what’s coming up alongside looking at used gear. Thanks.
$300 is a really difficult price point for what youre asking for new. At the price, youre in the chromebook range, where even the windows machines are going to be as barebones as possible.
You want to step into the used market if you want customizable for $300. Getting something good thats a few years old like an lenovo carbon x1 looks possible, and they are a dream to update. The above supports linux with no issues.
I see. There’s not much of a choice outside the used thinkpad range then. Very well. Thank you
Honestly, the value proposition of old business computers is almost unbeatable.
Yes, it’s not the most recent hardware, but decent enough, especially the chonky boi ThinkPads are very easy to repair/upgrade and built like tanks (though only Russian ones, they barely withstand an RPG hit, which is a shame).
Could you suggest a few models? I’d be fairly interested in older business laptops especially if they are a viable alternative to the thinkpad line (never a bad idea to have more choices!)
The thinkpad t480 for more modern feeling. A t470 for some more upgradeability. I also like the x270 for a smaller 12.5 inch screen and I think you can find all of these under 300.
Dell Precision, HP Probook for example. There are probably more, but these are the ones that I know of.
Yes. This is the way.
As a follow up, if the price point were a bit higher (much higher? idk), what would the options be like for this request? edit: also thx for the current answer 🙏
If you’re looking at the customisable/upgradable thing, then Frameworks are great for that. You can buy them without (or with) a Windows licence, you can buy them without RAM or a hard drive if you want. But they are on the more expensive end of the scale. However, in future you can upgrade the guts without replacing the case/screen/etc.
Cheap Chromebooks tend to break just like other cheap laptops. The only difference is that the OS may feel more responsive initially.