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What second hand laptop should I buy? (sopuli.xyz)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by Sadbutdru@sopuli.xyz to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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My use case: I'm an engineering student, I need something with a lot of storage, hopefully SSD (right not I have MatLab, Anaconda and KiCAD taking up most of my 128 GB HD, and I had to uninstall the STM32 cube IDE from lack of storage), and reasonable processing performance so I can actually run these things at a reasonable rate. I need to stay within the windows/ms office world to simplify collaborating and file sharing etc. I'm not using it for gaming. Don't need a massive screen, or touchscreen or anything fancy. HDMI port would be reasonably important.

I want it to last me at least the next 4-5 years, and I'm hoping to not spend more than about £300.

I know a lot of people reccomend ThinkPads, what's a good model to get cheap at the moment? Or any other suggestions?

Is Windows 11 so bad that I should only be looking at ones that come with Windows 10 installed?

Thanks for any helpful advice!

Edit: Thanks to everyone for taking the time to advise me, I've ordered a refurbished T480 with 1TB ssd, plenty of ram, and a 1 year warranty for £340.

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[–] Geometrinen_Gepardi@sopuli.xyz 8 points 3 months ago (3 children)

You can run Office programs in the browser, so if possible I would install Linux. Windows is so heavy and the T480 is quite old hardware by now. I have Pop OS on a T480s and it's reasonably fast for coding and web browsing.

[–] Stovetop@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

The browser versions of Office are straight ass though. Google Docs is better for a web option, but if you don't want all your data farmed by Google, I think it's easier to just install something local and lightweight like LibreOffice. Just convert to .docx (or whatever other Office app you're working with) and share through OneDrive or Teams if collaboration is needed.

[–] Persen@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

How is a t480 old? It's around 7 years old.

[–] monsterpiece42@reddthat.com 4 points 3 months ago

I love old machines but 7 years old is a lifetime in computing and especially laptops. Most normal laptops last like 3-5 before they fall apart. One thing that is cool about Thinkpads is that they are often obsolete before the fall apart.

[–] Geometrinen_Gepardi@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They run 8. gen Intel processors. The difference to latest models is substantial.

[–] Persen@lemmy.world 0 points 3 months ago

Well, the quad-core i5 still works decently on my latitude, but it has ~30000 geekbench score.

[–] Sadbutdru@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 months ago

I think I'd rather give up computers for ever than try to use the web versions of word or excel again. And I've explored the option of Linux in another thread but the consensus was concentrate on your degree, then find time to learn and troubleshoot Linux later.