[olug] Laptop suggestions

Tue Nov 7 20:19:57 CST 2017

+1 for sourcing from 2nd Byte.  I've purchased (and assisted others with
the purchase of) many a rig from them and they are rock solid.  I'm
currently rocking a few small form factor HP desktops for family PC use
with Win10 and also purchased an HP laptop from them.

I've worked with a gentleman named Randy L. and it has been a great
experience (especially price-wise).  They are a certified M$ reseller and
can hook you up with OEM copies of Windows install discs with keys as a
bonus, something you rarely get from big box stores.  They can also "pimp
your ride" by upgrading internals (memory, SSD, etc.) at decent rates.

This is all business/commercial grade gear that has typically spent its
work life (~3 years) in a cosy office environment editing M$ Office
documents.

I tend to treat computers like I treat cars; rarely buy brand new unless I
absolutely need some bleeding edge functionality.

On Wed, Oct 25, 2017 at 4:56 AM, Rob Townley <rob.townley at gmail.com> wrote:

> Consider getting a few used commercial grade laptops / TabletPCs for the
> family.  Historically, commercial grades are much sturdier, cheaper and
> easier to upgrade and are produced in greater numbers than consumer grade.
> Most importantly, they are often on the hardware compatibility lists of
> major software vendors such as RedHat <https://hardware.redhat.com/Laptop
> >and
> Microsoft which not only provides base line vetting of hardware and device
> drivers, but also makes it easier to optimize performance.    2010 is
> nothing, we still get a great deal of use out of a HP TabletPC from 2006.
> I would look at a local vendor such as 2nd-Byte.com
> https://2nd-byte.com/collections/all
>
> https://2nd-byte.com/collections/all
> https://hardware.redhat.com/Laptop
>
> On Tue, Oct 24, 2017 at 11:03 PM, aric at omahax.com <aric at omahax.com> wrote:
>
> > I suggest a few things
> > 1.  Intel Kaby Lake R 8th Gen i5 or i7 U series CPU they are quad core,
> > have high clock rates and use much less power then the previous
> generation.
> > 2.  Dual Channel Memory  Some "ultra books" come with only one DIMM slot.
> > Many come with 2 and often only have only one slot populated, this is
> > ideal, after market RAM is cheap, just add a stick and double your memory
> > capasity and bandwidth.
> > 3.  M.2 PCI-e type SSD or atleast a slot for it.These are very fast and
> > make the old SATA SSDs seem like slow spinny disks.
> > The rest, screen size and resolution, auxiliary 2.5 in drive bay,
> > keyboard, touchpad, decrete GPUs, is all subjective to personal
> preference
> > and needs.
> > ....Ideally you want one that doesn't require a hair dryer and a spudger
> > to get to the hard drive.
> > ------ Original message------From: Craig WolfDate: Mon, Oct 23, 2017
> 10:26
> > AMTo: Omaha Linux User Group;Cc: Subject:Re: [olug] Laptop suggestions
> > Ok, I will chime in here:
> > Asus is great equipment based on usage I have seen from people over the
> > years.  I would go there first for a personal laptop.
> > Sony/Toshiba sucks to get ANY support on if the hardware stays
> functioning
> > in any way...won't put anyone I care about in those.
> > HP/Dell business lines are pretty solid, if not a bit expensive.
> > Lenovo...mixed.  Seem to have hinge problems on many models and I have
> seen
> > that (less than 3 years tops out of them) more than once.
> > Love my Macs BUT not upgradable at all.
> >
> > These are my opinions...your mileage may vary.
> >
> > Craig Wolf
> > (402)990-3010
> >
> > Strengths: Activator, Relator, Adaptability, Learner, Achiever
> >
> > On Mon, Oct 23, 2017 at 9:34 AM, Matthew Goeres  wrote:
> >
> > > I bought a Lenovo Thinkpad T460 from the Lenovo outlet and have had
> > really
> > > good luck with it. The the thinkpads are very easy to upgrade. This one
> > for
> > > example, I paid $700 for it new, it had the higher res display, a 256G
> > SSD
> > > 16G of ram, and a core i7. I have since upgraded from 16G to 32G of ram
> > and
> > > a 1TB SSD. Running Linux Mint with several virtualbox VMs for random
> > tasks.
> > > Very happy with it.
> > >
> > > If you have any IBM thinkpad experience, they will seem sort of cheap,
> > but
> > > as long as your expectations are set and you understand the Lenovo
> > > thinkpads aren't the indestructible tanks that the old IBM ones were
> > then I
> > > think you will be fine with it.
> > >
> > > On Mon, Oct 23, 2017 at 8:57 AM, Justin Reiners
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > I have also purchased many Toshibas for family members who needed
> > > laptops.
> > > >
> > > > Best buy open box area is very nice for deals, since you are just
> going
> > > to
> > > > wipe it anyways.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Oct 23, 2017 8:53 AM, "Lou Duchez"  wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > I've always had good luck with Toshiba laptops; I don't have any
> > > specific
> > > > > models in mind, but Toshiba seems like a worthy bet.
> > > > >
> > > > > I've had my current Toshiba laptop since late 2011, and it's still
> > > > running
> > > > > like a champ.  Part of it is that I treat it like a desktop -- for
> > the
> > > > most
> > > > > part I leave it on my desk -- but in general its performance has
> > > remained
> > > > > solid.  I added RAM at one point, but that's it.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm starting to look at a new personal laptop to replace my aging
> > > MacBook
> > > > >> Pro (15" Mid-2010).
> > > > >>
> > > > >> As evidenced by the age of this system, I like to keep my
> equipment
> > > for
> > > > a
> > > > >> long time and I will pay a bit more for an expandable and
> reasonably
> > > > >> powerful system that I can upgrade over.  My hard top end for the
> > > budget
> > > > >> is
> > > > >> $1800.
> > > > >>
> > > > >> I've heard good things about the Dell 13 XPS, but for a bit of
> > savings
> > > > >> (and
> > > > >> throwing some support behind the Linux builders) I've also
> > > investigated
> > > > >> the
> > > > >> System 76 "Galaga Pro".
> > > > >>
> > > > >> Are there any other vendors/brands/models I've overlooked that I
> > > should
> > > > >> investigate?
> > > > >>
> > > > >> Dan
> > > > >>
> > > > >> _______________________________________________
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