[olug] Laptop suggestions

Wed Nov 8 19:30:49 CST 2017

I have 3 monitors sitting around that don't pass the wife test, so I'm
trying to get rid of them. 17" flatscreens, nothing wrong with any of them
that I know of. All 3 have only VGA. One has a power brick, the other two
have standard power cord receptacles. $15 each, or $40 for all three. I'll
be up in Omaha this weekend or again over Thanksgiving weekend.

On Tue, Nov 7, 2017 at 8:27 PM, Ben Watson <bwatson1979 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Oh and one more thing with 2nd Byte; from my experience, their website
> inventory is rarely up-to-date with what they actually have on hand.  I'd
> recommend you call and arrange a visit to browse their wares first-hand.
> I've been to their warehouse several times to browse and have been guilty
> of an occasional impulse buy (hard to pass up a couple/few monitors for
> $40-50 each).
>
> On Tue, Nov 7, 2017 at 8:19 PM, Ben Watson <bwatson1979 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > +1 for sourcing from 2nd Byte.  I've purchased (and assisted others with
> > the purchase of) many a rig from them and they are rock solid.  I'm
> > currently rocking a few small form factor HP desktops for family PC use
> > with Win10 and also purchased an HP laptop from them.
> >
> > I've worked with a gentleman named Randy L. and it has been a great
> > experience (especially price-wise).  They are a certified M$ 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 <(402)%20990-3010>
> >> >
> >> > 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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> >> > > > >
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