I just go to e-bay and search for “refurbished lenovo thinkpad (model I want)” and look for sellers that have good ratings with the buy it now filter on because I don’t have patience for bidding. If they have a warranty it should be fairly prominently featured on the page. Last time I got a 3rd gen touchscreen L14 for like $300 and it came with a 2 year warranty, runs Mint like a champ!
I would avoid Dell Precision, they’re usually higher spec but they also seem to have problems much more frequently than Latitudes despite being “better”.
My favorite for personal general use laptops has always been Thinkpad, but I am probably a little biased because of nostalgia and Linux friendliness.
I’ve had good luck with Thinkpad, Latitude, and Elitebook laptops. I’ve actually got a pair of Elitebook 8440p machines left over from an old IT job. One of them I maxed out with an i7-740QM, 8GB DDR3, SSD, 1440x900 display, Nvidia discrete graphics, and all the extra options (except the little nib in the middle of the keyboard, like the Thinkpad Trackpoint… I hate those things).
What keywords are relevant and help filter the sheer fuckton of machines floating around on internets?
I just go to e-bay and search for “refurbished lenovo thinkpad (model I want)” and look for sellers that have good ratings with the buy it now filter on because I don’t have patience for bidding. If they have a warranty it should be fairly prominently featured on the page. Last time I got a 3rd gen touchscreen L14 for like $300 and it came with a 2 year warranty, runs Mint like a champ!
You just have to look for business class laptops: Lenovo Thinkpad, Dell Latitude/Precision, HP Elitebook, and such.
I would avoid Dell Precision, they’re usually higher spec but they also seem to have problems much more frequently than Latitudes despite being “better”.
My favorite for personal general use laptops has always been Thinkpad, but I am probably a little biased because of nostalgia and Linux friendliness.
I’ve had good luck with Thinkpad, Latitude, and Elitebook laptops. I’ve actually got a pair of Elitebook 8440p machines left over from an old IT job. One of them I maxed out with an i7-740QM, 8GB DDR3, SSD, 1440x900 display, Nvidia discrete graphics, and all the extra options (except the little nib in the middle of the keyboard, like the Thinkpad Trackpoint… I hate those things).