Considering getting a cheap ($100-150) Used Secondary Laptop For Electronics Projects, Lenovo Thinkpads On EBay. Good Idea? Lack of AC adapters?

[Cyber Akuma]

I am from the US and am looking to get a cheap secondary laptop to dedicate to using for my electronics projects. A lot of the software for some of the hardware like chip programmers I don't fully trust and don't want it on the same computer I would be using any sensitive accounts on, on top of that I want a second laptop dedicated to just keep in the cabinet with all my other electronics /soldering equipment rather than dragging my main one there all the time and mixing all of the diagnostic and electronics software with my games and all sorts of other random programs that have nothing to do with electronics work. 
 
I was thinking about getting a used Lenovo Thinkpad from eBay, something at least 8th gen so I can upgrade it to Windows 11 and it won't become useless after 2025 when Windows 10 hits EoL. I am not going to be gaming on it so GPU is not a concern, and none of the software should really tax the CPU much either (maybe at most digital oscilloscope software that sends a lot of data over the USB port, MAYBE I can use it for my 3D printers too in which case slicing software is a bit CPU heavy). I figured I would go with an enterprise model like a Thinkpad because on top of them usually being cheaper used as they are less desirable than consumer models, it should be easier to upgrade/repair than said consumer laptops and is more likely to have more ports that would be useful for connecting to such equipment. 
 
Many of the listings I saw are around $80-150, some missing RAM or a HDD, which is not an issue for me as I can easily install my own and likely would anyway (though it can be an issue if the HDD caddy is missing). More annoying however is how many are missing the battery and almost ALL of them are missing the AC adapter of all things! (How do people have lots of hundreds of old corporate laptops but no AC adapters for them?). Also a worry is if it's BIOS-locked or has Computrace enabled. 

 

This feels like the lack of an AC adapter and battery instantly drops the laptop into the "useless" category for me, what am I supposed to do if it has no battery and AC adapter (Although the lack of an AC adapter is the one I mostly care about)? Getting a new laptop battery is notoriously not worth it, with official ones being absurdly expensive (if they are still being made/sold) and marketplaces littered with unofficial ones that crap out in six months. I am not expecting a battery to be in good condition for older laptops, but just enough so I can move it around a bit before plugging it back in would be nice. The bigger issue however is lack of AC adapter. Same deal, if you can even find official ones they tend to be expensive, and unofficial ones that can be dodgy are expensive. Just where did all these AC adapters and batteries go if they have all these laptops lying around? Are they intentionally not including them to sell them separately for more money? 
 
However, I did notice one thing that might make it easier on me. I noticed that many of them don't appear to have a dedicated charging/barrel port, but appear to charge by USB-C. Is this a charging standard or are the USB-C charging ports also proprietary? Can I use any USB adapter that provides enough amperage or does it specifically need to be made for the laptop? I know that in the past the barrel-type chargers have had data pins where laptops would reject unofficial ones or refuse to charge the battery/run at full performance or so with 3rd party ones, does the same thing happen with laptops that charge with USB-C? Or can I use any USB-C adapter that provides enough power? 
 
Is this a good idea? Getting a used Thinkpad for this purpose? Or is that a better route I can go? Would eBay be a good place to get something like this in the US or are there better places for it? What do I do about the lack of AC adapters (or possibly even battery) without spending either more than the laptop would cost on an official battery/character or get some random knockoff battery/charger that might be dodgy and die after six months? 
 
I know that $100-150 is VERY low, but I am talking about a used non-gaming laptop with a CPU that's from 2018 that I just need as a secondary system to run electronics/diagnostic software on and lookup guides/schematics. 

[kelvinhall05]

Used Thinkpad is a very solid choice. That might be a bit tight for an 8th gen CPU, but you could probably find a complete (if rough) T480 for that. Make it a habit of checking newly listed BIN listings as well as ending soon auctions. Might take a few days but you can probably get one for $150.

[8tg]

The USB C charging thinkpads use whatever usb adapter, pretty sure it’s most Skylake machines and onwards.

Finding a coffee lake machine with its battery and ac adapter for under $150 is going to be a challenge. Either go older or set your budget higher.

You can get a pretty rough but functional T480 minus an OS or power adapter but with a drive, ram and battery for under $150. But that’s cosmetically not in the best shape, no guarantee on the external battery.

The T470 and T480 have dual batteries. For hot swapping and the internal batteries are cheap as dirt while the external ones you’re best off buying used for the extra few hours.

 

It’s around $200 you can find clean T480’s with everything included, optionally an OS.

Otherwise within that budget at best you can get Skylake or Kaby lake T470’s.

[Needfuldoer]

A used ThinkPad or Latitude would work fine. AC adapters for those should be a dime a dozen; Lenovo and Dell don't change the connectors that often.

[Cyber Akuma]

3 minutes ago, 8tg said:

Either go older or set your budget higher.

The main problem with going older is Windows 11 arbitrarily deciding to block out any CPUs older than 8th gen despite there being no reason it can't run just fine on much much older processors. I would be find with something as old as a 3rd gen Laptop if that limit wasn't there. I know it can be bypassed, but there is no guarantee that MS could not force it in a later update, like that recent bad update that caused the UNSUPPORTED_CPU error in some MSI motherboards even though they were using a supported CPU.

 

Honestly, I would prefer to stick with 10 but that's going to become a security risk after 2025.

 

 

7 minutes ago, 8tg said:

You can get a pretty rough but functional T480 minus an OS or power adapter but with a drive, ram and battery for under $150. But that’s cosmetically not in the best shape, no guarantee on the external battery.

The T470 and T480 have dual batteries. For hot swapping and the internal batteries are cheap as dirt while the external ones you’re best off buying used for the extra few hours.

 

Wait, they have two batteries? Wasn't aware of that. Any idea when the listing claims no battery, if they mean the internal or external one? So the internal one is cheap to replace even with an official one? Are they soldered in or anything? (I assume I would still have to open up the Laptop to replace it). And are they just some mini-battery that only lasts for a very very short time or is it still reasonably usable with just the internal?

 

I doubt I will be using it on battery for long periods, likely a few minutes of it being unplugged at most, though I won't say no for a battery that can still last a few hours.

 

And isn't buying a used battery asking for it since those wear down pretty fast?

 

9 minutes ago, 8tg said:

It’s around $200 you can find clean T480’s with everything included, optionally an OS.

 

I don't really need the OS installed for me, they should all have a Windows key embedded in the motherboard/BIOS right? So I can just install Windows myself and it will activate? Chances are I will replace the HDD/SSD anyway.

[Cyber Akuma]

1 minute ago, Needfuldoer said:

A used ThinkPad or Latitude would work fine. AC adapters for those should be a dime a dozen; Lenovo and Dell don't change the connectors that often.

Are they proprietary in any way though like some older laptops were to lock out 3rd party ones? And if not, are there any good ones you can recommend?

[8tg]

As far as some of the questions on the state of the machines that are for sale. They’re from business lease cycles, a company buys thousands of thinkpads under a contract, they have a warranty lifespan, when that warranty is up the machines are “recycled”. The recycling companies have a contract to make sure all data is gone from the machine. Usually that is done by removing the drives and destroying them.

External Batteries cannot be transported in large quantities without special packaging per some DOT regulation, and they can’t go overseas without extra taxes applied. Batteries are then usually recycled domestically. They’re only class 9 hazmat in the US so they’re not too hard to move, but over a certain weight they have to be placarded and there’s a whole hazmat process involved with them and it’s not worth the hassle.

AC adapters are often just thrown away, they aren’t always kept with the machines as they go through this process.

After the data is gone, the hardware is auctioned to refurbishers who grade machines for resale. That’s when you find them on eBay, no battery no drive no ac adapter.

[8tg]

2 minutes ago, Cyber Akuma said:

The main problem with going older is Windows 11 arbitrarily deciding to block out any CPUs older than 8th gen despite there being no reason it can't run just fine on much much older processors.

A lot of this depends on how much you care about the security of the OS. I say this posting from a windows 7 machine currently, no antivirus or whatever because it gets in the way.

Thats a whole separate thing but common sense > Microsoft’s security updates. If you intend to use this machine for not intentionally suspicious, but potentially suspicious software anyway, I don’t think it’ll matter but that’s my opinion.

4 minutes ago, Cyber Akuma said:

Wait, they have two batteries? Wasn't aware of that. Any idea when the listing claims no battery, if they mean the internal or external one? So the internal one is cheap to replace even with an official one? Are they soldered in or anything? (I assume I would still have to open up the Laptop to replace it). And are they just some mini-battery that only lasts for a very very short time or is it still reasonably usable with just the internal?

They have an internal plugged in battery and an external slot in battery. They’re not going to bother with removing the internal battery, though in my above thing about how the used laptop cycle works, the external batteries are almost never included.

Theyre good enough for a few hours of use. It’s not just for hot swapping. The internal batteries are much cheaper because they’re just cell packs, instead of the external ones with a plastic housing and special connector and lock and stuff.

The machines are designed with both batteries in mind, it’s not two 8 hour batteries, you’d want both batteries for a reasonable battery life, but you could get away with just the internal for a few hours of use at a time.

6 minutes ago, Cyber Akuma said:

I don't really need the OS installed for me, they should all have a Windows key embedded in the motherboard/BIOS right? So I can just install Windows myself and it will activate? Chances are I will replace the HDD/SSD anyway.

Only personally owned ones or ones with full retail or oem keys installed will. Even then sometimes they’re removed from the bios with a bios reset.

A lot of enterprise machines will be using enterprise windows with KMS activation, company managed stuff. So they don’t really have a key installed on them.

 

[Needfuldoer]

33 minutes ago, Cyber Akuma said:

Are they proprietary in any way though like some older laptops were to lock out 3rd party ones?

Not as far as I'm aware.

 

33 minutes ago, Cyber Akuma said:

And if not, are there any good ones you can recommend?

Don't buy aftermarket chargers, get used first-party chargers instead. They're usually less expensive and better made.

 

Dell has used the same barrel jack for well over a decade, even a charger from the Core 2 era will work on a new Latitude.

[dizmo]

I don't understand a lot of the post. Why are you worried about replacing an AC adapter? They're maybe $20 or $30; sometimes you can get them from Lenovo directly super cheap. I bought a charger (albeit a USB C one) from them for $22 Canadian shipped when it was on sale. I don't think the older T series used USB C, it's a proprietary connector. I also don't agree with the views of most of the other posters. If you take your time, and aren't in a hurry, you can easily get an 8th gen for the price you're looking to spend, and one in excellent condition. Don't bother looking at the resellers, look for the sellers that have had it since new and bought it on their own. The corporate ones usually aren't great quality.

 

I buy and sell laptops as a hobby. What you want is relatively easy to find. Last year I picked up a fully loaded T480s for $100 in perfect condition.

There's a newer model that's not a Txxx series laptop that usually sells really cheap with a 10th gen processor, but I can't remember the exact name. It's a Txx I think.

 

Wait. Snipe. Win.

You'll be able to find something within 2 weeks.

[kelvinhall05]

39 minutes ago, 8tg said:

They’re not going to bother with removing the internal battery, though in my above thing about how the used laptop cycle works, the external batteries are almost never included.

Minor point here but I've seen a lot of corporate configs with no internal battery and a plastic dummy in its place. This goes for any battery bridge Thinkpad.

[8tg]

2 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Minor point here but I've seen a lot of corporate configs with no internal battery and a plastic dummy in its place. This goes for any battery bridge Thinkpad.

Most of them don’t mention the state of the battery configuration since I don’t think most refurbishers are even aware of the dual batteries. The T480 it would be very rare to find one without the internal battery since I don’t think they even offered that as an option through any retail channel, maybe through some special order channels.

The T470 both variants yeah, there’s a lot more of them out there without the internal battery because it was an extra option.

[kelvinhall05]

3 minutes ago, 8tg said:

Most of them don’t mention the state of the battery configuration since I don’t think most refurbishers are even aware of the dual batteries. The T480 it would be very rare to find one without the internal battery since I don’t think they even offered that as an option through any retail channel, maybe through some special order channels.

The T470 both variants yeah, there’s a lot more of them out there without the internal battery because it was an extra option.

Most corps buy through special channels and thus get weird configs (to us normal consumers). Just something to be aware of for OP.

[Cyber Akuma]

4 hours ago, 8tg said:

Only personally owned ones or ones with full retail or oem keys installed will. Even then sometimes they’re removed from the bios with a bios reset.

A lot of enterprise machines will be using enterprise windows with KMS activation, company managed stuff. So they don’t really have a key installed on them.

 

That's disappointing to hear. I have purchased a few older Dell Precision desktops in the past and all of them had a built in Windows license even if it was not stated. Is it likely that there would not be a license on it?

 

4 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

Don't buy aftermarket chargers, get used first-party chargers instead. They're usually less expensive and better made.

 

Can I just simply lookup the OEM charger model number on eBay or is it a thing where there are bootleg chargers that try to claim they are the original OEM one? It's not like I would know what the OEM one looks like exactly to be sure that it's not a bootleg.

 

4 hours ago, dizmo said:

I don't understand a lot of the post. Why are you worried about replacing an AC adapter? They're maybe $20 or $30; sometimes you can get them from Lenovo directly super cheap.

 

Cheapest I could find an official one from Lenovo was $60, many times I have seen AC adapters for even lower-end laptops go for $90 or more from the official site... and Amazon is full of suspiciously cheap chargers that flood the search results which are all obviously unofficial.

 

4 hours ago, dizmo said:

I don't think the older T series used USB C, it's a proprietary connector.

 

The one I have my eye on the most, the T480, appears to be USB-C. I would assume most if not al models newer than the T480 would also be USB-C by then, wouldn't they?

 

4 hours ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Minor point here but I've seen a lot of corporate configs with no internal battery and a plastic dummy in its place. This goes for any battery bridge Thinkpad.

 

Ok, now that is worrying if even the internal battery could be swapped out with a dummy. Not like I can complain if the listing claimed "no battery" that even the internal battery is removed.

 

3 hours ago, 8tg said:

Most of them don’t mention the state of the battery configuration since I don’t think most refurbishers are even aware of the dual batteries. The T480 it would be very rare to find one without the internal battery since I don’t think they even offered that as an option through any retail channel, maybe through some special order channels.

 

Now I am not sure what to believe or think at this point...

[8tg]

15 minutes ago, Cyber Akuma said:

That's disappointing to hear. I have purchased a few older Dell Precision desktops in the past and all of them had a built in Windows license even if it was not stated. Is it likely that there would not be a license on it?

Not unlikely, but not certain. It all depends on where the machine came from.

16 minutes ago, Cyber Akuma said:

The one I have my eye on the most, the T480, appears to be USB-C. I would assume most if not al models newer than the T480 would also be USB-C by then, wouldn't they?

The T480 can charge over usb C, my much older thinkpad P50 can still charge with usb C. It’s just not as fast.

 

[Cyber Akuma]

13 minutes ago, 8tg said:

The T480 can charge over usb C, my much older thinkpad P50 can still charge with usb C. It’s just not as fast.

 

Can? Wait, so it can charge by either USB-C or a barrel jack? I only saw a USB-C charging port on the photos I looked it, and when I tried to lookup their charger all I saw was USB-C devices.

[8tg]

10 minutes ago, Cyber Akuma said:

 

Can? Wait, so it can charge by either USB-C or a barrel jack? I only saw a USB-C charging port on the photos I looked it, and when I tried to lookup their charger all I saw was USB-C devices.

I got it confused with the T470, the T470 has a square power jack and can charge with type c. The T480 just uses type c and it’s charger is just a 65 watt type c charging brick.

I have charged my P50 with the charger my iPad mini came with, I highly doubt any of the thinkpads are picky about type c

[dizmo]

On 8/26/2023 at 2:21 PM, Cyber Akuma said:

Cheapest I could find an official one from Lenovo was $60, many times I have seen AC adapters for even lower-end laptops go for $90 or more from the official site... and Amazon is full of suspiciously cheap chargers that flood the search results which are all obviously unofficial.

 

The one I have my eye on the most, the T480, appears to be USB-C. I would assume most if not al models newer than the T480 would also be USB-C by then, wouldn't they?

Wow that's...insane. They're 1/3 of that most of the time where I am. Just keep an eye out for sales...though, I wouldn't even bother. Just get one that already has it, and like I said, avoid the companies dumping lots of corporate machines.

 

I just won a T590 for $140. So it's definitely doable.