Jump to content

Help me pick a quality laptop for the long haul.

Okay, my story is pretty simple. I’m a high-school student who wants a laptop that will last a good five years at maximum, is affordable (No more than 250 dollars), is easily repairable (no soldered parts, or at least keeping the SSD/RAM unsoldered), and has a long battery life for portability. At first, I thought that a ThinkPad would solve all of my problems. But lo and behold, I couldn't be more wrong. The T480 seems like a good idea, but it’s got some known issues with the USB-C and Thunderbolt ported being dubious. That, and it’s soldered. If anything goes wrong with it in that way, then I’ll have to purchase another motherboard. Otherwise, it would be a great machine.

 

Long story short, I spent the next week looking at a million Thinkpad models. I learned some hard truths pretty quickly. Number one, everyone’s got an opinion. Some people swear that one Thinkpad is great, while others say that theirs is better. The T480 has a cult following for a pretty good reason, but the trouble is that people seem to get emotionally attached to their devices; it makes it hard to have a gloves-off discussion. The second thing I learned is that the the newer your laptop, the better the battery (typically) is. I wouldn't have an issue with this fact if the sacrifice was upgrade/repair ease/modularity. All of the older Thinkpads have this down pat, but they lack modern needs. I wouldn't give a damn about a USB-C if it wasn't the standard now. The barrel ports on the old models seem much more sturdy for the long haul. 

 

It would be wrong not to mention Framework here. They seem like they’d check a majority of the boxes I have, but they're expensive as hell, even on the used market. I understand this. If you have a laptop that you never have to throw away or resell, then why would it be on eBay? I haven't researched them in-depth yet, but they're the only company with that kind of philosophy in mind. Louis Rossman also seemed to hold them in high regard from his video review. I tend to like Rossman because he gives the facts on things that matter in tech. But anyway, I’ve looked at them.

 

In conclusion, I’m gonna tell you what I’ve been telling everyone else in R/Thinkpad and elsewhere. I want a relatively modular, long-lasting battery laptop for around $250 dollars. I want something reliable. My use case would realistically be office-type work, running a Windows/Linux (though if I can just use a VM for the former, that works I guess), and some very light gaming. I don't see myself doing more than a few arcade emulators and Minecraft on low settings. Let me know what you think. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Then a Dell Latitude would be for you. Latitudes held out with dual slot RAM for way longer than the competition. They also are designed for and ship with Linux, so you won't have compatibility issues. Latitudes are also very affordable on the used market. And being a business line, they're built very well.

Quote my reply or I won't see your reply. It's the single overturning left arrow under every message.

I didn't ask if it was worth fixing, I asked for help fixing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, LloydLynx said:

Then a Dell Latitude would be for you. Latitudes held out with dual slot RAM for way longer than the competition. They also are designed for and ship with Linux, so you won't have compatibility issues. Latitudes are also very affordable on the used market. And being a business line, they're built very well.

Interesting. I’d heard of the Dell Latitudes and hadn't really looked into them definitely. Do you have any specific model recommendations before I start researching? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TvHead9752 said:

Interesting. I’d heard of the Dell Latitudes and hadn't really looked into them definitely. Do you have any specific model recommendations before I start researching? 

Latitude 5421?

If a post resolved/answered your question, please consider marking it as the solution. If multiple answers solved your question, mark the best one as answer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, TvHead9752 said:

Interesting. I’d heard of the Dell Latitudes and hadn't really looked into them definitely. Do you have any specific model recommendations before I start researching? 

My friend has a 5400 that he really likes. It's 8th gen Intel so it'll support Windows 11. There's also the 5410 and 5420 which are newer and also in your budget on ebay. I recommend the 5000 series for you. The 3000 aren't always the best quality.

 

First digit of the model number is tier.

3 = entry level

5 = mid range

7 and 9 = fancy pants

 

Second digit is screen size

A 5300 is 13.3 inch. A 5400 is 14 inch. And a 5500 is 15.6 inch.

 

Third digit is generation of laptop.

The 5400, 5410, and 5420 are each newer than the previous. Current brand new Latitudes are on the 5th generation, so it would be 5450.

 

Here's the Wiki article for more detailed info.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Latitude#xx00_Models_(2019)

Quote my reply or I won't see your reply. It's the single overturning left arrow under every message.

I didn't ask if it was worth fixing, I asked for help fixing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, LloydLynx said:

My friend has a 5400 that he really likes. It's 8th gen Intel so it'll support Windows 11. There's also the 5410 and 5420 which are newer and also in your budget on ebay. I recommend the 5000 series for you. The 3000 aren't always the best quality.

 

First digit of the model number is tier.

3 = entry level

5 = mid range

7 and 9 = fancy pants

 

Second digit is screen size

A 5300 is 13.3 inch. A 5400 is 14 inch. And a 5500 is 15.6 inch.

 

Third digit is generation of laptop.

The 5400, 5410, and 5420 are each newer than the previous. Current brand new Latitudes are on the 5th generation, so it would be 5450.

 

Here's the Wiki article for more detailed info.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Latitude#xx00_Models_(2019)

This lays it out really easily for me, thanks! Some people say that they’ve had issues, but one part of it seems like a bias towards Dell (which is partially well deserved in some cases) and the other half sounds like basic laptop stuff. As long as the battery lasts and I can replace my parts, I’m good. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, TvHead9752 said:

This lays it out really easily for me, thanks! Some people say that they’ve had issues, but one part of it seems like a bias towards Dell (which is partially well deserved in some cases) and the other half sounds like basic laptop stuff. As long as the battery lasts and I can replace my parts, I’m good. 

To be honest, I am very Dell biased. The many Latitudes and Optiplexes I've had have been awesome. The two Thinkpads I've had were expensive disappointments. And the one Elitebook I had was... well... I'm never buying another HP anything.

Quote my reply or I won't see your reply. It's the single overturning left arrow under every message.

I didn't ask if it was worth fixing, I asked for help fixing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×