

Ask HN: Laptop Suggestions? - BenWhit

Hey Hacker News,
I am in the market for a new laptop and have a few ideas but want to hear your guys suggestions or forewarnings about whats out there. I'd like to keep it in the $500 range but a little more (if it's worth it) is ok.<p>It's main use will be for all my dev work and a little graphic design here and there. I won't be doing a whole lot of gaming and will most likely be putting a Linux OS (in addition to whatever it comes pre-installed with) on it a somepoint.<p>Any suggestions?
Thanks and Happy Holidays!
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lsiebert
I use a lenovo T530 and it does quite well under Linux. But it was not $500,
even with a significant discount. Think pads are known for being good for
Linux.

However, you might want to get a brand like clevo or sager, where you can
build your own system.

I know there is a suggest a Laptop sub reddit, where they may be able to point
you to a good setup.

You also could look for a used system, or one with a bad hd you can replace.

Best of luck, sorry I couldn't help more.

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mblake
Go with a Lenovo as someone else recommended, or get an Asus G46VW; sadly
twice your budget, but it's of amazing quality.

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shail
A (not so much of a suggestion) different take. Why not get a mac mini if
portability is not too much of a requirement. Its priced around $600 and will
serve you really well for years to come.

You can also run VM on it without worrying about battery obviously.

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lsiebert
Oh, I recall someone who used a arm android tablet with a keyboard as a thin
client to a always online desktop pc. Or you can boot linux directly on a
chrome book. You could explore those.

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bbissoon
LENOVO THINKPAD - clear and simple choice.

<http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/>

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BenWhit
Lenovo Thinkpad Edge430 looks like a great deal.

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khyryk
How good of a display are you expecting? With the exception of some IPS
options and the 15" TN panels, ThinkPad displays are often average to below-
average. If you have an external monitor you'll be using for your graphic
design, then this isn't as important.

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autotravis
Hmm... that's a tough price range. The two laptops I bought in that range
(Gateway MT6729 and HP dv6700, i think) were bought in 2008 and are long gone.
They lasted all of 2 years max, so I would consider them to be of low quality.
And that's the problem with ~$500 machines.

I don't use MacBooks anymore because they make it difficult for me to get a
Linux distro on them, but I have had two and they lasted considerably longer.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a high correlation with increase in price and
increase in quality.

So it's not pretty, but I have had good luck with a thinkpad once upon a time
(at a higher price point). So in the end, here is my tangible recommendation:
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834310...](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834310605)

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BenWhit
The laptop I have now..or had..is an HP Dv7. I missed the recall date on the
Motherboard problems and it just recently died on me. It lasted about 2 years
but I'd like to avoid HP's if I can. I added the last part about linux distro
because its why I tend to avoid Macs (the price too), but what about running a
VM instead of dual-boot?

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions!

~~~
autotravis
VMs are always an option, but I'm also an efficiency maniac, so running two
OS's and the decrease in battery life that comes with that bothers me.

