[TriLUG] Laptop Upgrade

[Pete Soper via TriLUG]

On 09/02/2016 09:50 AM, Grawburg via TriLUG wrote:
> I currently use a Lenovo T61 at home and I'm thinking of upgrading to a slightly newer machine. Keeping the cost <$500 what are some suggestions?
> I do want >= 8GB ram, don't care how big the HDD is, want a 15" screen.
> I will install Debian 7, 64 bit again.
I bought two Lenovo T520 laptops from Josh Buczynski at Triangle 
Ecycling <http://triangleecycling.com/> several months ago for $200 each 
and my wife and I have been using them since then (the installed W7 Pro 
for her, Ubuntu 16.04 I added with the W7 on another partition for me). 
In fact I relegated a Lenovo E531 to workbench duty and switched to the 
T520. It's bigger and heavier, but battery life is better and the 
touchpad is more to my liking. Neither T520 has exhibited the slightest 
misstep. I'm ready to move the Samsung SSD from the 531 to my 520, 
though. :-)

More recently, I bought a used HP laptop for a friend ($150 if memory 
serves) and Josh cheerfully swapped it for a replacement when I found a 
minor blemish (fan was audible sometimes). Later we hit another snag and 
Josh showed us the HP doc explaining how this was a (mis-)feature, not a 
fault. (some screwball behavior about tapping the keypad and disabling 
it) My friend has been fully satisfied for a few months now.

Many of the laptops Triangle Ecycling deals with are corporate/local gov 
upgrades, where the units replaced may be relatively unused. They have 
an Ebay presence but frequently have stock not yet listed. Getting more 
than entry level RAM typically does not cost an arm and a leg, only a 
sliver of one toenail you didn't need to keep anyway.

-Pete

>
>
> Thanks,
> Brian Grawburg
>
>