Linux Compatible Used Laptops with a 'Like New Experience'

This is a little bit different approach. Instead of just telling you to use an old computer to run Linux, this time I will actually tell you what newer used laptop to buy that is Linux compatible and target a budget of $500 or less. This target value should give you a "like new" Linux computer experience.

Example Products:
Amazon - Lenovo X1 Carbon

Amazon - Dell XPS 13

Ebay - Lenovo X1 Carbon

Ebay - Dell XPS 13

Swappa - Macbook Pro

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I'm the Internet Privacy Guy. I'm a public interest technologist. I'm here to educate. You are losing your Internet privacy and Internet security every day if you don't fight for it. Your data is collected with endless permanent data mining. Learn about a TOR router, a VPN , antivirus, spyware, firewalls, IP address, wifi triangulation, data privacy regulation, backups and tech tools, and evading mass surveillance from NSA, CIA, FBI. Learn how to be anonymous on the Internet so you are not profiled. Learn to speak freely with pseudo anonymity. Learn more about the dangers of the inernet and the dangers of social media, dangers of email.

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[djl]

Purchased a Lenovo ThinkCenter M910q for $100 on EBay. Loaded it with Mint 21. Works wonderfully and fast. Had 8gb ram and 250gb M.2Nvme hard drive. I added a second Sata hard drive, 350gb. Very happy with the new setup.

[CasperLabuschagne]

Excellent! In 2004 I abandoned Windows entirely for the very first version of Ubuntu and have never looked back. After a few years I started using refurbished laptops and desktop computers due to the higher compatibility between older models and Linux and I saved a ton of money. Once you use Linux you will walk into a major computer store and not see a single thing that you either need or desire. There is also no need to ever upgrade to new hardware due to OS upgrades being foisted down upon you.

[tedijune]

Rob Braxman Tech; Your work is always brilliant. Sharing on the twit.

[UToobSteak]

Don't be afraid of the T440p Thinkpads. I'm still using one. I got it on eBay for $120, added an m.2 sata ssd, replaced the DVD drive with another 1tb ssd for storage, I'm using the small ssd that came in it to run Linux Mint from. The m.2 drive I use to play with other distros. Oh, I also upgraded the panel with an ips 1080p panel($75 on ebay), and put a 16gb ram kit in it. All in, I'm right at $230 and it's plenty fast. Mine was an i5 variant, so I may drop in an i7 later on, but the i5 does just fine.

[terrydaktyllus]

The laptop I am currently using is a Core 2 Duo HP Elitebook 6930p from 2008 with a 2.8 GHz CPU and 4GB RAM running Gentoo Linux.

I paid the equivalent of $1 plus shipping (about $6) for it on eBay. It was grubby, so I gave it a good clean and I spent about $30 for a hard disk drive cover, hard disk caddy and 128 GB SSD drive.

It's a perfectly fine daily drive machine for next to no money.

There is a huge amount of really cheap hardware on eBay now because of the sufferers of "Microsoft Stockholm Syndrome" going back to be re-abused by them and upgrading to Windows 11 - at which point they have to upgrade their PCs in order to have them controlled by Microsoft, turned into surveillance devices and then "leased" back to them.

You don't need to spend anywhere near $500 for a working Linux machine.

[edgeiger]

I just bought a Panasonic toughbook that's about 4 years old and run a dual boot, windows and Linux mint. At about 8 lb it is not lightweight but you can run over it with a truck and still function. Plus it has every connection you can imagine, including a DB15 connector as well as a HDMI connector, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi both bands, as well as cell service by simply inserting a SIM card. It also has a solid state drive, DVD burner and USB 3.0. The DVD burner can be removed and a second battery inserted for up to 20 hours of continuous use. Everything functions under Linux mint so far, and at less than $600, it's affordable! One of the great features that no other laptop has is a actual handle on the front so it can be carried like a satchel which also houses the touch screen stylus. I'm loving it!

[rcdenis]

I have an HP 8760W Elitebook with a 17 inch monitor, an i7 2nd generation cpu and 32Gb ram. I tried several distros with great performance finally settling on LMDE6. I like it because it has 2 drive bays allowing me to use raid. An adapter can be purchased which allows you to replace the CD drive with an extra ssd for a total of 3 drives, the third one being used to store system backups or such.

[laxlyfters]

I am in tears I wanted two family members to start learning how to code and I was so stressed trying to find 16gb ssd laptops to help them out this makes so much stress go away

[jethrot]

You are so correct, especialy about the X1 Carbon. Because I cant find comparable XPS 13 for similar price in Australia I have not owned one those, yet. A special shout out to the older 4th Gen X1 Carbon 8gb i5 256gb (2017) which seems to have a better build quality than more recent versions I own, and although it lacks USB C, and weighs a tiny bit more, is often around half the price of the next model, and does the same job.

[kimsiewers]

I enjoy Bob's videos.
The Asus 14" E410MA is now $99 new at Best Buy.
I installed Pop! OS on it after adding a Samsung memory stick. It was necessary to turn off secure boot then it worked fine. The downside of this Asus is the screen is not awesome but for 99 bucks I can't complain. It's very light and has no fan so it's quiet too.

[patrickmullane]

I truly appreciate you and your fight for strength of the individual.

[supernova]

Rob you must have read my mind. This is exactly what I've been looking to do for the last couple of months. Thanks for all the great info.👍

[miguelangelsimonfernandez]

RAM in these models is, apparently, soldered and not upgradeable. 16GB is ok but 8 might not be enough for virtualization or anything serious.

[SenseofAwareness]

XPS models, as far as I recall (at least the new ones), do not have an ability to upgrade their memory as it soldered on the board. FYI - HP EliteBook have that missing capacity.

[ElJohnerino]

Remember the older a lappie the more useless its battery will be. But know that they can be easily and cheaply replaced. If you're daunted at the idea of opening a laptop up, and/or fearful of finding a good quality replacement battery, have a local repair shop do it for you and make it Somebody Else's Problem. Then enjoy your good-as-new laptop.

[horusfalcon]

Microsoft-free here since 2003. Multiple used Xeon-based Dell Precision workstations in the home. My daily driver is an i5-based Dell Precision Mobile Workstation M4600 with 4GB of RAM running PCLinuxOS (a distro that is free of systemd) using the XFCE lightweight desktop added to a standard KDE-based installation. This thing is a battlewagon of a laptop, with optical drive and a full HD 15.6 display with 8000:1 contrast ratio. Price? US $326.00 about eight years ago, and still going strong.

The point I'm making is that there are myriad options out there for running Linux, depending on one's use case.

[WhoMe]

Linux Mint and even Ubuntu is ridiculously easy to install these days. I started using it at home back in 2015.

Linux runs just fine on every Dell computer I've tried it on and Acer too. You can find Dell's business PCs used or refurbished on ebay or Amazon. The trick is to buy only from sellers with the very best ratings. High spec CPUs are the ONLY way to go, I won't go with anything less than an i5 or i7 CPU.

My latest purchase is a Dell Optiplex *micro* 7000 series, with an i5, 8 GB of ram and a 128GB SSD. It was 100 bucks on ebay from a seller that has a perfect positive rating and 14, 000 feedback. These are desktops but they are tiny, comparable in size to an external desktop hard drive like the WD MyBook or Easystore.

[subiesojourner]

Still using my 6th Gen Carbox X1 with zero issues. I picked it up used for next to nothing and immediately ditched Windows with Ubuntu.

[ldpd]

I got a Latitude 7490 (i5-8350u) for $189 from Amazon marketplace (seller with good reputation and several years on the business of renewed laptops) :D

[one_b]

My wife's old MacBookPro 2012 makes a great little linux travel laptop. Ripped out the harddrive for an SSD. Removed the broken optical drive entirely. Took the heatpipes out, cleaned the old dry crusty thermal paste and apllied some fresh stuff and cleaned the fans. Installed Linux Mint Mate edition and it has gone with me on multiple trips for work as well as vacations. No worries about it being stolen or getting broken.