3 ms·

I am not saying you're wrong but I'd like some advice on what to buy. The x220 I've never seen dip below $100 with 4GB RAM and a hard disk or at least a caddy.

I am not saying you're wrong but I'd like some advice on what to buy. The x220 I've never seen dip below $100 with 4GB RAM and a hard disk or at least a caddy. Thank you for your help.

ekianjo 9y ago
You can fInd x220 in not very good condition for 100 to 150 usd. And even a x201 is ok for development purposes.
kogepathic 9y ago
> The x220 I've never seen dip below $100 with 4GB RAM and a hard disk or at least a caddy. ThinkPad caddys are dirt cheap. You can buy third party compatible caddys for under $10. [0] In terms of a laptop with a reasonable build quality that includes a TPM, pretty much any corporate laptop will suffice. X220's command a premium because they're ThinkPads. If you look at other options, something like the Dell E6220, which is from the same generation as the X220, can be purchased used for around $100. [1] They don't support coreboot, but they're otherwise reliable machines. The Dell UEFI implementation supports only allowing signed updates and SecureBoot. Depending on your threat model this might be enough for you. > You can buy an ebay business-grade laptop with TPM for 40 bucks USD readily You'll have to buy something older than the E6220 mentioned above, but the Dell E6400 is available for $40. [2] That will have an integrated TPM. [0] http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Thinkpad-X220-X220i-Hard-Drive-Caddy-Rail-Kit-/231104104576 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Thinkpad-X220-X220i-Hard-Driv... [1] http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude-E6220-13-3-Intel-Core-i5-2520M-2-50GHz-4GB-RAM-320GB-HDD-23226-/122617775618 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude-E6220-13-3-Intel-Core-... [2] http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude-E6400-Laptop-Core-2-Duo-P8600-2-4GHz-160GB-HDD-4GB-No-OS-/132235791263 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude-E6400-Laptop-Core-2-Du...
serf 9y ago
If you want the literal 40 dollar laptop I had in mind, look around for an X60/X60s/X61. They are old, but they are well equipped and I love their keyboard feel, plus TPM and all that jazz. Their specs are pretty low-end nowadays, but I find that devs have too varied a range of preferences and tasks to judge what they need too readily. If you're sitting in a huge IDE or photoshop or otherwise have a strong need for heavy lifting and high resolution during your travels, however, these cheapy business-grade laptops from yesteryear are probably a poor choice. But I sit in emacs and IRC most of the time with music on -- they are perfect for that.
tortilla 9y ago
https://arrowdirect.com/ https://arrowdirect.com/ Get a dealer account and you get 20-40% off the listed prices. I applied and got the account in about a week or two. "Grade A" refurbs are in really good shape. Cheapest X220 (Grade A) right now is $153.60 ($192.00 list).

I am not saying you're wrong but I'd like some advice on what to buy. The x220 I've never seen dip below $100 with 4GB RAM and a hard disk or at least a caddy. Thank you for your help.

ekianjo 9y ago

You can fInd x220 in not very good condition for 100 to 150 usd. And even a x201 is ok for development purposes.

kogepathic 9y ago

> The x220 I've never seen dip below $100 with 4GB RAM and a hard disk or at least a caddy. ThinkPad caddys are dirt cheap. You can buy third party compatible caddys for under $10. [0] In terms of a laptop with a reasonable build quality that includes a TPM, pretty much any corporate laptop will suffice. X220's command a premium because they're ThinkPads. If you look at other options, something like the Dell E6220, which is from the same generation as the X220, can be purchased used for around $100. [1] They don't support coreboot, but they're otherwise reliable machines. The Dell UEFI implementation supports only allowing signed updates and SecureBoot. Depending on your threat model this might be enough for you. > You can buy an ebay business-grade laptop with TPM for 40 bucks USD readily You'll have to buy something older than the E6220 mentioned above, but the Dell E6400 is available for $40. [2] That will have an integrated TPM. [0] http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Thinkpad-X220-X220i-Hard-Drive-Caddy-Rail-Kit-/231104104576 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Thinkpad-X220-X220i-Hard-Driv... [1] http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude-E6220-13-3-Intel-Core-i5-2520M-2-50GHz-4GB-RAM-320GB-HDD-23226-/122617775618 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude-E6220-13-3-Intel-Core-... [2] http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude-E6400-Laptop-Core-2-Duo-P8600-2-4GHz-160GB-HDD-4GB-No-OS-/132235791263 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude-E6400-Laptop-Core-2-Du...

serf 9y ago

If you want the literal 40 dollar laptop I had in mind, look around for an X60/X60s/X61. They are old, but they are well equipped and I love their keyboard feel, plus TPM and all that jazz. Their specs are pretty low-end nowadays, but I find that devs have too varied a range of preferences and tasks to judge what they need too readily. If you're sitting in a huge IDE or photoshop or otherwise have a strong need for heavy lifting and high resolution during your travels, however, these cheapy business-grade laptops from yesteryear are probably a poor choice. But I sit in emacs and IRC most of the time with music on -- they are perfect for that.

tortilla 9y ago

https://arrowdirect.com/ https://arrowdirect.com/ Get a dealer account and you get 20-40% off the listed prices. I applied and got the account in about a week or two. "Grade A" refurbs are in really good shape. Cheapest X220 (Grade A) right now is $153.60 ($192.00 list).