If you find a machine under 400 bucks with 16 gigs of RAM, and the machine doesn't have to be portable, and it has a core i5 or better, you should probably get

If you find a machine under 400 bucks with 16 gigs of RAM, and the machine doesn't have to be portable, and it has a core i5 or better, you should probably get it. CPU is arguably not as important as ram + ssd. But availability makes for much better buys: MicroCenter occasionally has display units or refurbs at a couple hundred lower than retail. I got a 6th gen core i7 8gb ram 256gb ssd 14" lenovo for 400 bucks, and bought a 16gb ram stick for $100, and a 1tb hdd for $35. The retail price was still closer to $850 for the same configuration (and that laptop supposedly only supports 8gb, but lenovo liiiiies!!). Howver, if it's a relatively new machine, skip putting Linux on it. I've gone through setup hell three times this year and i'm just done with Linux on a modern laptop. It sucks.