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My T430s is still going strong. The good thing is that with Linux you don’t need the latest hardware to have a snappy system. The bad thing is that not having

My T430s is still going strong. The good thing is that with Linux you don’t need the latest hardware to have a snappy system. The bad thing is that not having the latest hardware is required if you don’t want to tinker.

sshine 4y ago
> with Linux you don’t need the latest hardware If you work with compiled languages, having good hardware is a real quality of life improvement.
- dima55 4y ago
  Depends strongly on the language and what you're compiling. C++ builds are glacial on any hardware. Plain C is usually just fine. I'm using a T430 and T61, and my life is great.
  - sshine 4y ago
    Rust and Haskell take time. I haven't tried C++. I have a 2021 M1 and a Linux laptop with a i7-11700 desktop CPU. And compiling takes shorter on my computers than a lot of other computers.
- pantalaimon 4y ago
  I work mostly with C on embedded targets where build times are not really an issue. If I have to build a Linux kernel, that's a different story.
nortonham 4y ago
> My T430s is still going strong. Mine too! I would say it all depends on use case. If OP has certain tasks in mind they should maybe invest in something more powerful/newer. Having said that the t430s is a solid machine.
boneitis 4y ago
Not meant to be downer (as a very, very happy owner of a pocket T420s if its replacement T480s should fail me): To anyone considering going back this far in hardware gen, my T420s (i7, 16GB memory, LUKS-encrypted SSD needed for work) on Mint + MATE DE could flat-out _not_ handle work video calls unless it was the _only_ thing that was running with everything else closed down. Even then, it was watching slideshows. It was the sole reason I needed to buy a new (as in a secondhand T480s on eBay last year) machine.
- notpushkin 4y ago
  Not sure about T420s, but my T420 handled Zoom calls with Codium and browser running in the background (and sometimes used too) just fine. One thing it couldn't handle however is recording the call (the recording was like 1 FPS and almost no sound). Ubuntu, Xfce, can't recall the specs right now but definitely not top of the line.
  - mjcohen 4y ago
    Even if the call was recorded in the cloud?
    - boneitis 4y ago
      I assume he means OBS or some such running locally.
      - notpushkin 4y ago
        Yeah. Zoom's built in recording didn't work for some reason (and tbh I'm not sure that would be in cloud either).
- bor3d4p3 4y ago
  That could have been a distro bug though. Ubuntu has an issue right now where some hardware configs will have a hard time with browser based video if a USB headset is plugged in; YouTube sits and spins for me on a dual Xeon Dell Workstation that’s 2 years old, with 32GB RAM and dual 2080s using any browser. As soon as I unplug the wireless headset from its USB charging cable, smooths right out. I’m not saying you hit the same bug I’m saying software is hard.

sshine 4y ago

> with Linux you don’t need the latest hardware If you work with compiled languages, having good hardware is a real quality of life improvement.

dima55 4y ago
Depends strongly on the language and what you're compiling. C++ builds are glacial on any hardware. Plain C is usually just fine. I'm using a T430 and T61, and my life is great.
- sshine 4y ago
  Rust and Haskell take time. I haven't tried C++. I have a 2021 M1 and a Linux laptop with a i7-11700 desktop CPU. And compiling takes shorter on my computers than a lot of other computers.
pantalaimon 4y ago
I work mostly with C on embedded targets where build times are not really an issue. If I have to build a Linux kernel, that's a different story.

nortonham 4y ago

> My T430s is still going strong. Mine too! I would say it all depends on use case. If OP has certain tasks in mind they should maybe invest in something more powerful/newer. Having said that the t430s is a solid machine.

boneitis 4y ago

Not meant to be downer (as a very, very happy owner of a pocket T420s if its replacement T480s should fail me): To anyone considering going back this far in hardware gen, my T420s (i7, 16GB memory, LUKS-encrypted SSD needed for work) on Mint + MATE DE could flat-out _not_ handle work video calls unless it was the _only_ thing that was running with everything else closed down. Even then, it was watching slideshows. It was the sole reason I needed to buy a new (as in a secondhand T480s on eBay last year) machine.

notpushkin 4y ago
Not sure about T420s, but my T420 handled Zoom calls with Codium and browser running in the background (and sometimes used too) just fine. One thing it couldn't handle however is recording the call (the recording was like 1 FPS and almost no sound). Ubuntu, Xfce, can't recall the specs right now but definitely not top of the line.
- mjcohen 4y ago
  Even if the call was recorded in the cloud?
  - boneitis 4y ago
    I assume he means OBS or some such running locally.
    - notpushkin 4y ago
      Yeah. Zoom's built in recording didn't work for some reason (and tbh I'm not sure that would be in cloud either).
bor3d4p3 4y ago
That could have been a distro bug though. Ubuntu has an issue right now where some hardware configs will have a hard time with browser based video if a USB headset is plugged in; YouTube sits and spins for me on a dual Xeon Dell Workstation that’s 2 years old, with 32GB RAM and dual 2080s using any browser. As soon as I unplug the wireless headset from its USB charging cable, smooths right out. I’m not saying you hit the same bug I’m saying software is hard.