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Ask HN: What is the cheapest laptop I can buy for development
44 points by umen on Sept 8, 2022 | hide | past | favorite | 60 comments
I like to be able to develop with :

(of course) linux/android os

gcc/g++/gdb

minimal OS GUI

Web browser with graphical gui and normal browsing (chrom /firefox)

Vim

acreen size can be 11"

the site to buy from should be able to send the laptop worldwide im not from the USA

Thanks alot



I’d say an older gen Thinkpad. They’re usually the best value for your money if you’re looking for a bargain.

You can find sellers who might be willing to ship internationally on eBay. You also have to factor in taxes or levies your country may charge on electronic imports.


There's the German Thinkpad Wiki [1] which helped me choose a model, because they list every component/spec/variant there with all their hardware details, bugs and typical problems (with firmware versions that usually just need to be updated before you install Linux).

(A quick side note: Current mesa has issues with Haswell and Broadwell CPUs due to the (now still) incomplete Vulkan migration. Just as a heads-up)

[1] https://thinkwiki.de/ThinkPad-Modelle


there's English one as well https://www.thinkwiki.org


This is the same advice I'd give, but I'd also assume that the laptop is going to break within 2 years or so in a way that's worth just buying a new one (or another used one). Just an antidote, but that's about how long they last me.


Sounds like a use case for a ChromeBook.

You would have to check which Chromebooks let you install Linux.

Also some of the cheaper Windows laptops would do. In my experience, they all let you install Linux.

What is your maximum budget? You can get refurbished ones for less than $100. If you are willing to pay $200, you can even get new laptops with up to 15 inch screen size:

https://www.productchart.com/laptops/for_less_than_200


If you're getting a chromebook, it's worth checking if it's on the list of models supported by Mr. Chromebox[1], an alternative firmware that gets you mostly normal UEFI booting with no mandatory waits or loud noises or chance of accidentally wiping.

Chromebook ram and storage can be pretty small and newer models have both soldered, so shop carefully, but like for like, chromebooks tend to be a bit less expensive than windows laptops.

[1] https://mrchromebox.tech/#devices


^ THIS!

I installed Linux on a cheap Chromebook and it was great. I ended up ditching the Chrome part altogether. Powerful enough, great screen and battery life.


what type chromebook ? what linux you installed


what agreat site!


Any used business-line laptop: Lenovo Thinkpad, Dell Latitude, HP Probook/Elitebook. Please don't by a consumer-line laptop - they are terrible except of Macbook.


My previous computer was a Thinkpad e-series.

Great keyboard, great everything really. They're the cheapest Thinkpads.


This. People usually say "get a used Thinkpad", but any of these laptops will also do. There are many options.


Older Thinkpads, in particular Thinkpad x230 is an overall a good powerful machine selling for around 150$ second hand. It also has good screen and really awesome keyboard.


My T25 died, hinge failure (they're mounted in plastic) so it's back to the X220.


Not going to win when cost is the primary factor, but my Framework hinges failed, and I could just replace the hinges and keep using it :).

(I say failed, that would be quick since it's fairly new, it was actually a manufacturing issue - but the solution's the same, they sent me replacement hinges to fit, no need to scrap or even return the whole laptop.)


Too bad they didn't make a trackpoint and used Intel. Otherwise I'd buy.


I'll also vote old thinkpad. I run T430 with xubuntu as a side machine, and startup and shutdown is near instant. Compared with my macbook pro 2016 - which, although it throws something up on screen very quickly, then spends 30s before it's actually responsive - yes, apple cheats.


HARDWARE SIDE:

The cheapest will be to ... not buy laptop. You can go for 2 in 1 and use your Android phone (if you have one) or buy one.

Any Android phone will do the job, but best look for one with USB3.1 (these will support display port on phones USB socket) as it carries video signal as well.

Here you have phones released in 2021 and 2022 supporting it: https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2021&sFreeTex...

If you want to go for used phone feel free to refine search and set older years.

Portable screen you can get on Chinese websites for as little as 80-150USD (with shipping including)

Then get yourself bluetooth keyboard with trackpad (there are even foldable ones), or BT keyboard and BT mouse (whatever you like) and you should be already good.

Nice to have is also USB-C hub with HDMI output, so you can plug any wired USB devices or output via HDMI to regular screen or TV, these will cost 10-20USD with shipping

Optionally: You might also want a better control over your Android OS, or be able to receive updates way longer than vendor ships them - if so I will recommend to go for one of the phones supported here https://download.lineageos.org/ (most modern hardware with USB3.1 is supported by OnePlus, but you might find other brands and models that does the job)

SOFTWARE SIDE:

First you need install Termux on Android, it is kind of linux shell for Android linux kernel (all you basically need to start any development)

Once you'll have this, you can head for gcc, clang or whatever you need

Last piece is IDE, I use this one: https://github.com/coder/code-server


Between the screen and accessories this ends up being way more expensive than any used laptop that WILL outperform it while being way more comfortable. Not to mention if you don't already have a capable phone and/or a bunch of accessories.

The worst part is this kind of setup is always finicky to use and harder to debug, which is the last thing you want in a developer machine.


> Last piece is IDE

OP mentioned vim; I don't think they're looking for an IDE.


Well, ofc - there is vim as well


What the heck, why did get -1 ????


Complaining about -1 downvote is useless. Even if you post a perfectly good comment, someone could accidentally fat-fingered the downvote button (the buttons are small and very close to each other). Some people even downvote everything they disagree with regardless the quality of the comment itself.


yup, fatfinger in HN mobile happens to me too, and already forgot that here are downvotes, I just don't see them because have not enough upvotes


Not entirely sure but op wanted advice on a laptop, not a phone


Remind me then please since when our conversations on HN are so strict? ;-)


On recent ChromeBooks you can enable developer mode, which turns them into a low-cost Linux notebook. https://au.pcmag.com/linux/89550/how-to-install-linux-on-you...

There are several retailers on Amazon that sell suitable notebooks. Would that work for you?


I bought Thinkpad T440p for about 200 eur used. It was actually pawned by someone so I bought it locally no shipping was needed. It is an excellent device and hardware wise very powerful - i5-4300M, 8GB of RAM, 250GB SSD. Got lucky and it had battery with still 85% capacity left so that makes it run for about 2 hours, which is great. Only drawback it has is low resolution screen.


>hardware wise very powerful - i5-4300M, 8GB of RAM

Maybe 8GB of RAM can be dealt with, if you're always careful to close apps and tabs but managing RAM or hitting the SWAP or OOMkiller is something I don't want to worry about if I'm doing work. Especially if you get in to spinning up VMs. 16GB minimum would be recommended from my end.

And the i5 4300M is a pretty slow chip. I had a i5 6600M and it's noticeable slower at web browsing than options from the last couple of years. I'd say 8th gen would be the lowest bar.


what OS do you run on it ?


I got me an Acer Chromebook (Acer Chromebook CB314-1H-C2KX 14) for 129 EUR on Prime Day this year.

I used it for developing a game app, teaching my daughter programming over the summer holidays. The machine did pretty well for this purpose, running all the applications we required decently. Even Blender runs and can be used for simple tasks but I wouldn't want to work with such a heavy app nine to five on the little machine. Godot for a 2D game is absolutely fine though, we haven't used 3D much but that was OK too.

A nice thing was, that we could open and analyze competing Android games on the same machine. We couldn't have done this on a pure Linux machine.

I'd say Chrome Books are a very good fit for your stated requirements if you can live with the privacy implications of owning a Google device.


Rent the cheapest server from Hetzner or equivalent, and get whatever laptop is capable of running ssh. (Which is all of them.)


Reminds me of working for about a year on an odroid. Of course ssh was no issue, but also Firefox was working quite well.


look for second hand thinkpads, models from x220 to x270 should fill all your needs. Screen size is 12". best you can get for 100-300$. Should come with 8gb of ram and decent CPU.


Check out the compatibility first, but for quite a long time as a student I was using bargain bin laptops. Usually the components are common/old enough to work out of the box with Linux. If you're happy with performance, it's... ok.

The hardware improved enough that as long as it's got 8gb of ram and runs... You should be fine for minimal dev work.


Do a bit of research on whatever you plan to buy though and see if someone has successfully gotten Linux to work on it. There was a recent period of time where the bargain bin laptops had totally bizarre configurations like a 64 bit OS support but 32 bit BIOS, or bleeding edge Intel SOCs with bad Linux support. I think things are better but still can't hurt to double check.


The "eBay Deals" page often has discounted refurbished laptops: https://www.ebay.com/deals/tech/laptops-netbooks

The advantage of buying from the deals page is that eBay has vetted the sellers in advance.


Old T or X series Lenovo gets my vote. Good machines, although I'd question if they're the best bet right now as some are getting kind of old (e.g. I had a quick look at a T430, cheap but it's a 3rd gen CPU). Could a consumer machine be a better bet at the expense of ruggedness? Might be quicker.


I just bought 12" ThinkPad x270 for $170. (i5 7gen, 8GB ram, 256 ssd). I'm very happy with it, it even has usb-c and works with my LG Ultrafine.

Nice price to value ratio, I think the screen is the biggest downside, but that's only in comparison to my MacBook.


where did you buy it? what os you running on it?


Does it have to be new? Buy a used 7-8 gen+ intel laptop from your own country, i.e. used office stock from US and Europe is regularly available around the world. For around 300$ bucks you can get something very usable.


You can get any laptop made in the last 15 years, easy. Probably a free one.


free ? where ?


Only if you have a computer charity organization nearby that can give you that


buy some cheap thinkpad, put on programmer socks and install arch.

im joking but this is actually a pretty good idea for very cheap


i love programmer socks :3


Refurbished Thinkpad T or X series (don't buy other letter) cost nothing and it's reliable. First digit is display size, second digit is year of release, so T440 is 14" released in 2014.


Plenty of refurbished ThinkPads available in A1 condition for less than half price of a new machine.

I would recommend you buy from a specialist retailer rather than ebay though. You may pay a bit more but you are more likely to get a good quality, ex-corporate machine that has been properly checked and with some sort of guarantee.


There are some great refurbished ThinkPads that come with coreboot/libreboot/osboot and support the creator of those, at https://minifree.org/


Any Windows laptop older than 4 years should be obtainable for a song and work fine.


I still use a T420S Frankenpad with a better quality 1600x900 screen panel and maxed-out memory / ssd.

The keyboard is great, both batteries are OKish, although not original of course.

It has that gorgeous 7-row keyboard... um...


Thinkpad x250 with full hd ips panel. You can add an additional ssd if needed and 16gb of ram. It has a nice docking station, you can exchange batteries


Can't some HN folks just get together and send you $100 each so you can buy a great laptop? Happy to on my part...


thanks , but no need you can collect and send your money to more needט folks


Where are you based ?


I'd go for a second hand latitude.


I use slimbook they are very nice


What is cheap to you?


100 - 150 $


I think you will need to add more to find decent thinkpad shipped from US ebay (preferably there should be local company selling used thinkpads in your country), decent configurations start at 150-200USD.




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