just need something to do light development (docker, python, rust, with an ide). something i can upgrade (ram, ssd minimum). laptop would best, but desktop works too
any protips? thanks!
I’ve been eyeing the framework in a case option.
https://frame.work/products/cooler-master-mainboard-case-and-mainboard-kit
Wow, with those mainboard discounts that is a surprisingly cheap option!
Avoid Nvidia.
You might want to mention if your budget is for the computer alone or for screen, keyboard, mouse,… too.
less than $500? There’s literally tons of them
For instance https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-Graphics-Triple-Display-Computer/dp/B0B82N3WM5
Sub 500 is kinda rough. But lets see.
You get a 3050, 16GB RAM and a 144hz monitor for $479
You can get an N100 mini system for about $150. Pay a little more to get (the intel enforced maximum) 16GB mem. I have a Beelink Mini S and it’s perfectly fine.
Forget about those, for 100$ you can get a second hand HP Mini that has a full i5 8th gen CPU and 16GB of RAM. Way better in all possible ways. Those systems also run very well with Linux.
How is the firmware support? Beelink isn’t mentioned on LVFS.
I assume you’re just getting into Linux? Avoid Chromebooks for this (running linux as beginner) - there are ways of running Linux, but they require some tricks dpending on the model.
Look around on offerup/facebook marketplace/craigslist. There are usually some pretty good deals
Grab any older Thinkpad from backmarket.com and you’re good to go!
Desktop or laptop? Do you need peripherals included? Honestly for under $500 I’d highly suggest looking at refurbished machines. You’ll be able to pick up an off-lease Dell or Lenovo or HP system for < $300.
If it runs Windows it’ll run Linux almost certainly. The cheaper you go, the more likely you’ll have lower priced or older components for WiFi, Bluetooth etc which may mean that you have to dig some firmware binaries out to get the whole thing running.
If you can take a USB stick with you of a typical Rescue distribution, and can boot it up, you’ll know what will and won’t work easily. The bits that don’t work may need some minor fiddling. As I said, there are usually walkthrough blogs etc around.
Have fun.
You can probably pick up a decent desktop machine for $50 from your local ads and put the rest into upgrades and still have some money left over.
modern chromebooks are secretly linux under the hood and can run android/linux apps. you could also try remoting into a server for development, like over ssh/vim or via code-server.
And if you open it up and unplug the battery, then boot off the charger that disables the write protect and you can install actual linux, though a lot of chromebooks have unique hardware that might not be supported, particularly audio IME.
I used to have a dell chromebook 11, and with bitmap fonts it was actually a pretty slick little computer for <$100.
HWAT??
I’ve got an old one that I am trying that on first thing tomorrow. I assume you can plug the battery back in afterwards?
It depends on the model
Yeah, did some research and it ended up being a screw that needed removed. Regardless, I didn’t know this was possible at all so I’m quite happy
