[ale] online build-your-own used/refurbished Linux-ready laptop

[Dustin Strickland]

I second Jim on this one, the W520 is the way to go. Those are some
solid machines, though the T-series "equivalent" isn't bad. Most of
the T520's have an i5, but some of them come with a dual-core i7(as do
some of the W520's, though most are i7 quads). It's very uncommon for a
T-series to have dedicated graphics, but I have seen configurations
with an nVidia card. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the T520's have
a max capacity of 8GB of RAM?

Some eBay sellers will create custom listings if you message them
asking for certain specs. I don't know if many do this with laptops,
but I know there are plenty of people and companies who will make minor
modifications to desktop machines if they have the parts on hand.

On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 14:16:10 -0400
Derek Atkins <warlord at MIT.EDU> wrote:

> I have a T520; it's pretty good.
> I've got a T540p that should arrive in the next day.
> 
> -derek
> 
> Jim Kinney <jim.kinney at gmail.com> writes:
> 
> > Look for a Lenovo Thinkpad W520. Do NOT get the 530 or the 510 even
> > though the 510 will work. It's crap compared to the 520. The 530 is
> > brain dead and may be the first one designed by Lenovi.
> > The 520 is a honking desktop replacement with dual graphics each
> > with dedicated ram. Intel and an nvidia.
> > Be prepared to drop a was on it. They started at $2600 new. The
> > 510/530 started at $1500.
> >
> > On Jun 17, 2014 9:56 PM, "Ed Cashin" <ecashin at noserose.net> wrote:
> >
> >     Hi.
> >    
> >     Does anyone know of an online place where I can build a used
> > laptop and select Ubuntu as the pre-installed O.S.?
> >    
> >     There's thinkpenguin, which is pretty much exactly what I want,
> > but it's for new systems and the selection is limited.
> >    
> >     This is the kind of system I have in mind, but it's hard to
> > find all this in a used/refurbished state.  It's pretty hit or
> > miss, mostly miss, on eBay.
> >    
> >       Intel i7 CPU
> >       16 GB RAM
> >       500 GB SSD
> >       14" screen
> >    
> >     Ideally the graphics card would be programmable using Intel's
> > GPU libraries, but I cannot remember whether their libraries are
> >     Linux-compatible.
> >    
> >     Thanks!
> >    
> >     --
> >       Ed Cashin <ecashin at noserose.net>
> >    
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