So again, the Lemmy verse is still really confusing and finding the right communities for the right post. This sub seems like they would definitely know about this though
I have always been a laptop guy my whole life because the portability, flexibility and comfortability of them. Never got into PCs or towers because I feel like you gotta have like a workstation and desk all setup. Id rather be able to lay on the couch in front of my TV while using a laptop lol
But anyway, my current dell xps 13 9310 running Debian 12 is slowly reaching its end. The thing only came with TWO ports, both being USB c. Well after years of heavy usage, they’re slowly breaking down. Idk if it would be worth replacing the mother board or just starting over?
Are there any good alternatives or options you guys can think of. I’m simple, in don’t game at all, purely just watch/stream stuff, browse and research and lately have been taking learning more about computing tech more seriously, so I’ve been tinkering and experimenting too. I plan to build skills to work with computer/tech professionally.
I’ve read about thin clients or even mini PCs and idk which route is best bang for buck and most logical. Or if there are known older laptops with great bones but need some minor upgrades to bring it back to current technology. I’m open minded but again, focused on something portable, affordable, smooth, flexible, durable etc. I’m talking a budget solution, like no more than $350ish. There’s probably technology available for this that I’m not even aware of!
Hope you all can help or point me to the right Lemmy communities. Thanks
You could get a refurbished Thinkpad. They are made for business use and tend to be more reliable than the super slim laptops and they work great with Linux. Newegg has a refurbished T480 for $238. It’s pretty nice and has a very long battery life if you get the extended battery pack.
The mini PCs are also nice if you don’t need something portable. They are more upgradable than a laptop.
Thinkpads seem to have such a huge following, so there must be a reason…I had one briefly but lost it due to unfortunate circumstances shortly after getting it… Any who my only complaint is the appearance of them, but that’s just me being petty. They LOOK like some old school type of machine and its not a nice site visually IMO lol but again, not a factor at all
Add stickers; they look great with stickers.
I’m replying from my T480 that I really love. I put Fedora on it and never have any issues. Biggest downsides in my opinion are bad speakers and display brightness doesn’t go very high (hard to work on it outside, for instance). Otherwise, super easy to upgrade and cheap to get parts for. Grabbed a big battery off Amazon and it lasts all day for me.