Hi, I’m currently on a MacBook Air M2 8/256 and I’m running out of disk space. System is too large. I love macOS but I’d love to try out something new, such as Fedora and maybe switch to Fedora long-term.
I want to buy any computer (specs don’t matter) as long as it can smoothly run Brave Browser (10 to 20 tabs), VS Code, Terminal, Discord all in parallel on Fedora (preferred) or Ubuntu. The only requirement is that it’s cheap, can be refurbished. I have no preference for arm64 or amd64
Budget: 150$.
If this is out of scope, please disregard my request
update: a friend offered me his MacBook for a really good price
I think you are searching for an external hard drive 😅
++ a linux vm to experiment with.
Technically this would work for most parts but it’s not beautiful
I assume “it’s not beautiful” because you’d have a wart sticking off the MacBook.
That raises the question: Do you really need instant access to everything that’s currently on the MacBook? Are you sure? Think on that for a bit.
Because it’s entirely possible the space you need is on the MacBook, you just need to move less necessary things off there onto the external storage to make room before you go travelling.
If it’s anything like my computer, that would be old photos, software downloads, duplicate data on a different drives or partitions from quick and dirty backups. I’ve never quite had the space for movies and/or video downloads from YouTube, Twitch, etc, but I suspect I’d probably have a few of those as well. I doubt I’d miss any of that on a short trip. And if I did, well then, I can pull the wart out of my bag and attach it, assuming I bothered to bring it with me.
Slightly confused… You already have an expensive-ish MacBook, but you wan’t to switch to a 150$ Device? Or do you just want a second device to experiment with?
I’d like to experiment with the device first and if everything is running smoothly stay on the device or upgrade to a slightly more expensive device if it’s not smooth. I’m a Mac user ever since and I have absolutely no experience with other computers (hardware).
** If I upgrade later on, I can still use the bought hardware as a home server, so I didn’t waste money here
I have been a Apple user since de early 80s (yep, I’m that old) and switched to Linux somewhere 7 or 8 years ago. It all depends what you want to do and what are your expectations (how willing you’re to change your habits and the way you do things: Linux is not a free version of macOS, it will demand learning new ways and changing habits) but I’ve had zero regrets. No, that would be a lie as I have one tiny regret: I should have switched to GNU/Linux a few years earlier.
On thar budget, you should consider getting an external SSD instead. A computer you buy for that price won’t be as capable as your laptop.
150$? Like suggested, buy an external drive. If not, buy a used thinkpad install Linux on it, and be happy (at that price, unless you’re rela lucky, it will be an older model and I’m not sure how well Fedora would run on such older hardware though).
I run Debian an a… Cor2Duo/8g ram Thinkpad for very lightweight tasks (text writing, simple website browsing (no YT and script heavy things like that), local music and video playing (here again, not YT) without issue. Not fast but real usable, with a great keyboard.
I have a MacBook of about the same age (2009) that I upped to 8 GB RAM and run Mint with Cinnamon. As long as I don’t push it too hard it’s fine. Youtube is a real killer, although I can usually power through it by restarting Cinnamon (I don’t think that’s the issue, but it works). The only reason I changed it over was because Apple had long ago given up on the OS it had. I was really surprised how easy Mint went on, everything worked the first bootup.
I was really surprised how easy Mint went on, everything worked the first bootup.
Yes, Mint is my other system (on my main machine) and it runs buttery smooth. It was running ok on the C2D but not as smooth as Debian… but what OS could run as smooth? ;)
Put Linux on your existing computer and shift some stuff you don’t need as frequently to an external hard drive! You’re not gonna get the experience you want from a $150 computer
If we’re sticking to your direct ask, you’re going to want the newest Thinkpad you can find refurbished on eBay. I’d aim for a 6th gen x1 carbon, might still be a little rough with your budget.
Old Thinkpad with Linux Mint
i recently bought a thinkpad t420 for about 50$ and a new battery for 30, it only has 4 gb of ram, so i think that would be a bit too small for your purposes, but i don’t think it is an unreasonable idea to find something with a bit more memory for a bit more
i’m no laptop expert, but thinkpads have a good reputation, i’ve seen fujitsu-s are repair friendly too
search 2nd hand markets available to you, fb marketplace (i know, but it works)I feel this: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/42215533 Would be perfect for you But for like a serious answer, get an external hard drive, there is nothing on gods green earth thatll get you the same comfort, user experience and power as a macbook at that price point
People don’t write where they are based. I guess we presume this is USA.
Last 3 laptops ive bought here (UK), ive easily found laptops with 8th gen i5 CPU and 16GB ram for <£150 on eBay. This was a while ago and you could now find a 10th gen Intel if you are patient and try your luck at eBay auctions.
Not sure of local pricing in your area, but would a ThinkPad T480 or T490 be within budget? The AMD version (I think it might be the T495, someone correct me if I’m wrong) would be my pick personally.
Thinkpad T480 (not the s version) and you have a rugged tinker friendly laptop for cheap!
Get the cheapest Beelink you can find. I got one and I’m happy. The $150 version may be underpowered for big Steam games, but everything else is fine.
I have a used ThinkPad T460, I found a really nice deal for on eBay (90€).
It serverves me pretty well I mostly watch videos on it (works pretty well up to 1080p on Youtube), but it’s fine for most things, web browsing, editing documents and even coding.
I used it during a game jam with my friends, we were making a 2d game in Godot and it was good enough for that. I am running Linux Mint on it, it is a miracle what Linux can do for your old machines.
Other than that, old surface pros are pretty good nowadays and the 5th/ 6th generation can be found for 150€ if you are lucky. They also have excellent Linux support if you get the right kernel patches .
But I would probably recommend you try out Linux on your existing Laptop and see how it works for you. M2 support is pretty good nowadays for Asahi Linux. Maybe get an external drive for that money.
