phart010 | 1,710 Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 I am learning to code Python. Have only been using my company issued laptop for the past 5+ years. I am not allowed to install apps on my company laptop, so will need to buy my own NEW personal laptop as my personal laptop is from 2007. What do you all recommend for a $500 budget? Need Windows. I am more interested in build quality and ongoing support for the hardware... not so much on the high end specs.. I know theres a lot of Chinese gaming laptops these days that boast high end specs, but are poorly designed. Would like to stick with HP, Lenovo, Samsung and the like.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,891 Administrator · Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 Lenovo is the go-to for most ranges of business laptops for a reason, and one you're looking for specifically - they're sturdy. As far as specific model it's been a while, so can't speak to that at the moment. I'd definitely go Lenovo though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TylerBarnes | 184 Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 (edited) I bought a refurb Lenovo T440 with i7 for about $250-$300. This was my choice since it has dual battery. Refurbed units will obviously have a shit battery so you just buy the Lenovo 6cell 68+ for the external battery and buy the 45N1109 as the optional internal. I get about 14 hours of coding on it. Even with just the 68+ its about 9 hours. EDIT: Just reread and saw the stress on NEW. Sorry. Edited January 24, 2020 by TylerBarnes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,891 Administrator · Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 43 minutes ago, TylerBarnes said: I bought a refurb Lenovo T440 with i7 for about $250-$300. This was my choice since it has dual battery. Refurbed units will obviously have a shit battery so you just buy the Lenovo 6cell 68+ for the external battery and buy the 45N1109 as the optional internal. I get about 14 hours of coding on it. Even with just the 68+ its about 9 hours. EDIT: Just reread and saw the stress on NEW. Sorry. New may simply mean newer than 13 years old in this case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TylerBarnes | 184 Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 1 minute ago, Gloves said: New may simply mean newer than 13 years old in this case. This is very true. Also many people may not want to muck around with opening up the chassis and installing internal parts (a very easy installation in this case). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart010 | 1,710 Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 (edited) New or MANUFACTURER refurbished Edited January 24, 2020 by phart010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulpa | 3,569 Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 The Lenovo laptop I have has been chugging along for at least eight years now. It's not even a top of the line model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki | 4,958 Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 I still use as a backup an 8 year old ASUS i5 sandybridge laptop. When it came out it was part of that first line of IntelHD3000 chipsets that could actually make a laptop work well and play games smoothly too and it was like $700 then. ASUS has a decent line that still exists that hold up well and come in around that price range with pretty solid stuff on the inside still with room to add a bit more RAM and storage too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel_Doyce | 477 Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Can't you spin it to your boss that 1) python / Anaconda is free and 2) it could be useful to your job (I don't know what line of work you're in though). Most IT departments will make exceptions on a case by case basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart010 | 1,710 Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 10 hours ago, Daniel_Doyce said: Can't you spin it to your boss that 1) python / Anaconda is free and 2) it could be useful to your job (I don't know what line of work you're in though). Most IT departments will make exceptions on a case by case basis. Unfortunately I’m not in IT. My manager wont see the value in Python as it relates to my current role, as there is none, and our IT dept isn’t much of an IT department. Typical solution is to tell us “yea that’s a known issue” or “we can’t do that” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearcat-Doug | 5,105 Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 I've had several Toshiba laptops over the years that were all in the $300 range new and lasted for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a3quit4s | 4,142 Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 (edited) eBay. Toshiba or Lenovo. People are always selling older stuff that may not even be 2 years old. If you can think of how not to use Windows you can get a chrome book for ultra cheap and get some kind of ide on it. Edited January 25, 2020 by a3quit4s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portabello | 99 Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Lenovo. If you can afford it go with a Yoga and solid state memory/SSD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambda | 130 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 To reiterate @Gloves and @TylerBarnes:Lenovo. Specifically a T-440 i7 or better. Don’t be scared off by refurbs either... they go through more QC testing than original hardware does. I always go refurb when possible. *Also, if you’re going to learn python, take the leap and install a Linux Flavor: if you’re new to Linux go with Mint (if you’re coming from Windows) or Ubuntu. Dual boot to Windows if you must. You’ll learn far more than just python and you’ll become a bit more savvy than the average bear. credentials: IT director, Webmaster, Programmer, Whitehat, been tinkering for over 18 yrs. I have a few workhorse computers and they’re all Lenovo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart010 | 1,710 Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 On 1/25/2020 at 12:44 PM, a3quit4s said: eBay. Toshiba or Lenovo. People are always selling older stuff that may not even be 2 years old. If you can think of how not to use Windows you can get a chrome book for ultra cheap and get some kind of ide on it. I read online some people will use Remote Desktop on chrome books to connect to a pc that’s always online in their closet. That’s how they get their windows fix. sounds like a good idea. I’m a straight pc guy though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 3 minutes ago, phart010 said: I read online some people will use Remote Desktop on chrome books to connect to a pc that’s always online in their closet. That’s how they get their windows fix. sounds like a good idea. I’m a straight pc guy though That sounds painfully clunky, but to each his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a3quit4s | 4,142 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 42 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said: That sounds painfully clunky, but to each his own. I’d just run a VM in Azure or AWS so I could turn it off and on as needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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