Any suggestions for cheap but decent laptops for coding?

I’m currently learning how to code (currently Python, then maybe JavaScript), but I’m not always around my desktop, and learning on my phone is not always an option (also, it can be quite cumbersome at times). Therefore, I’m looking into purchasing a laptop just for learning how to code and stuff.

I don’t want to get a Chromebook because I want to be able to wipe the drive and install Linux on it (probably Linux Mint). Maybe it’s changed since 2013, but the last time I had a Chromebook, it was a pain in the ass to install even bog-standard Ubuntu on it.

Problem is, I’m also heavily limited by space & budget: no more than 11 in (280 mm) total laptop width and 330 USD base price.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Please forgive me if this is not the right space for this kind of question. Lemme know if it is and I’ll delete it. :)

lord_ryvan,

Used Dell XPS, Thorvalds’ own choice of laptop, and often ranked well on iFixIt reparability ratings

I’ve been using a Dell XPS-15 9560 for over six years now, the keyboard needed to be cleaned after four years and and the charging port needed to be replaced (€10 inc service) recently. The battery no longer lasts 11 or so hours but it lasts 2 or so which I’ll take, for about €100 I could replace just the battery.
All of which, for how fast devices tend to break on me, is an incredibly good mileage I’d say!

And oh yeah, whatever Linux I’ve been distro hopping to has worked swimmingly!

cygnus, (edited )
@cygnus@lemmy.ca avatar

For Linux I would just find the best ThinkPad within your budget (a used one, in this case)

Edit for an example (and re-edit to clean up link): www.ebay.com/itm/134956529143

boredsquirrel,

Thinkpads are not cheap as they have that reputation.

But they have good Linux support

Btw that link has tons of tracking BS in it

www.ebay.com/itm/134956529143

owatnext,
@owatnext@lemmy.world avatar

That’s one of the most insane links I have ever seen. I’m scared to click it.

But I second a ThinkPad.

JustARegularNerd,

Should be the same link without the tracking

www.ebay.com/itm/134956529143

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

You make a great point, but the problem is I’ve looked at a ton of them and they all seem to be too big. I have a very limited primary workspace at only 11 inches and for example the T14 Gen 1 you linked to is 12.95 inches in width.

cygnus,
@cygnus@lemmy.ca avatar

Oops, I missed that part. There’s the X280 and its predecessors (X270, X260, etc.). The screen is 12.5" so the overall dimensions should be OK.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

12.5" is too big. If the screen itself is 12.5", then the total laptop width (if the screen is 16:9) will almost certainly be bigger than that. Like I said, my primary workspace is limited strictly to a max of 11 inches.

…Unless you knew that and I’m completely misunderstanding you. Which, mind you, is definitely a possibility. Lol. So, I’m sorry if that’s the case and I humbly would ask you to elaborate. ;)

lord_ryvan,

FYI 12.5" is the diagonal, it’s going to be much narrower

unlawfulbooger,

It’s probably best to limit yourself to a used laptop.

Reading and writing code is nothing more than reading and writing text, and for that you don’t need a fancy gpu or screen.

What I would recommend you look for in a laptop is

  • an SSD instead of an HDD
  • more cpu cores (at least 4 cores)
  • more memory (RAM) (at least 8GB, preferably 16GB+)

More memory and cores will help you with compiling and running your code.

And make sure you take regular backups! You never know when your disk will fail.

Also make sure to check linux compatibility before you buy. Laptops used to be a pain (10+ years ago), and it’s gotten a lot better, but it’s not always perfect. Just search for “[brand] [model] linux” or try to find the model on the archlinux wiki.

eveninghere,

Well, just for learning coding on Linux OP wouldn’t need 16GB.

lord_ryvan,

I feel people used to having more RAM always recommended insane amounts of RAM. 4 GB gets you by running a browser or PDF viewer with a code editor, 8 or more GB is recommended IMO.

0x0,

an SSD instead of an HDD

I’d rather search for upgradeability, i.e., non-soldered RAM, easy access to HDD, maybe replace the optical drive with an HDD caddy, etc…

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Thank you for being thorough! I appreciate the advice! :)

unlawfulbooger,

You’re welcome!

I’m sorry that I don’t have any advice for a specific laptop, but it seems others are helping with that already.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

It’s cool. Don’t worry about it! I appreciate any advice someone can give. :)

Wooki,

is nothing more than reading writing text

Unless you’re compiling rust.

  • Mic drop *
unlawfulbooger,

More memory and cores will help you with compiling and running your code.

Have you even read my comment?

Wooki, (edited )

Whooosh!

Sound of a joke passing over you

beeng,

Some reason I have Chromebook Lenovo Thinka Pad 11e saved in my notes

Iirc it’s something that isn’t too difficult to unlock and get Linux on it, otherwise I wouldn’t have considered it.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Don’t Chromebooks require doing “something something chroot” or whatever to get Linux installed on it? Or has that not been the case since 2013? Because my last Chromebook was in 2013 and it was a pain in my (sadly not yet open-source) ass to install and set-up.

beeng,

Admittedly I’ve never done it, but my 5mins of LLM’ing said chroot is only needed when keeping chromeOS on the machine side by side.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

keeping chromeOS on the machine side by side.

So, when dual-booting?

beeng,

Exactly

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Thanks. :)

Jayb151,

I work in IT and my 4 year old retired Dell 5300 is working just fine. Great form factor as well.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Looking it up, it seems like a delightful little laptop, but it’s too big. It’s got a 13.3 inch screen, and I’m limited to a total laptop width of 11 inches.

CaptKoala,

I’ve got a Lenovo P11, goes pretty well on a charge, and VSCode is available on android, haven’t used it much as I almost always code at home now.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted, (edited )
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Oh shit! I didn’t even know VSCode was available for Android. Nice! Thank you!

Edit: Er, nevermind. VSCode is indeed available on Android, but for US$12. Ew. Thanks anyway though. :)

CaptKoala,

That’s fucked up, it was $8AUD when I got it like a year ago. Fuckin corpos and their price hikes.

I was happy to swallow it to code on the go, but I only used it for a few weeks. Sometimes I lay in bed to code though so I can watch TV as well (never mind all the errors I make as a result).

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Honestly, why should it be paid at all when it’s free on desktop? That doesn’t make sense to me.

CaptKoala,

I thought exactly the same thing, as previously though, I was willing to swallow the $8 (at the time) in order to use my tablet for coding (may as well be a laptop running android tbh).

sugartits,

The screen is measured diagonally.

The screen width won’t be 13 inches.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Not the screen width. The laptop width. The total space I have to work with is exactly 11 inches wide.

https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/pictrs/image/4fe9b5b2-0f74-4b85-b85c-c7bcf9cf0bd6.jpeg

(I didn’t have a ruler, so I used a 3-hole punch, which has the zero point in the center, and spreads out 5½ inches in each direction, resulting in a total width of 11 inches.)

sugartits,

The laptop won’t be 13.3 inches either.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Wait, now I get what you’re saying.

What do you mean the laptop won’t have a 13.3" screen? The page I linked to said it does. And if the screen is 13.3", then the total laptop width will be more than that.

veer66,

I’m using Lenovo ThinkBook, which is cheaper than Thinkpad, and the keyboard layout is different. It supports upto 40GB of RAM.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

ThinkBook

Ooh, that’s intriguing. I’ve never heard of that brand.

and the keyboard layout is different.

How different? Are we talking “different shape of the Enter key” or “full-on head-banging death-metal Dvorak”? Because I like me some QWERTY.

It supports upto 40GB of RAM.

Holy shit that’s a lot of RAM.

veer66,

Like Thinkpad, the main brand is Lenovo. Thinkbook keyboard is like Acer and other brands.

slowbyrne,
@slowbyrne@beehaw.org avatar

Now that apple has their own silicon, all the older intel based MacBooks are pretty cheap. I just replaced my wife’s 2013 MacBook Airs battery, upgraded the drive, and installed Linux. It’s been a solid little laptop. Not the fastest but there’s probably a few pro models within your price range. Just make sure to get at least a 16gb model since the ram is soldered. Might have issues with the webcam, but the wifi drivers are pretty good.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I thought Macs are notoriously difficult to install Linux on, like from a firmware level.

Is this incorrect?

ranok,

The Intel ones are quite a bit easier, but still not as easy as a PC. You need to disable some FW security settings to allow for a non Apple kernel to boot.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Ah. In that case, I think I’m gonna steer clear of Macs. I’m not at all familiar with post-2013 Macs in the first place, and I definitely don’t know enough to fiddle around with its firmware security settings (or any firmware security settings, for that matter).

MXX53,

I am super partial to old ThinkPads. Currently I am running an x1 yoga gen 4 that I got from a company that was recycling it for free. I also have a P52, and a t460s. All have been great. I have used several others including an x230, an x201, a w520, w530 and w540(least favorite due to the trackpad). Generally I like to stop at about the Intel 8th gen series as parts are usually still fairly serviceable and affordable.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I do like me some good Thinkpads too. :)

But, unfortunately, all of those are too big. :(

I have a very limited primary workspace, of only room for 11 inches total laptop width.

MXX53,

My bad! You may have totally said that and I missed that part.

You might want to look at the dell XPS 13 series. Their small bezels in the more recent models put them more in line with a MacBook 11 inch. Might be best bang for the buck as far as performance.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Hey no worries!

Thanks for the suggestion!

codenul,

Rocking a T480 hackintosh over here.

pumpkinseedoil,

If you really want to you can combine:

  • a raspberry pi (with case)
  • a power bank
  • a small USB keyboard
  • a small portable display
  • a mouse

It doesn’t take more space than a laptop :))

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

That’s a good idea! Do I need to know any coding or soldering to set up a Raspberry Pi?

Eezyville,
@Eezyville@sh.itjust.works avatar

No. Just have to burn the OS image to an SD card and plug everything up.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Ooh, nice. That seems like a great initial step for just being in the learning phase. I’m gonna look into this! Thank you! :)

pumpkinseedoil,

No, just download Raspbian (Debian for RaPi) or any other popular distribution on your main computer and copy it to your RaPi’s SD card. Oh and if your mouse “lags” - you can increase your mouse refresh rate in settings.

Also while the setup obviously works and does its job (and is really fun to use) it’s probably not better than a laptop. It’s more of a thing you use because you can…

…anyway, if you already have some of the parts it’s the cheapest you can get, and it is just as practical as a laptop. I already had a pi4 with case, a keyboard and a mouse, so only was missing a portable monitor and a powerbank (but buying a powerbank never is a bad idea anyway).

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Thanks for the tip! Sounds promising!

westyvw,

At that point you might as well go with a steamdeck. Works with or without the mouse/keyboard/screen and can play games. The desktop environment is full kde and ready to go.

Goingdown,

Asus Vivobook Go 11, width is 279 mm.

cordlesslamp,

Stay away from Asus if you value warranty.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Looking it up, that is…not a bad idea.

Thanks, friend.

Eezyville,
@Eezyville@sh.itjust.works avatar

Steam Deck. I’m half serious if you got a wireless mini keyboard with touch pad. You can play games on it too BTW ;)

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted, (edited )
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Lol, that’s kind of intriguing honestly. Are Python interpreters even available on whatever fork of Linux that SteamDecks use? Haha.

Eezyville,
@Eezyville@sh.itjust.works avatar

Yes. Steam Deck is based on Arch linux. I even have PyCharm installed.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

This amuses me.

It doesn’t really surprise me, but it does amuse me.

Thank you for brightening up my week a bit. I’ve had a wisdom tooth removed and have been in a lot of pain, so my past two weeks have sucked.

ben_dover,

steam deck is NOT a proper replacement for a work desktop, ymmv

erwan,

For a desktop yes. You can dock it and forget that it’s not a regular Linux desktop. Especially if it means Python and JS, you don’t need much power for that.

For a laptop not so much, because you’ll need to bring screen+keyboard+mouse and everything to plug them so the portability aspect seriously suffers.

Agility0971,
@Agility0971@lemmy.world avatar

If you can get a metal body laptop, I would suggest you do. Metal chassis with Linux will last a long while. Programming will not take much resources (and if it does, rewrite your code). Since you’re into light programming like python any distro would be fine. It feels like the community has somewhat agreed to suggest Linux Mint to new users so I’ll support that.

EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
@EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Thanks, yeah, metal seems better, but I imagine a metal chassis would be more expensive, so probably out of my price range… And yeah Linux Mint was what I was gonna do. I’ve heard a lot of good things about that distro in recent months.

TheAnonymouseJoker,

ThinkPad, used. Only mainstream brand that cares about Linux.

Darkrai,
@Darkrai@kbin.social avatar

I found a thinkpad with a radeon GPU for only 200 which was nice.

const_void,

You sure about that?. Where does this myth come from that Lenovo cares about Linux users?

independantiste, (edited )
@independantiste@sh.itjust.works avatar

This is exactly the shit that gets me worried about ARM laptops becoming the norm. Obviously, the CPU has ✨full upstream support✨, but what some people seem to forget is that they will likely not support ACPI via Arm System Ready which is exactly how android phones work. (This is the total opposite of what we want btw) So now we will be at the mercy of OEMs releasing blobs or some people will have to spend lots of time creating DTBs for each possible SKU (Snapdragon Elite X’s Linux post even mentions booting with Device Trees, but nobody seemed to notice this for some reason?).

Like, sure, mainline support for the SoC is crucial, but most ARM processors have okayish support, even the mobile chips have say GPU support. The thing is the support of the SoC is only part of the equation when you also have a display, a boatload of controllers for charging, IO, display, etc. etc. that also need to be recognized and supported for the computer to be usable.

I have faith that Dell and Lenovo will offer DTBs for their enterprise devices, since they currently officially support Linux, but for all the other ones, Asus, regular XPS, non ThinkPad Lenovo, Microsoft surface, Samsung, Acer etc. I can almost guarantee they will be troublesome.

I desperately hope to be proven wrong when these laptops get into customers hands, but my hopes are really low.

0x0,

I have faith

I don’t, linux is niche for these companies, not worth their time/money.

TheAnonymouseJoker,

ahoneybun.net/blog/Thinkpad-X13s-review/

If you knew how to disable Microsoft Secure feature, maybe you could be competent enough to load Linux on it. But you will now run around calling Lenovo bad for Linux and all that, spreading the myth someone invented like a disease, even though you are the one considering these ARM devices over a proper x86 machine with freedom. Maybe avoid ARM machines for a while, and avoid MS Secure Boot crap?

const_void,

You’re the one that made the claim that they’re the “only mainstream brand that cares about Linux”. It’s up to you to prove it.

TheAnonymouseJoker,

deleted_by_moderator

    •
    Kualk,

    My ASUS laptop runs Linux well. It was around $800 5 years ago, when I bought it.

    I am still using it.

    hendrik, (edited )

    Refurbished Dell 7390? ~$250 has an 13" display with relatively small bezels. I think if you want it even smaller, you’d need some mini laptop or a tablet or steam deck. But that has other downsides. And having a device with an full-size keyboard is nice if you want to type / code.

    EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
    @EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

    Agreed on the benefits of having a full-size keyboard. Alas, 13" is too big. My primary workspace is limited to 11" for the total laptop width (i.e. screen and bezel).

    FuzzChef,

    Used t490 / t480. Can you elaborate on the “heavy limited by space”?

    CosmicGiraffe,

    The x390/x280 are the same era as these but smaller, so might be a better fit here. The X390 has soldered RAM though, so I’d look for the 16GB version if you can find it (there’s not much of a price difference used)

    EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
    @EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

    Unfortunately, those are both too big, at 12.22"–12.28" for the X390, and 12.11" for the X280. I’m limited to 11". :(

    EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted,
    @EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

    Sure, what do you wanna know elaborations wise? I’m sorry; I thought I had elaborated…

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • linux@lemmy.ml
  • fightinggames
  • All magazines
    •