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Use cheap laptop for connection to good PC at home?

110 sats \ 6 comments \ @ek 13 May 2023 bitcoin

Hey,

I am currently in the position where I can pick any laptop for $1000 and get reimbursed. However, I can't really decide on a good laptop. I like the old Thinkpad T series (T420) because of their keyboards, sturdiness and easy access to RAM and storage. But they are worth between $50 and $150 on eBay and don't come with modern CPUs afaik.

At first, I was thinking about a refurbished X1 Carbon 9th Gen but I read that the X series is for portability and I don't really need that ... I work a lot from home where I just plugin a lot of peripherals into my laptop and then close the lid.

For example, I found a refurbished offer for a Thinkpad X1 Carbon 9th Gen with i7-1185G7, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD for a little more than $1000 but it still sounds quite expensive. I think I am paying for stuff I don't really need (portability in that case) while getting worse specs compared to a desktop build.

So I was thinking ... can't I just build a good desktop PC and if I ever don't work from home, just connect to it using a cheap laptop? I have some old Thinkpads lying around here which I could use for that ...

As long as I have a good internet connection (where I am and at home), this should work decently, no?

I think you can get more bang for your buck with a desktop PC.

I haven't asked yet though if a desktop PC is also an option.

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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @03365d6a53 13 May 2023

definitely go with desktop if you don't need portability

check the qubes website for a certified hardware vendor (qubes is freaking awesome)

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @ass 13 May 2023

Get an upgraded 2012 mac mini for $170, and a 2020 MacBook Pro with the good keyboard for $650.

Ultimate minimal setup.

Edit: links https://www.ebay.com/itm/185887440155

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234815564387

Edit:

Or get a beefy server with proxmox for VMs, but still, you need a laptop.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @021da48107 17 May 2023

Depends on how "portable" you want the laptop. I used to use an old Dell Latitude 7480 as my main machine. You can get it with an i7, 32G of memory (maybe 64G) for pretty cheap. The resolution is 1080p, which sucks but it's doable. It has room for a m.2 slot and a 2.5" disk.

I since bought a https://frame.work laptop, it's nice, but not sure it's worth the premium over the Latitude IMO.

Nice thing about desktop PCs is you can upgrade pieces as you go, and there is much more room to upgrade. Downside with the laptop remoting into desktop is that if you have no internet you can't remote in. There is also a bigger change that you will encounter issues as you now technically have 2 devices that have to be working, compared to 1. What happens if your laptop's drive fails while you are out, etc?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @quark 13 May 2023

It depends on the use. Remote desktop is not always easy if you need heavy graphics applications. Or now that I think, it may not be the best for playing games or watch a movie. Also, consider security measures. I would only trust Linux for doing this. Imagine leaving a windows PC desktop on all the time with remote access open. There have been so many hacks to remote desktop.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @gnilma 13 May 2023

I think you can get more bang for your buck with a desktop PC.

That is what I tell my friends whenever they are trying to decide between a desktop or a laptop. You are paying extra for portability in a laptop at the sacrifice of better hardware specs. If you don’t need the portability or have a workaround for your portability needs, always go for the desktop.

Also, if you know how to build your own desktop, definitely do it; it’s much more customized to your needs and you can choose good parts for your build. All that is needed is your time and work to build the thing, but you get a much better result for the same amount of money. Again, more bang for your buck.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @faithandcredit 13 May 2023

I recently got the Thinkpad P16s its not as high quality as the T series but its still decent. And it has an AMD 6850u which is a beast of a CPU with a beast of a iGPU. I disabled CPU boost to keep it cool and quiet. Very power efficient. Not sure if that helps.