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Opinions on refurbed PC’s versus new? Anything I should do or not do?

Looking to get a newer laptop than the old Mac I have, to learn Linux and continue my learning journey of infosec, rudimentary coding and other stuff. Won’t be doing any high end gaming.

I know I’ll need sufficient storage to hold programs + VMs without tapping out too easily, and the power for those to run without heating my house by its fan. Aside from that, my PC knowledge is a bit rough.

I know this is a deeeeep rabbit hole. Not looking to break the bank. Just need a serviceable option to learn on and not get smoked.

#asknostr

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Discussion

Mabardino 🍀 1y ago

buy a used ThinkPad off of eBay and you're golden

Matthieu 1y ago

Oh wow those are way more affordable than I expected. Will check these out more - thank you so much!!

Mabardino 🍀 1y ago

got one for my bro last year and it's great honestly

Dimi 1y ago

Totally fine! I sell some, check the url in my profile. New is overkill by a LOT - think of it this way, bitcoin core even runs on a shitty pi. Everything else is only going to run it better.

Any cpu rocking a 4k+ passmark.com cpu score will perform fine, which is basically everything above the $300 price point since 2015. Use a ssd for data storage, not a hdd, plus nvme if possible for the OS. Bargain hunt on eBay, you’ll find plenty of $50-$150 machines that will last years.

I wouldn’t deploy serious money into self-hosted lightning without more traditional enterprise hw features like ecc, especially with runes deployment looming (fees will skyrocket).

#proxmox hypervisor >>>

Matthieu 1y ago

👀👀👀 super helpful. Thank you!!

Self hosting a node is not something I’m up to yet lol

TAX EVADER 1y ago

Battery cycle count. The lower the better.

CPU. Quad core, or better.

Graphics card. Intel integrated recomended.

Ram. 16, or more.

these days you can get this type of thing for $200 / €200 / 300k sats

Take a look at Lenovo Thinkpad and DELL XPS, because the computer parts that are inside these, work instantly with most Linux.

Matthieu 1y ago

This is super super helpful info, thank you!!

Bard 1y ago

is there enough room on your hardrive to dualboot linux on your old laptop? If not can you make enough room on your hardrive?

if the portability isn't necessary, building your own Desktop is easy and affordable. your use case doesn't seem too demanding so you can build one for pretty cheap. If you go this way, pcpartpicker is the best place to price out parts and check to see if all components are compatible.

Matthieu 1y ago

Nah, it’s pretty rough. It’s time to retire the old thang.

I think I prefer laptops for portability sake. But the site for desktop parts is appreciated 🙏🏽

nobody 1y ago

I was actually amazed when I bought this mini PC and just threw a 2TB in it to replace the 1TB drives ve it shipped with. Now I have Linux on the 1TB if I ever want it and the 2TB that’s in it has my start9 server and BTC/Lightning nodes. And it’s cool because startOS has an app called webtop that is a Linux implementation if you want to open a terminal and learn Linux command line stuff just like if you had a dedicated Linux box. The 2TB replacement drive I just ordered off NewEgg. This computer has an i7 and 32GB Ram and runs everything quick. Very basic on the onboard audio though.

4K Mini PC, Desktop Computer,... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08S2M5BSW?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Matthieu 1y ago

I love this idea. Being able to swap in and out based on usage/job is awesome!