Looking to purchase an older Thinkpad with specific usages in mind

1) What is your budget?

ideally within $600 usd or less, with some flex room

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.

us/online

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

thinkpad preferred
5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?

yes

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

basic web browsing/productivity, minor office suite work, programming, light gaming (minecraft, banished, undertale, xcom are example titles that come to mind), older emulation

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

traveling

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?

light gaming (minecraft, banished, undertale, xcom are example titles that come to mind), older emulation (playstation era and prior)

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

6+, more is ideal

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

online is fine

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (Windows 7 / 8), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

i am familiar with w7 and prior, but intend to install linux this go around

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? Keep in mind screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some
like really small text, while others like their text big and easy to read. (Scroll down to see screen resolution information.)

1600*900 and up

13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen? (Scroll down to see explanations.)

matte would be nice, but not necessary

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

business aesthetic preferred. if my heart was "set" anywhere already, it would be somewhere in the thinkpad line up

15) When are you buying this laptop?

i can wait as late as late december

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?

2 years minimum

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need? Do you want a SSD drive?

240 gb+, ssd is preferred

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD Burner, Blu-ray Reader or Blu-Ray Burner?

not necessary

==========

i need a laptop to last me at least the next 2 years throughout my it degree. i have a desktop, so really i just need the laptop to be serviceable as-is for classwork and light recreation on-the-go. i don't really have a set budget, with the caveat that i don't plan to spend frivolously either for bells and whistles i don't intend to use. i'm comfortable enough with computers that i can do aftermarket upgrades if it means saving a little bit here and there.

having done a little bit of research already, i was looking at the t430s, but the battery life wasn't quite where i wanted it to be. on the other hand, the t430 with a 9-cell seems good, but a bit bulky/weighty, and it seems to start getting cost-prohibitive when you move into the quality-of-life improvements like hd+ screen, upgrading wlan, and switchable graphics, given that the laptops are all a bit dated.

i was also looking at the x230, but i wasn't sure that it would be able to meet my gaming requirements. i'm also a little apprehensive about coding for extended amounts of time on a 12" laptop, because i don't intend to carry a separate keyboard.

any advice or suggestions are welcome, thank you.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Looking to purchase an older Thinkpad with specific usages in mind