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votes
Looking for a laptop to take on a Latin America trip - what advice do you have for finding cheap and sturdy
Basically the title. I need a machine that isn't fragile, doesn't invite theft and can be replaced or repaired if needed
Get a used ThinkPad on eBay. Something smaller, so it's easier to travel with, like an X280. You should be able to find lightly used corporate turn-in models for around $200 or so. It'll come with a Windows license, or you can install Linux on it. If it's stolen or broken, you're not out much. Just encrypt your data!
Here's one that looks pretty good. 16GB of RAM, FHD screen. Doesn't come with AC adapter or OS preinstalled, though. As I said, however, these have a Windows license hardcoded in the BIOS, so it'll be easy to get Windows (or Linux) up and running.
Here's another option, a ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen7. Similar specs as the X280, but slimmer with a slightly larger screen. Also doesn't come with an AC adapter, and it's a little more money. But either of these would be nice for a travel machine that you don't care too much about.
Thank you!
Depends on your needs, but I’d say something that looks old and/or cheap, which rules out a lot of thinner ultraportables (for example an early 2010s Macbook Air still looks modernish). Maybe even something that was stickerbombed and shows a decade’s worth of wear on it to give it a ragged look. Thinkpads as suggested by others probably aren’t a bad idea, and the larger space of boxy business laptops is worth looking at.
If you have a little technical know-how and are comfortable cracking laptops open to give them a cleaning and re-paste, that’ll help. A lot of old laptops have paste that’s turned to dust and is barely effective, so a clean+repaste and replacement of their HDD with a cheap SATA SSD will give them a new loan on life.
Thank you!
I wanted something similar and I was looking at ThinkPads from the 8th gen era on eBay but I eventually went with a Dell Latitude 7300. i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD and FHD screen all for £150 (X380s averaged around £200)
Of course YMMV depending on the used market where you are but the 7300 has been solid for me since I got it.
If the 'sturdy' is a hard requirement, you'd be hard pressed to find something better than a used Panasonic Toughbook.
It's heavy, but there's few better options if durability is paramount.
Thank you.