Ask HN: Laptop for learning intermediate modern sysadmin
Cloud services cost a lot, and the worst part is, you don’t even own the machine.
Initially, building a desktop PC appeared to be a cost-effective option. However, after accounting for additional expenses such as a UPS (due to frequent power outages), a monitor, and other peripherals, a laptop proves to be a better value in my situation.
Earlier I had i5 7th generation laptop with 16GB RAM. It would start to cry whenever I put more than three virtual machines. The host OS was windows 10 and guest OS was rocky linux minimal inside Hyper-V/Virtualbox. And I would like to keep it that way.
Thus I will require 32GB RAM.
And a solid processor should be non-negotiable. But I am not sure about which processor would be most value for money? i.e. give me highest ROI for the least amount of leap in budget? Budget is 500 dollars. (Which would amount to twice expensive in Nepal that is why. I mean 500$=70K NPR but when that product comes to Nepal with taxes, it will become more than 100K NPR)
I think a pre-owned Lenovo Thinkpad T14 would work well, especially with an AMD processor. Gen 1, 2, 3, and 4 are all pretty powerful and reasonably priced on the secondhand market and most should offer 32GB if not 64GB options.
Second hand markets in Nepal is tough to decide if they are offering value for money or not.
https://hamrobazaar.com/user/D56454A3-F1F2-4771-BAA1-5E0482B...
I have stumbled upon this seller. However unsure which are of value, and how to even decide? They seem expensive. I would not want to spend half of the price that I would on a new powerful laptop in a second hand device.
T series Thinkpads are excellent.
My old T470P has run 24/7 for 4 years acting as a "server" and running my TV.
Other than blasting the dust out once in a while I've not had to do a thing to it.