Mastodawn

Thinking of getting a refurbished Dell or Lenovo laptop to run linux on. Mostly to organise and process photos, but also some light CAD. I'll probably look for a laptop with 32gb ram.

The question is how much I should consider processor generation? Should I avoid laptops that are older than 11th gen intel processors?
Gen 9 and 10 are considerably cheaper, but I would like the computer to last a couple of years.

#techsupport #buyingadvice #linuxlaptop #linux #freecad #laptop #askfedi #hardware

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LovesTha🥧Apr 15, 2025

@jorny in 2010 I would have said to avoid a CPU more than 1 generation old. But in this decade 10 year old CPUs are okay. So an 11th gen isn't bad. If you are looking at models without upgradable RAM, get as much as you can afford / think you might use. 32G is a reasonable number. Same applies to storage if that isn't upgradable, but it more often than not is still upgradable.

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jorny Apr 15, 2025

@LovesTha

Good advice, seems like my thinking isn't to far off then. I'll look for a computer with a CPU made after 2020 then. Leaning toward getting a Thinkpad so I can cosplay as someone who knows his way around a computer.

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Paul Southworth Apr 15, 2025

@jorny The bigger change is with 12th gen and later. I wouldn't worry too much about 10th vs 11th if the price is right and it has the performance characteristics you want.