Need a new laptop

I recently bought a Lenovo. Never again.

A used T series ThinkPad.

mSATA has been deprecated for m.2. 2.5" drives may be possible in some notebooks, but not in current ultrabooks, which often only have m.2 SSDs.

Never bought from Bauer Systems, but a lot of people here like them:
https://www.bauersystems.com/price-list/
(ThinkPad T460, T470, T480, non-"S" models, still have a 2.5" bay. T4xx = 14", T5xx = 15".)
Note that computers from Bauer usually do not include the OS, but this doesn't sound like it would be an issue for you.

ThinkPad P series is their portable workstation, so maybe something for you. They have some Dells, as well.

rabbit wrote: ↑ A used T series ThinkPad.

mSATA has been deprecated for m.2. 2.5" drives may be possible in some notebooks, but not in current ultrabooks, which often only have m.2 SSDs.

Never bought from Bauer Systems, but a lot of people here like them:
https://www.bauersystems.com/price-list/
(ThinkPad T460, T470, T480, non-"S" models, still have a 2.5" bay. T4xx = 14", T5xx = 15".)
Note that computers from Bauer usually do not include the OS, but this doesn't sound like it would be an issue for you.

ThinkPad P series is their portable workstation, so maybe something for you. They have some Dells, as well.

I wonder if they raised their prices due to covid. Nothing screamed HOT to me.

Unless it's super cheap, I'm thinking of getting 16GB memory.
HP PROBOOK 640 G2 CORE I5/6300U 16GB 500GB for 380$ doesn't seem too bad.

but they have quite a few 640G2 with broken USB ports which is kinda sus

If you're basing ThinkPad prices on specs, then you should look at something else .

Bauer did increase prices early on, but I've found that they're getting closer to their pre-COVID prices the past months.

PerformingAzura wrote: ↑ I wonder if they raised their prices due to covid. Nothing screamed HOT to me.

Unless it's super cheap, I'm thinking of getting 16GB memory.
HP PROBOOK 640 G2 CORE I5/6300U 16GB 500GB for 380$ doesn't seem too bad.

but they have quite a few 640G2 with broken USB ports which is kinda sus

Look for the Dell Latitude 5300 with quad core i5-8265u, 1080p screen, 8GB, 128B SSD -- new open box, 1 year warranty. Business-class laptop, upgradeable RAM and SSD: $625.

birthdaymonkey wrote: ↑ Look for the Dell Latitude 5300 with quad core i5-8265u, 1080p screen, 8GB, 128B SSD -- new open box, 1 year warranty. Business-class laptop, upgradeable RAM and SSD: $625.

dell-new-inspiron-15-laptop-5700u-16gb- ... n-2463430/
Obviously this doesn't consider the build quality differences between a Latitude and an Inspiron, but the 5500U is a 6 core unit with higher base and turbo clocks. Not sure what the real world performance will end up being.

RAM is upgradeable but not sure if it has Sata ports

PerformingAzura wrote: ↑ dell-new-inspiron-15-laptop-5700u-16gb- ... n-2463430/
Obviously this doesn't consider the build quality differences between a Latitude and an Inspiron, but the 5500U is a 6 core unit with higher base and turbo clocks. Not sure what the real world performance will end up being.

RAM is upgradeable but not sure if it has Sata ports

Basically it comes down to size and build quality. I've seen enough poorly built consumer laptops over the years that I just won't buy one. No doubt that Dell Inspiron deal has very good specs for the money -- there's no question that the AMD 5500u is better than i5 8265u, in graphics, IPC, and two extra cores. This is always going to be the case when you're comparing consumer laptops to business-class ones. I was just pointing out what I thought was the one "hot deal" on Bauer's current price list.

As for SATA, it's pretty much dead in thin-and-light laptops. If you need something that will support your old SATA drive, you'd probably have to look at a gaming or workstation model.