Beau Davidson wrote:Thinking of looking for a late-model refurb akin to the lenovo in the OP. Price reduction on refurb is nice, but mostly I just love not supporting new manufacturing when possible. Open to suggestions.
I'm a software engineer, and I love refurbished machines. Here are a couple of places to look, filtered to use AMD processors:
Lenova - Most manufacturers have a place on their site where they sell refurbished models: https://www.lenovo.com/us/outletus/en/laptops/?orgRef=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.startpage.com%252F&visibleDatas=766%3ARefurbished%3B696%3AAMD%20Ryzen%E2%84%A2%207%2CAMD%20Ryzen%E2%84%A2%205%20PRO%3B857%3A15%22%20-%2016.9%22%2C17%22%20-%2018.9%22%3B704%3A16%20GBNewegg - Here's a filtered list of higher end refurbished laptops with >16" screens: https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?N=100167732%204016%20601309374%20601286846%20601286864%20600553909%20600553910
Why AMD processors? They are a generation ahead of Intel, and tend to be more reliable. Replacing the OS with Mint or one of the other Linux options is a solid choice. Others have mentioned gaming machines, and they can be a good choice, but it's often harder to find refurbished models.
In terms of longevity, any time you have a fan, you will pull dust into the device, which tends to accumulate inside the case if not cleaned out. I have not tried going down the fanless route for a laptop yet (my PC is fanless, and it's silent and wonderful), but that may be something to consider as well:
https://fanlesslaptop.com/.
Onward!
Josh
