- Oct 5, 2002
- 480
- 14
- 18,785
I am from the US and am looking to get a cheap secondary laptop to dedicate to using for my electronics projects. A lot of the software for some of the hardware like chip programmers I don't fully trust and don't want it on the same computer I would be using any sensitive accounts on, on top of that I want a second laptop dedicated to just keep in the cabinet with all my other electronics /soldering equipment rather than dragging my main one there all the time and mixing all of the diagnostic and electronics software with my games and all sorts of other random programs that have nothing to do with electronics work.
I was thinking about getting a used Lenovo Thinkpad from eBay, something at least 8th gen so I can upgrade it to Windows 11 and it won't become useless after 2025 when Windows 10 hits EoL. I am not going to be gaming on it so GPU is not a concern, and none of the software should really tax the CPU much either (maybe at most digital oscilloscope software that sends a lot of data over the USB port, MAYBE I can use it for my 3D printers too in which case slicing software is a bit CPU heavy). I figured I would go with an enterprise model like a Thinkpad because on top of them usually being cheaper used as they are less desirable than consumer models, it should be easier to upgrade/repair than said consumer laptops and is more likely to have more ports that would be useful for connecting to such equipment.
Many of the listings I saw are around $80-150, some missing RAM or a HDD, which is not an issue for me as I can easily install my own and likely would anyway (though it can be an issue if the HDD caddy is missing). More annoying however is how many are missing the battery and almost ALL of them are missing the AC adapter of all things! (How do people have lots of hundreds of old corporate laptops but no AC adapters for them?). Also a worry is if it's BIOS-locked or has Computrace enabled.
This feels like the lack of an AC adapter and battery instantly drops the laptop into the "useless" category for me, what am I supposed to do if it has no battery and AC adapter (Although the lack of an AC adapter is the one I mostly care about)? Getting a new laptop battery is notoriously not worth it, with official ones being absurdly expensive (if they are still being made/sold) and marketplaces littered with unofficial ones that crap out in six months. I am not expecting a battery to be in good condition for older laptops, but just enough so I can move it around a bit before plugging it back in would be nice. The bigger issue however is lack of AC adapter. Same deal, if you can even find official ones they tend to be expensive, and unofficial ones that can be dodgy are expensive. Just where did all these AC adapters and batteries go if they have all these laptops lying around? Are they intentionally not including them to sell them separately for more money?
However, I did notice one thing that might make it easier on me. I noticed that many of them don't appear to have a dedicated charging/barrel port, but appear to charge by USB-C. Is this a charging standard or are the USB-C charging ports also proprietary? Can I use any USB adapter that provides enough amperage or does it specifically need to be made for the laptop? I know that in the past the barrel-type chargers have had data pins where laptops would reject unofficial ones or refuse to charge the battery/run at full performance or so with 3rd party ones, does the same thing happen with laptops that charge with USB-C? Or can I use any USB-C adapter that provides enough power?
Is this a good idea? Getting a used Thinkpad for this purpose? Or is that a better route I can go? Would eBay be a good place to get something like this in the US or are there better places for it? What do I do about the lack of AC adapters (or possibly even battery) without spending either more than the laptop would cost on an official battery/character or get some random knockoff battery/charger that might be dodgy and die after six months?
I know that $100-150 is VERY low, but I am talking about a used non-gaming laptop with a CPU that's from 2018 that I just need as a secondary system to run electronics/diagnostic software on and lookup guides/schematics.
I was thinking about getting a used Lenovo Thinkpad from eBay, something at least 8th gen so I can upgrade it to Windows 11 and it won't become useless after 2025 when Windows 10 hits EoL. I am not going to be gaming on it so GPU is not a concern, and none of the software should really tax the CPU much either (maybe at most digital oscilloscope software that sends a lot of data over the USB port, MAYBE I can use it for my 3D printers too in which case slicing software is a bit CPU heavy). I figured I would go with an enterprise model like a Thinkpad because on top of them usually being cheaper used as they are less desirable than consumer models, it should be easier to upgrade/repair than said consumer laptops and is more likely to have more ports that would be useful for connecting to such equipment.
Many of the listings I saw are around $80-150, some missing RAM or a HDD, which is not an issue for me as I can easily install my own and likely would anyway (though it can be an issue if the HDD caddy is missing). More annoying however is how many are missing the battery and almost ALL of them are missing the AC adapter of all things! (How do people have lots of hundreds of old corporate laptops but no AC adapters for them?). Also a worry is if it's BIOS-locked or has Computrace enabled.
This feels like the lack of an AC adapter and battery instantly drops the laptop into the "useless" category for me, what am I supposed to do if it has no battery and AC adapter (Although the lack of an AC adapter is the one I mostly care about)? Getting a new laptop battery is notoriously not worth it, with official ones being absurdly expensive (if they are still being made/sold) and marketplaces littered with unofficial ones that crap out in six months. I am not expecting a battery to be in good condition for older laptops, but just enough so I can move it around a bit before plugging it back in would be nice. The bigger issue however is lack of AC adapter. Same deal, if you can even find official ones they tend to be expensive, and unofficial ones that can be dodgy are expensive. Just where did all these AC adapters and batteries go if they have all these laptops lying around? Are they intentionally not including them to sell them separately for more money?
However, I did notice one thing that might make it easier on me. I noticed that many of them don't appear to have a dedicated charging/barrel port, but appear to charge by USB-C. Is this a charging standard or are the USB-C charging ports also proprietary? Can I use any USB adapter that provides enough amperage or does it specifically need to be made for the laptop? I know that in the past the barrel-type chargers have had data pins where laptops would reject unofficial ones or refuse to charge the battery/run at full performance or so with 3rd party ones, does the same thing happen with laptops that charge with USB-C? Or can I use any USB-C adapter that provides enough power?
Is this a good idea? Getting a used Thinkpad for this purpose? Or is that a better route I can go? Would eBay be a good place to get something like this in the US or are there better places for it? What do I do about the lack of AC adapters (or possibly even battery) without spending either more than the laptop would cost on an official battery/character or get some random knockoff battery/charger that might be dodgy and die after six months?
I know that $100-150 is VERY low, but I am talking about a used non-gaming laptop with a CPU that's from 2018 that I just need as a secondary system to run electronics/diagnostic software on and lookup guides/schematics.
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