I'm back on the hunt for a "new" second hand laptop. Here's a brain dump. I'd appreciate comments. :-)
Basically, I love my Sony Vaio Pro 13. it's a bit flimsy, but it does pretty much everything I need from a laptop, except for running multiple VMs at once. However, it is definitely dying - it has power issues.
After the failure that was the #ThinkPad T480, I've upped my budget. Plus, my criteria has changed.
- Not too much tinkering. Getting the T480 as a project was a bad idea, at least for me. I don't mind a small upgrade, but really I just want something that works. I've got other projects.
- 1080p or 1200p with 100% sRGB and 16.7M colours. 400 nits. I don't need 4K.
- At least 16GB RAM. If soldered-on, I'd probably need to go with 32GB for future proofing, but TBH I'm not sure what to do here.
- Good battery life.
- Reasonable CPU, but doesn't need a lot. TBH I'm mostly doing OK with my 2C4T Haswell in my current 13" Vaio.
- Acceptable GPU. Something that will play 1080p60 and be able to model small boards in KiCad.
- Ultrabook size or close. 14" is as big as I want to go, and it should be relatively lightweight.
- Reasonable (for a laptop) speakers would be nice. At least, not as awful as the T480.
I'm currently looking around at ThinkPads again. It's been difficult to find X1 Carbon Gen 9 and Gen 10 with 32GB RAM. But X1 Yoga Gen 6 and Gen 7 (the equivalents in the X1Y range) are more available and it seems a lot cheaper. I don't know if that's just because they're less desirable. I've seen that the X1C10/X1Y7 run pretty hot, but there are things that can be done to deal with that. But the X1C9/X1Y6 are still very good laptops, almost comparable in performance, but are much more frugal with power and therefore last longer and don't get as warm. The convertible style of the X1Y range is interesting, but I don't need it.
I'm tempted to get an X1Y6 and spend the money I'd save on a new Lenovo battery.
A T14s might be a good option, but it seem hard to find good specimens with enough soldered RAM.
Otherwise there's the Framework 13 - then I could get something with less RAM for now and upgrade later. But even at second-hand costs, I'm getting close to the point where I could just buy a brand new laptop - something I'm trying to avoid.
Honestly, I think an X1C6 would probably do the job for me if I could get one in good condition and know I could get a good battery for it. The 16GB RAM might be restrictive for multiple VMs.
EDIT: In case no one had guessed, it'll be running Arch.
For now it works pretty well on my 
know where to find these gems? Let's make it happen! 
