t480 or t470
this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2025
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I got myself an old EEE PC for exactly that purpose. (Except, substitute python with lua).
8h battery life, cost me €20 and does what it's supposed to. Just make sure you get one with an Atom N280 or better. The popular N270 is 32bit only, and more and more programs are dropping 32bit support. Some of them you can DIY compile for 32bit, some you really don't want to.
(For example, compiling Node on an Atom N270 takes around 3 days.)
I had one with an N270 first and replaced it with one with an N450 to get 64bit.
Maxed it out with 2GB RAM, a cheapo €10 SSD that maxes out SATA and overclocked it to 2GHz.
It's not fast by any stretch of the imagination, but it's totally ok for editing text files with Kate and compiling with platformio.
A refurbished Thinkpad T480.
Refurbished Thinkpad. The answer is always refurbished Thinkpad.
Yep. I'm using a used ThinkPad X1 Carbon. 8 years old and running Linux like a dream
what are they like for duability - e.g. knocks from being put in and pulled out of a rucksack
Magnesium frame and such. I had an older and heavier one and was always joking it would come handy as a blunt weapon if there was a sudden monster attack. It once fell from my desk to the floor and didn't even had a scratch.
Plus if you are on budget it is really best value for the money.
Check ThinkWiki and Thinkpad wiki sites for details. You do not need high specs to run Linux.
don't know if a refurbished thinkpad is good if you're on a budget, by the time you realise you might have a couple dozen of them on your desk all running linux
You can get ten x130e's for $250 too. Why buy 1 when you can get 10?
Some of the best you can get in terms of durability. You might pay for it a little in weight and thickness though compared to some ultra thin models.
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Instead of just throwing random preferences out there, I'll help clarify the field of comments:
- Thinkpads USED to be a safe choice, but Lenovo has been tainting that model line for a few years. Search and find specific models, and don't just buy because it has the Thinkpad brand.
- Framework is 100% ready to go. They have a Refurb store where everything is cheap, but if you find one cheaper, get it.
- Dell had a ton of Linux ready laptops under the XPS brand not long ago. Search and find out which to make sure, but they shipped with Linux installed.
- I hate to say it, but HP Probooks were solid and shipped with Linux also. Terrible company, but they make decent enterprise products. They'll sell for cheap on eBay.
There are <250USD used frameworks?
No, I don't think I ever seem one for under 700 USD, despite some "news" saying you could find at 500 USD.
Every time people ask for cheap computers, there is always people sharing their preferences without any regard for OP's listed needs.
I have had more problems with two different Frameworks than most Thinkpads. Battery died, boot/power problems on both the 13 and 16, touchpad problem on the 13.
I prefer the concept of the Frameworks but can’t say they have worked better in practice.
Thinkpad T, P, W, & X (Carbon) are generally pretty solid, though T & X probably better fit OP’s preference for portability. The T series is/was also user upgradable (memory and SSD), usually pretty easily. I think some of the carbon models were also upgradable, but can’t remember. Cruicial’s website is very helpful with this. If the laptop has “Idea” or “Yoga” in the name, it’s more than likely trash. There were some “higher end” Yoga models, but AFAIR none were upgradable.
old T (until t440p) you could upgrade the cpu as well, and they are dirt cheap on aliexpress
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People are going to say Thinkpad but I am going to say 2013 to 2017 MacBook Air. Inexpensive. Light. Good looking. A joy to use. Faster than you think. And well supported under Linux (I use EndeavourOS on them myself).
This was my immediate thought. An M1 Mac laptop is still a very useable laptop, and the battery life on them is fantastic.
M1 mac is still problematic with Linux, with only Asahi offering limited support, and you cannot find one at OP's price point.
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A problem with macbooks is that most have soldered ram, and even hard disks, which negates the possibility to upgrade to modern capacities. Many older non apple laptops can be upgraded to a larger SSD and ram, and be given a new lease on life.
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I second this if he can find a 2013~2017 for free/cheaper, I use an old Macbook Air with EndeavourOS mostly for writing, but my use case is not that far from OP's, it also runs some old games.
It is light and portable, and it is just as easy to find a refurbished option as the Thinkpad (at least in NA).
My only problems are with the drivers(the Wi-FI and the FacetimeHD camera) and the charging cable.
I tried a bunch of distros, but only with EndeavourOS I got them to work easily.
That said, if OP prefers better Linux support, and better cost x performance. He will be better suited with a Thinkpad T or X (T480/T490 or X280) refurbished will be in the price range.
X280 is barely above 1Kg, with a smaller screen.
T480 is chunkier, bigger screen and Ethernet port.
Under 140, latitude 5290 (from 2018, 8350u). I bought it ~2y ago. Small, 12 inch, decent keyboard, very upgradable, decent build quality, but the LCD is horrendous. Edit: used, could probably be found under 100€.
A refurb!
Used Thinkpad X or T series
What's the main difference between the two?
X is lighter but have already soldered in RAM. T series are a little bit more bulky but pretty much anything can be customized. Be wary of the t480 and t490 though. Those have some flimsy charging ports that if broken will be impossible to fix.
X series are lighter and smaller than T series, on the other hand they are less upgradable.
Do they sell ASUS in your area? I bought a 2nd hand 14" Vivobook with a Ryzen 5 GPU and it runs Fedora 42 like a champ. First laptop I've ever owned that I don't worry about overheating. It's been my chuck-it-in-a-backpack travel machine for two years with no problems.
Don’t know where you are from, but I got a MacBook Pro 2015 for 150 and it can be forced to the latest macOS or just any distro of your liking. I will say that it can get quite hot and it’s recommended to switch the cooling paste and clean the fan.
For a cheap device it works fine and in this price bracket a better screen is barely possible.
I do have a surface book 2 that I will sell between 150 and 200, but I think Linux support is finicky at best. I ran popos on it, but there are just a bunch of things which would work a lot better on other devices
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intel macbook air works good for me, with debian and xfce
-1 for intel macbooks. Horrible cooling and poor hardware support. Source, I own one.
Horrible cooling is the last couple of years of Intel MacBooks. Nothing to do with Linux.
If you run them with a “balanced profil” in Linux, they run a bit slower but the fan stays quiet. It is probably what macOS does.
Before 2019 or so, they run awesome. I mean, the newer ones are faster so they run great too even in balanced. I guess it depends what you pay for them.
The older ones are crazy cheap these days and, in my view, great value.
Considering your budget of 200 GBP / 250USD, I would recommend laptops meant for school. There are plenty of refurbished laptops out there with a decent battery condition and overall state for sale around €100. Most of these machines aren't more powerful than most entry level Chromebooks and often have a Pentium or Celeron CPU, but that's a tradeoff you'll have to make. Another advantage is that they usually come with a touch screen and decent display, which is nice if you're out and about.
I would recommend laptops meant for school.
This is a funny model number.
I have recently bought 2 dirt cheap thinkpads, one for me and one for the wife.
T490s - i5 intel
T14s - Ryzen 5 AMD
Both are tick all your requirements except for the numbpad, the T14s is definitely worth the extra money, though. It can even handle some medium gaming.
Both have upgradeable nvme ssds. However the ram is soldered on the "s" versions of these laptops so find one with 16gb or more.
A light Chromebook?
loving my recently acquired T480. not the fastest by any means, but solid and great keyboard. plus non-soldered memory allows for upgrades. got mine off craigslist for 120, a steal.
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The generic answer for this is to get a refurbished thinkpad. Pretty much any T-series fit your needs and there's plenty of pre-leased corporate machines around which are refurbished and often have even a some kind of warranty.
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maybe search for system76 too. I found one on my local craigslist.
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