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Ask HN: Buying a cheap laptop without an OS?

9 points by thetabyte ↗ HN
So, I'm a developer looking to purchase a new laptop. The catch is, I'm short on budget--surprise, surprise. I really only need a minimum mobile rig (low end dual core, 2 or 3 GB of RAM, 250GB HD) enough to be more than a netbook and have a 15" screen, and I do not need an OS, I develop on Linux. I see these laptops like this go on sale on newegg for about $350, but I know I'm wasting near $100 dollars of this money on Windows, which I neither want nor need, I'd much rather pay $250 and install Ubuntu myself. The only places I see laptops without an OS are gaming websites, which sell at a minimum of $700 for laptops. Where can I find low end laptops with blank hard drives? I know I could get what I need for about $250 if only someone sold it! Does anyone know a website that sells laptops like this? Or one that supports incredibly vertical customization, down to this price range? Thanks!

P.S. As far as building, I've built three desktops, but never a laptop. If anyone here as experience with that, I'm open to suggestions, but I don't know if it's realistic. All help appreciated, thanks!

14 comments

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ZooteoInc
Definitely interested in the answers you get, however I do not have one to offer myself.
stuff4ben
I doubt the actual price of a Windows license is accounted for in the price of a cheap laptop. Odds are they get it for much less than $100 a license...
wx77
Actually it is likely the distributors make money on Windows with all the crapware and trial software they put on their computers.
moreorless
The cost of the laptop might actually be more expensive if you went without the OS. Sounds crazy doesn't it?

If you're on such a tight budget, deals can be had on http://craigslist.org depending on where you live. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are quite a few such laptops advertised for your price range.

cylinder714
I've just been poring over the Lenovo site, and they sell Thinkpads without an OS: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/thinkpad-laptops-with-dos.shtml but the prices are still rather high. Keep looking, though, as they're constantly running promotions, like free RAM and hard drive upgrades.

They also have an outlet with refurbished and overstock items: http://outlet.lenovo.com/

polyfractal
The refurbs from Lenovo are a steal. Buy one of the T- or X- lines and you'll have a very solid laptop.
davidw
Dell used to do this, but I don't see the option there anymore, which is a pity.
3dFlatLander
Over the years I've bought a few laptops off ebay that have worked out very well. Dual core Dells with two gigs of RAM are in the $300 range. Sometimes the batteries can be iffy, but otherwise they work out great.
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MatthewPhillips
The thing to worry about cheap laptops is that your battery life is going to be non-existent. For me that's a deal-killer after having a couple of laptops with excellent battery life, I never want to go back to the 1.5-2 hour days.