Can anyone recommend cheap laptops that have good build quality and see lightweight?

I aim to use it for programming, but I connect to my desktop for most hefty work so it doesn’t need to have solid performance. 8 GB RAM, 256 GB storage are enough for me. a lower grade CPU would still be good; a i3 that’s 6 cores is enough.

What’s really important to me is build quality, especially the keyboard. I also don’t want it to be big. 13" would be enough, but not too picky here.

Any recommendations? And are there any communities that are better to ask this in?

Budget: I am hoping to pay $400 or less, but willing to pay $1000 or even more if it’s justified or the value is worthwhile

OS: Linux. I can install it myself.

  • @9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world
    19•4 months ago

    Honestly, you might look into the new arm-based apple silicon macbook air laptops. Those processors will actually get faster over time as more developers optimize their apps to take advantage of the efficiency.

    Super thin, 18+ hour battery life, aluminum casing, amazing retina screen, and works nicely with iPhones if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem.

    [Edit] If you dont want to use macOS, you can throw Asahi Linux on it. Its optimized for the Apple silicon hardware.

    • CyclohexaneOP
      14•4 months ago

      I’m not a fan of the keyboards on MacBooks :/

      • @makingStuffForFun
        9•4 months ago

        Agree. Little to no key travel is a solid no for me. They feel cheap.

        • @9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world
          5•4 months ago

          Theyre not nearly as bad as the butterfly keyboards they used in previous models. They went with a scissor switch style with a ~1.0-1.1mm key travel here.

          Ive owned a few mechy keyboards and older thinkpads, but even so, ive never thought that the m1 macbook air keyboard is terrible.

          I can understand if its a deal breaker for some though.

  • /home/pineapplelover
    17•4 months ago

    ThinkPads!

    We got x1 carbons, t480, t470, t495, t14, t14s. Lots to choose from. All have big linux communities and supported

    • @const_void
      2•4 months ago

      All have big linux communities

      Got a link?

      • /home/pineapplelover
        1•4 months ago

        I mean we’ve got !thinkpad@lemmy.ml and the last time I was on r/thinkpads there were lots of users as well. Also, lots of people who are on Linux just use ThinkPads, it’s just the way things are. Chances are if you ask for ThinkPad help in a linux community, they can probably help you. I’ve recently joined irc and even found some channels dedicated to ThinkPads

  • @weeeeum@lemmy.worldEnglish
    16•4 months ago

    Buy used refurbished laptops (Thinkpads are best here), they are mindbogglingly dirt cheap. For like 250$ you can get 32gb of ram and 512gb SSD, ironically 4 times more storage and ram for the quarter the price of a MacBook.

    I specifically like PC server and parts store, they have very good customer service and free 90 warranty

  • NaibofTabrEnglish
    14•4 months ago

    Consider Framework, which is modular and designed to be user repairable and upgradeable, with the intent that the full unit never needs to be replaced.

    It’s not as cheap/lightweight as you had in mind, but I think the cost calculation changes if you can plan to get more than three functional years out of it.

    • @ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      6•4 months ago

      Preordered mine recently, can’t wait!

      To add to this, OP can get one that would be above his specs from the framework outlet for much cheaper than preordering a new one.

  • @macattack@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5•4 months ago

    256 might be harder to track down than finding a 128GB w/ 8GB RAM and upgrading storage manually, but a mid-tier chromebook-turned-chrultrabook could suit your needs. From my experience, since the CPUs are a lower-priority, Chromebook’s mid-tier build quality exceeds similarly priced Windows laptops. Sleeker designs et al.

    I’m obviously biased. I wiped ChromeOS & I’m running Debian on an HP x360 14c. Forum here: https://forum.chrultrabook.com/ and there’s a more active Discord link floating around.

  • Extras
    4•4 months ago

    Budget? Also do you care about win11 support or…

    Edit: Assuming yes I usually suggest the t480 but that’s like a solid 250-300$ on eBay and its only going to go up once win10 drops support

    Edit 2: Based on your new criteria the t480 is still a solid choice for less than 400$ if you want something a bit newer but closer to the 1000$ mark look at the ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 hell I think even the dell xps 13 is 600$ right now too

    • CyclohexaneOP
      3•4 months ago

      Updated the post! Win11 is not necessary

  • @Yerbouti
    3•4 months ago

    If you can find a cheap Intel based Macbook , they are pretty solid with Linux.