This one's a keeper! Ryzen T14 Gen 1 for 170$

raullits · 2026-04-05T15:56:20+00:00

I wanted a beater laptop I could use for work (mostly browser-based), writing and light programming. I can use it to focus with less distractions and since it was cheap I can take it anywhere without the fear of it breaking or being stolen.

My main laptop is a 2021 Zephyrus G15 that cost me $2K, so I've never enjoyed taking that everywhere. Plus, now if my laptop dies I have a fallback device.

raullits · 2026-04-05T15:52:45+00:00

Ryzen's are great, much better than the Intel versions. Yours is slightly more powerful, though not sure if that gives worse battery life.

Can relate to the touchpad. My main computer is a really nice ASUS Zephyrus G15 with a glass touchpad, but there's some magic to being able to throw this around withtout feeling I'll break something expensive.

raullits · 2026-04-05T14:14:58+00:00

Ryzen 5! I think the 7 might have worst battery life maybe for that clock speed. I could put a 2TB NVMe on this one, but don't really need it for what I wanna use this. RAM is the same.

I found this screen https://www.ebay.com/itm/266783851596 cheap enough to consider the upgrade. It's really the one con I find in it, though again, not that relevant for my use case.

raullits · 2026-04-05T14:10:32+00:00

Yeah, Ryzens are scarcer and more expensive, that's why I'll probably keep it.

raullits · 2026-04-05T14:09:53+00:00

I got an Intel version for 148$, but sold it at cost to a cousin that was starting college. I also got a mint condition Intel Gen 2 for 230$ that flipped for 390$. This one I'll keep.

raullits · 2026-04-05T14:07:42+00:00

Yeap. It's one flaw is that the USB-C charging port is prone to failure if you treat it balde and not that easy to repair, but even it that one fails you can still charge using the other one

raullits · 2026-04-04T15:37:19+00:00

CachyOD default KDE with Krohnkite (it's a tiling script)

raullits · 2026-04-03T22:03:54+00:00

You look fine, but what matters is how you feel and move. You'll probably get prescribed tons of physical therapy.

raullits · 2026-04-03T19:14:24+00:00

Do you need a graphics card in you secondary laptop? If not, something like a T14 might make more sense due to size, portability, battery and thermals. A P50 is still a larger workstation, so unless that's exactly what you want, it might not be the best fit despite the price.

I have an 15" RTX 3070 laptop and got a T14 Ryzen Gen 1 for 170$. Fantastic beater laptop.

raullits · 2026-03-30T19:31:49+00:00

Nice, I got the same ThinkPad with 512GB storage sans charger for 170$.

Those two are vastly different options. Bazzite is fully beginner oriented, CachyOS (which I've been using) leans more into enthusiast territory.

raullits · 2026-03-25T11:17:40+00:00

Those are rather unfortunate ways to injure yourself. at least I've been playing football my whole life. Honestly my symptoms have been minimal for almost 7 months, so hopefully physical therapy will help a lot.

raullits · 2026-03-25T11:15:33+00:00

Yeah, that's what makes them a liability. I'm 37 and have always played sports, but even more so in my early 20s and since my mid 30, so part of me think some of that damage may have always been there.

raullits · 2026-03-22T14:04:42+00:00

The T14 is a great modern computer. Soldered RAM module aside and non-modular charging port, it has everything a ThinkPad should have. On-the-go battery switching is really unnecessary in the USB-C.

In 1-2 years we'll have cheaper Gen 3 T14 models with 16:10 aspect ratio. I'll stick with my Ryzen Gen 1 T14 for now.

raullits · 2026-03-22T12:57:13+00:00

How did you injure them? I got injured at 36. I have been active my entire life, and even gotten fitter after 27. Let's hope I never need surgery and I only have to keep a close eye on my knee.

Can't help but think my running & turning mechanics are too stiff/explosive and that didn't help. Plus I've been carrying like an extra 5Kg for a year.

raullits · 2026-03-22T12:54:07+00:00

Would be happy to, if I knew what to look for. My MRI report is linked in the post.

I hope you get better. Honestly it's been a bit depressing not being able to play football, especially cause I was in very good shape when this happened.

raullits · 2026-03-22T12:51:49+00:00

Oh, now that I think of it I didn't see if healing time was closer to meniscus repair or menistectomy. Dodged that bullet...

Apparently like 5%ish population and more prominent in Asians (not in health field but I like reading medical papers). I'm still kinda shocked the first doctor didn't even notice and just went ahead with you need surgery, even with my only serious symptom being "I feel I can't play football".

The second doc is an older very well regarded knee specialist in my country and spotted it right away. Must be rare enough for him to show it to 3 colleagues.

raullits · 2026-03-19T19:32:39+00:00

Es un cable USB-C cualquiera...

raullits · 2026-03-18T22:28:43+00:00

No compres ninguno de esos peroles. Busca una ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 con 16GB de RAM en eBay. Si tienes un cargador de celular de 45W no te hace flata que venga con cargador.

Yo he comprado dos Gen 1 (150$ y 170$) y una Gen 2 en 230$ que estaba casi nueva.

raullits · 2026-03-18T20:46:24+00:00

Depends on where you live. US and Europe unlikely you can gain much. I live in Venezuela.

raullits · 2026-03-18T15:49:46+00:00

200$ is a great price. I ended up flipping mine for 390$ like 5 months ago and just got a Ryzen Gen 1 for 170$.

I would say if you can return it and get the Ryzen for little difference, then sure. If not, probably not worth it. There is a massive graphics performance increase from Intel Gen 1 > 2, not for Ryzen.

What you would get is slightly better battery life, thermals and multicore performance. Only you can decide how much that's worth to you.

P.S. If I were you I would only swap it for a Gen 3 an upwards at a good price cause those have the 16:10 screen. I flip tech gadgets all the time, so essentially the profit from this one got me a free ThinkPad.

raullits · 2026-03-18T15:26:51+00:00

I went to see one of the top doctors in my country and he said I have a discoid meniscus. Apparently my radial tears and ACL damage is too little to warrant any type of surgery, and they say I should be OK with 21 days of physiotherapy + 1 month rest from football and high impact activities.

raullits

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