Are framework laptops any good?

[Papa]

I quit buying used machines years ago. Far too many times I end up with problems... locked BIOS, non functioning ports, keys floating in decomposing soda or coffee residue - you name it.

3 weeks ago, I was in-the-hunt for a replacement laptop for my solar controller - nothing fancy needed. My goto source is one of my daughters, who works for FreddyMyers. Scanning her inventory of new laptops, she found two that didn't sell, and sitting in the back room collecting dust. These are older, but new machines, still sealed in their original box. I bought an Acer A315, 15.6" AMD with 4gb (up-gradable) DDR4 and SATA III M.2 SSD (also up-gradable). Win11. $142 out-the-door... w/1 year manufactures warranty.

 

[harrisonpatm]

Seems like customer support is lacking?

 

[LewTwo]

BTW just some days ago i was trying to buy Dell laptops locally. I could only find models that had RAM soldered on, and they had inadequate amounts for power users ( 8gb, 16gb ). 32gb models were seen on display but were out of stock everywhere.

We were able to order one direct and get it within 4 days, but it was a pain in the ass to get one overspecced w/ram to counteract the fact that they soldered the mem on.

I got lazy for my last machine and ordered a reconditioned Dell laptop. The thing I hate is that the ON/OFF button is internal. One has to open the computer up in order to turn it on and I always run it closed with external mouse, keyboard and monitors.

 

[Nick Obermire]

The more I learn the more obvious the immensity of my ignorance becomes.

that's me x2

 

[Cowardlyduck]

Hey Nep have you tried looking at gaming laptops?
The ASUS gaming laptop I bought a few years back still let me swap out some decent RAM, and I suspect many other gaming laptops even from more reputable vendors might still offer proper dim slots to appease the gamer crowd.

Also I've been using Kubuntu on a few older PC's for years. Yes it's great and come a long way, but I recently switched to trying Lubuntu to see if it is more stable. I always found that Kubuntu would inevitably corrupt it's repo's and stop patching or allowing app installs. Was a huge PITA to troubleshoot and after several reinstalls/reconfigurations over about 3-4 years I am trying something new. My issues could be Ubuntu related not the flavour, but I've heard similar issues from others specifically around Kubuntu......so see how you go!

Cheers

 

[neptronix]

Seems like customer support is lacking?

Wow, looks like you ruled out that idea, lol.
Needs more refinement and better QC i think, i wouldn't tolerate getting devices that usually had some hardware issues.

Back to dells i guess!