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Ask HN: Buying a cheap laptop without an OS?

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!

9 points thetabyte 15 years ago 13 comments

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