Help with computer build

Greetings!

Hello everyone! This is my very first post here, and couldn't be more cliche. Yes, I need your help to build, or maybe buy, a new computer (the cheapest choice of course).

I work with digital illustrations and some logo designs, and I need a new computer for my job. I not the best when it comes to hardware, so I may have some doubts along the way. Also I'm gonna try to be the more clear possible to help me out.

Here are my requirements, stuff that I really need:
1)
Needs to be a laptop. I travel and move a lot, off course not in this situation... but yeah, it has to be mobile.
2) It should run programs such as: Krita, Inkscape and LibreOffice Suit without that much of trouble. As I said before, I need it to be fast when I'm working with painting documents an logo stuff, I heard RAM memory was a good thing to have. This may actually be the reason of why I'm currently suffering this much, I only got 2 GB.
3) I'm a Linux guy. Doesn't need to be a windows machine, and even if it is, I'll probably put a Debian there, what I'm trying to say is: OS is not an issue.
4) No gaming. I don't need the fastest game computer on the earth, I don't even game. In fact, I don't even know if a video card for me is useful. Sorry for the ignorance.
5) Nice display. I work with colors, so... yeah, a good screen would help.

So, here is what I have:
1)
A brand new SSD;
2) A Hard Disk;
3) Some money and hope to use it wisely.

In resume: need to be fast, have a good screen, and don't be that expensive.

Important considerations:

And for the last considerations, my country economy(Brazil), is completely ***** **, so 1 USD = 5 BRL. Which means that importing stuff from amazon isn't an option, since products that costs 55 USD, for example, here, with the good and old taxes, will cost me +850 BRL, which is like... very expensive. Also I'm in low budget, but I can manage to get some extra money if it is worth to.
So, what do you think? Should I buy one? Which? Should I do one myself? How?

I'm willing to know more options as well, for example: is it worth to ask someone to buy it on the exterior, and them send it to me?

Thanks in advance!
Have a nice day!
 

ssal

Active Member
Building a laptop that can withstand the tortures associated with a mobile device takes years of experience. Even if you can build your own laptop, you probably don't want to do it because your build will definitely not as durable and sturdy like one build by HP, IBM/Lenova or Dell.

2gb is absolutely lacking when it comes to anything to do with graphic. With graphics, a dedicated GPU with a few gb of video ram will definitely help. SATA SSD is good, and nvme SSD is even faster.

You probably will not get a 4K monitor with your budget, but 1920x1080 (FHD) should be good enough. Definitely you want to calibrate your screen with something like a Spyder.

Not familiar with your country. But if budget is a constraint, you should look at the used market locally.
 
Building a laptop that can withstand the tortures associated with a mobile device takes years of experience. Even if you can build your own laptop, you probably don't want to do it because your build will definitely not as durable and sturdy like one build by HP, IBM/Lenova or Dell.

2gb is absolutely lacking when it comes to anything to do with graphic. With graphics, a dedicated GPU with a few gb of video ram will definitely help. SATA SSD is good, and nvme SSD is even faster.

You probably will not get a 4K monitor with your budget, but 1920x1080 (FHD) should be good enough. Definitely you want to calibrate your screen with something like a Spyder.

Not familiar with your country. But if budget is a constraint, you should look at the used market locally.

Yeah, I would definitely rather buy one than do it myself. I like the idea of buying something used that is still in good conditions. I was thinking about get a used mac book, since they seem to be very well build and high quality, and work well through the years. I'm just afraid because the average value of the used ones here are about 60% of the original value, which again, here is not that cheap. In addition, I've never used a mac book or MAC OS before, so I can't really tell if is good or not. Do you have any experience with then? Can you tell if it's worth?

Thanks in advance.
 

ssal

Active Member
Yeah, I would definitely rather buy one than do it myself. I like the idea of buying something used that is still in good conditions. I was thinking about get a used mac book, since they seem to be very well build and high quality, and work well through the years. I'm just afraid because the average value of the used ones here are about 60% of the original value, which again, here is not that cheap. In addition, I've never used a mac book or MAC OS before, so I can't really tell if is good or not. Do you have any experience with then? Can you tell if it's worth?

Thanks in advance.
What make you think building one is going be cheaper than 60% of the new one? There are a lot of choices (in the USA) to build a desktop. I never heard of people trying to build a laptop. So where you get the idea you can build a laptop? Are you talking about buying used parts? I would be concerned with compatibility mix and match different manufacturers' components.

Most of the top brands today are very well built. Apple products generally is more stylish and you'd pay 20%, if not more, for it. Years ago, Apple had an advantage over PC when it came to graphics, but, today, there is no distinct advantage anymore. PC has totally caught up. Think about it. With the sheer number of PC vs Macbook, you think any software developer is going to favor Apple over PC?

I don't know what applications you're using. Switching from PC to Mac may require the acquisition of new software. I can't comment on that because I have been a life long PC user.
 
What make you think building one is going be cheaper than 60% of the new one? There are a lot of choices (in the USA) to build a desktop. I never heard of people trying to build a laptop. So where you get the idea you can build a laptop? Are you talking about buying used parts? I would be concerned with compatibility mix and match different manufacturers' components.

Most of the top brands today are very well built. Apple products generally is more stylish and you'd pay 20%, if not more, for it. Years ago, Apple had an advantage over PC when it came to graphics, but, today, there is no distinct advantage anymore. PC has totally caught up. Think about it. With the sheer number of PC vs Mac book, you think any software developer is going to favor Apple over PC?

I don't know what applications you're using. Switching from PC to Mac may require the acquisition of new software. I can't comment on that because I have been a life long PC user.

I was thinking about building one myself because it sounded like it could be 'cheaper', but I've changed my mind.

About going to Apple, it was something that I considered because I can use the same software that I'm currently working with, in addition to that, while talking to some friends of mine that have a Mac book, but use it to code, they said that Mac is the most reliable one for them, and pretty much a standard when it comes to code. I don't know why is considered that by then, but since they say is that powerful, I thought it would be a good one. I'm also a life long PC user, the deal is that I never bought a laptop for me. Looking over for some products inside the trade marks you quoted, I've seen a lot of options... I was thinking about conserving this SSD that I own, and I know that there's some notebooks, as the one I have now, that are customizable.

Would be there any recommendation between 200 - 400 USD (1000/2000 BRL), considering my requirements, in which I can trade the Hard Disc for my SSD?

Thanks in advance.
 

ssal

Active Member
$200-400 USD is a pretty low budget. In the US, $400 for a used laptop can be reasonable new and powerful. I don't know the market in your country.

BTW, no need to fall in love with you SSD. It is a very cheap commodity this day.

You'll be much better off buying locally because you can easily have any issues resolved with the seller. I know that I will not buy a used computer from outside of the country myself.
 

ssal

Active Member
These are two links to Newegg.com's refurbished laptop in the $400 range.


 
These are two links to Newegg.com's refurbished laptop in the $400 range.



Got it, thanks for the help, closing the topic.
 
These are two links to Newegg.com's refurbished laptop in the $400 range.



By the way, how do I close it?
 
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