Buying a laptop computer in June 2019

Performance over aesthetics, get the best bang for your buck and don’t look back

Replacing the MacBook Pro with Touchbar

I recently delved deep into finding my new laptop. After a few purchases and returns, I was able to narrow down what was most important to me in a laptop. First laptop screens are small, so it is nice to have a monitor with a resolution greater than 1080×1920. Second, I don’t ever want to feel like I am waiting for my machine to process while I am working in Adobe suite, Blender, or any other performance hogging applications. Last I wanted something with durability after watching my previous MacBook pro degraded in less than two years. I ended up purchasing the MacBook Pro for about $2400 on eBay and I sold it for $1500 about 3 years later. The MacBook had a missing key as the keyboard was horrible, yet somehow it sold for a high price.

The Choice: A Lenovo W540 ThinkPad used laptop off eBay

Try this eBay search and see all the performance you get on the dollar. I have been a computer enthusiast for quite some time now. I didn’t used to mind spending top dollar for the latest and greatest, but the difference now is we are on the path to saving and investing. My current employer is quite large and they cycle through laptops all of the time. In fact many other companies and schools do the same. That is why there is an abundance high performing laptops on the cheap.

The Lenovo W540 ThinkPad is a bit of a thick and heavy and packed with features. I received one with the stats below for a final price of $355.

15.5″ 3K (2880×1620)
Nvidia Quadro K2100M and Intel HD Graphics 4600
Core i7-4900MQ 2.8 GHz
32GB Ram
256GB SSD
Windows 10 Pro
32 GB DDR3L RAM 1600 MHz
256 GB SSD
Graphics Processor: Nvidia Quadro K2100M 2GB and Intel HD Graphics 4600

Ports: 2 x USB-3¦ 2 x USB-2 ¦ VGA ¦ Mini Displayport ¦ 4-in-1 reader (MMC, SD, SDHC, SDXC)
Audio: Headphone/microphone combo jack
Ethernet (RJ-45)
Integrated webcam

The Core i7-4900MQ 2.8 GHz is better than most laptop CPUs on the market today

Check out UserBenchmark’s comparison of the Core i7-4900MQ to the Core i7-8550U, which can be found in many new laptops available today in the price range of $500 to $1,500. The i7-4900MQ is almost 4 years older but it still outperforms.