On Wednesday, 12 August 2026 20:10:26 AEST Jason J.G. White via luv-main wrote:
A side question: at some point I'll need a successor to my current ThinkPad P51 machine (it's the version with the Intel Xeon E3-1505M v6 processor, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, ECC memory modules, 2017-era technology).
If you are determined to have ECC RAM then your options will be very limited. I like ECC but have given up on the idea of having laptops with it. I just ssh somewhere else to do compiles etc.
It's still running well, but it's probably one of the earliest models with USB-C, and the USB-C port has compatibility issues with a specialized braille device that I've tried to connect, producing low-level errors enumerating device descriptors in the kernel logs. I've been told that some older USB-C ports don't meet the power requirements to connect to this device (internally, it's essentially an Android
If you are using it at a desk you could use a USB-C dock which costs about $15 on AliExpress and takes a USB-C power supply. That should supply enough power to every device you connect.
tablet). Also, this ThinkPad isn't very portable, and I'm sure there are more portable options now that would exceed its performance, e.g., when compiling packages from source.
The X1 Carbon series is great for portability but ECC is not an option. Probably all laptops with ECC will be bulky ones. Would a phone form factor be a better option for you?
I'm also considering whether buying a new machine and using it for 8-10 years would be the best over-all option, or whether the secondary market (e.g., reputable refurbished hardware suppliers) with more frequent upgrades would offer a better strategy. The purpose is to minimize total cost of ownership over time, rather than to optimize for up-front purchase price. I'm sure there are reputable analyses applicable to my situation.
That's what I do. Instead of buying a $2000+ new system I buy a second hand system for around $300. The second hand systems usually last a few years and I get on average better hardware than buying a $2000+ system every 14 to 20 years which would give the same overall cost. Also if I break one I'll be much less unhappy than if I broke a $2000 system.
To be clear, I'm not in a hurry for this upgrade, but I'm also aware that I'll need it, whether due to hardware failure or for other practical reasons such as those I've outlined. The current machine runs Arch Linux (with a secondary Microsoft Windows 11 partition due to unfortunate software compatibility needs that I'll avoid elaborating here and which I hope will be eliminated at some point). I'm not necessarily committed to Arch on the next machine, and I've had experience across distributions.
Windows 10/11 work well under KVM. 32G of RAM is enough to have a small Windows VM running in the background without slowing things down. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/