Cheap laptop to power 2 screens
Cheap laptop to power 2 screens
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klan8456

Original Poster:

963 posts

105 months

Monday 9th November 2020
quotequote all
Hi, I need to buy the cheapest laptop possible that will power 2 external monitors and run a remote workstation Citrix session. It needs to do nothing else.

Recommendations appreciated!

xeny

5,517 posts

108 months

Monday 9th November 2020
quotequote all
Refurbished thinkpad?

Does it have to be a laptop? The first post in https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... is someone using a Raspberry Pi 4 for pretty much that exact application, and that would be ~£100 or so.

klan8456

Original Poster:

963 posts

105 months

Monday 9th November 2020
quotequote all
Oh and it needs to be available for next day delivery, I.e. tomorrow!

klan8456

Original Poster:

963 posts

105 months

Monday 9th November 2020
quotequote all
xeny said:
Refurbished thinkpad?

Does it have to be a laptop? The first post in https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... is someone using a Raspberry Pi 4 for pretty much that exact application, and that would be ~£100 or so.
Yes has to be a laptop, work will reimburse the expense (price limit £380), an when all this is over the kit will be donated to a charity.

dundarach

6,227 posts

258 months

Monday 9th November 2020
quotequote all
Dell tower on amazon, next day less than £200?

Do monitors have display ports?

If not buy cheapo card.

Remember cabling!

Mr Pointy

13,417 posts

189 months

Monday 9th November 2020
quotequote all
How about this:
https://www.ebuyer.com/1128768-exdisplay-lenovo-th...

Core i5 - 8GB - 256GB SSD - 13.3" - Win10 Pro Laptop. It seems to have Displayport & HDMI ouputs so should drive two monitors - don't forget the cables. You might need an a adaptor cable if you want to use wired Ethernet.

It's ex display/refurb but it's £450 off the list price - this is the full price description:

https://www.ebuyer.com/914249-lenovo-thinkpad-l13-...

There's this one as well but I can't find the full spec to see how many monitor outputs it has:
https://www.ebuyer.com/1128784-exdisplay-lenovo-th...

klan8456

Original Poster:

963 posts

105 months

Monday 9th November 2020
quotequote all
Thank you for the tips!

The person who suggested a Dell tower - do you mean just a desktop?

Mr Pointy

13,417 posts

189 months

Monday 9th November 2020
quotequote all
klan8456 said:
The person who suggested a Dell tower - do you mean just a desktop?
Yes; like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-Optiplex-7010-i5-3...

There are loads of these on ebay - search for Optiplex 7010 or 9020. Not much warranty of course but I've used one for the last three years.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_oaa=1&_dcat...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fsrp=1&RAM%...

Mr E

23,087 posts

289 months

Monday 9th November 2020
quotequote all
Raspberry Pi4 has a pair of mini HDMI connectors and can drive a pair of screens.

Might require a bit more hobbyist fiddling than ideal, but almost certainly the cheapest option.