Cheapest Lenovo I can rely on just to back up memory cards while on the road

Seeing as how I need a laptop's USB capabilities and hard drive(s) to backup my memory cards while on working road trips, I've been constantly worrying about my aging T430 and W520. Getting new batteries is $100 right there.

Then I thought, wait, I don't need to replace my two laptops with the same capabilities, all I need is a new el cheapo laptop I can just fire up/hook up my memory card reader/download to the internal hard drive or maybe a USB external hard drive. I don't need a fast cpu, this won't be my work laptop.

So, now I'm looking for something I've never looked for before. Cheap/reliable/new. What does Lenovo have I should look at?

 

But, ya know, I could just buy another T430, refurbished from Best Buy, for $236. A known quantity as I've owned one for two years. Why not, what does a new inexpensive Lenovo bring that would be better deal.

 

Are you primarily worried about the battery in the T430 dying? What country are you in? A T430 battery shouldn't be that pricey.

If the laptop fulfills your needs but the battery is going bad, don't buy a new laptop buy a new battery.

 

Actually, with the T430, the port where the battery cable sticks in when charging stopped working. To use it I have to mount it on a dock and plug in the dock. The laptop works fine except for that. Sure I could have tried to fix that port but I haven't. At this point I'm just wondering what's next. My W520 works fine but the battery lasts about 30 minutes from a full charge so that definitely needs to get replaced.

I figured with a new inexpensive laptop at least I'd be getting a new battery, new components, warranty, reliability (?), peace of mind. But maybe there's something about new inexpensive Lenovos I don't know, like...they're not reliable? Who knows. I've only owned three laptops, all Lenovo: T61, W520 and a T430.

 

Oh my bad. I wasn't trying to push you in the self-repair direction if you wanted a new laptop. But that would be an option in your case.

FWIW I've replaced the DC aka charging jack on a couple of laptops. It's actually not hard to do if the jack is a cable which plugs into the motherboard and isn't soldered. I searched Google and what I found is the T430 has a DC cable that plugs into the motherboard. You could replace it for $9. If you are mechanically inclined at all, I would try that before buying a new laptop. Otherwise lugging around a dock to charge the battery is a PITA.

Here's a link to the part on eBay if you're interested: https://www.ebay.com/p/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T430-Dc-in-Power-Jack-Harness-0B41319-Tested/1604117763

 

I'm pretty mechanical but, other than putting in more RAM and changing out the DVD player to a HD caddy, I've never done the kind of dismantling it would take to even get to that charging jack. Looks scary!

 

There are a ton of great options for you if you're looking for a good deal. You can always check out the Lenovo outlet to see what they have. Also have you looked at the E485? @Kuro Kensei is really happy with the little laptop that could.

 

Definitely check out the E485(14")/E585(15")
Can get one for as little as 500$ with a quad core Ryzen CPU + Vega graphics. Great performance, low temps, solid build quality and tons of upgrade options. Not a rubberized carbon finish (just a good quality plastic) but not a fingerprint magnet either!

 

There's a lot of great Lenovo laptops I can choose from. And I already own two. Decisions decisions...