Extra laptop - keep or sell?

Usually one laptop is enough for me. The only time when I feel 2 are necessary is when my only laptop has problem functioning and either has to be sent for repair or I have to buy a new one. In the meanwhile, I would need to go out to use computers in public libraries, which is very inconvenient due to their opening hours (almost all my computers were ordered using library computers). On the other hand, if I keep two computers, one will almost never be used, and will pass its warranty period and become hard to sell later as new models come out. So I wonder what others do with their extra laptops. Do you keep one as backup or sell it when you can get the best price?

 

I have 3 laptops:

Thinkpad T500 - main use computer, stays put on my desk in my dorm; far more convenient than a desktop when I need to fly home, or need more processing power/more screen real estate

Thinkpad X120e - portable machine, for taking notes in classes, bringing with me every day on campus and to the lab

Averatec 2155-EH1 - downloading/torrenting machine, residing back at home and running Ubuntu

Probably my two biggest lifesaver apps when it comes to using multiple computers are Windows Live Mesh and MouseWithoutBorders. Both make it far easier to productively use two or more computers.

 

I'd just keep a spare non-warrantied one for backup in case the main one fails.

Best to not have any fail in the first place. XD

 

I sort of have two laptops -- the e220s in my sig, and a Sony_Vaio P. I tend to feel a bit uneasy as well when I only have one computer, but I feel it's justified to keep two machines if they serve sufficiently different purposes -- but I can get by on either machine, really. The e220s is decently portable when I need to have the extra power and storage with me, but the P is amazing for quick jaunts somewhere, or for other travels where I would feel uncomfortable taking something "nice".

 

I'm in the same boat. Thankfully it's pretty rare I need a repair. These days if a machine needs a repair I take it to a local warranty provider so the turn around is a couple of hours instead of a few days. That only leaves once a year or two years when I replace the machine. When I need to sell the existing laptop before getting the replacement, I usually get a cheap interim machine. Last time I bought a X61T to use for a couple weeks which I flipped for a $50 profit after the X220 arrived.

The big desktop replacement notebooks almost never make sense imo. My X220 + dock + monitor is a no compromise setup regardless of situation.

Sell the spare laptop. If it fetches a decent amount of $$, no point tying it up in that for very rare use.

 

I have a couple of laptops. But to me having more than one laptops means less down time if they are already more than 1 year old, and you don't have onsite warranty on hand. So it is more of a redundancy thing if you can afford it.

Obviously if you can use publicly available computers and facilities, there is nothing wrong with that either. And probably better for the planet, with less eWaste and Carbon Emission (since the computer in library chews through about the same amount of electricity when it is sitting there idling).

So basically having a spare laptop comes down to time issue, work urgency issue and cost issue. From what you are describing it sounds that you can get away with just one computer.

 

For all intents and purposes, my X220i is my laptop. I keep my R60e around as a back up, it's my Linux box and for nostalgia reasons. It spends most of it's time in the guest room collecting dust, which it's very good at.

 

My 1st Z61t is my work laptop. 2nd one is backup just in case something happens (or I use it for parts).

My D600 is my print server at home for our 1993 LaserJet 4L.

My Vostro 1500 is now my mobile gaming laptop (since I sold my ASUS G71GX)

My T410s is on the go notebook and I'll switch between T410s and my T60.

Edit: I think I am an example of too many notebooks. xD

But you can't ever go wrong with too many laptops, besides hurting your wallet (o_o no wonder I am so poor)

 

I guess it is better if you keep both, since by selling it, you will get a faction of it's value from the seller. If you could sell it at a price where you don't feel like you are getting rip off.

Of course it has to be a lifestyle issue. I don't really like constantly switch between two different, I feel that I spend more time doing house cleaning then actually doing anything useful with the PC. Although if you are using the two laptop each for a specific task, such as torrenting or using it as a server.

 

I had no need for my T2700 Lenovo 3000 N100 anymore, especially after getting my X201i, monitor and dock. So what I did was give it to my brother, after trying to find a good way to get rid of it.

It was a backup up machine, then it became an HTPC for my in-law's grandmother (she likes streaming Thai dramas dubbed in Cambodian on the bigscreen), and now it is a nurse's Word/Excel capable companion. I think donating is always a nice thing, especially to family members that could make good use of it.

 

I'd keep it personally, as a backup just in case.

 

You can keep both as a safeguard should one fail, I use my T61 at times when my T420 seem to act a bit strange (dodgy hinges =__= ). However I do find myself tied to one system usually which makes having multiple computers a bit redundant at times. If you're confident about the reliability of your main system then there isn't any harm making a bit of money on the extra system.

 

As has been outlined in thread 612919-best-ibm-lenovo-thinkpad-2.html#post7936118, i have built a customized T61+, consisting of a T61 Penryn mainboard with T9300 CPU and 8GB RAM within a T60 15" chassis containing a fresh new 4:3 BOE Hydis UXGA Flexview display. As Lenovo never created any Thinkpad which could be truly considered an almost perfect machine, i had to build one according to my own wishes. The resulting machine provides such a wonderful user experience that i decided to build a second spare one, as i will probably never ever be able to get any proper replacement should my main work horse fail. This spare T61+ is now safely stored away for any future use as a replacement or additional machine. It would rather be a waste to sell such a fine customized Thinkpad.

 

I always have at least two fully-functional laptops. One serves as a "warm spare", in case my main one suffers a hardware failure and/or an unfortunate accident.

Since I run Linux, I can just pull the drive from the dead one and put it in the new one, and I'm back up and running. If the drive is destroyed, I can image a spare drive (I keep spares of those two), use duplicity to pull the backups of my most recent data, and I'm back to work.

Then again, I also get on-site priority support and accidental damage protection for my primary laptop, so I guess I do tend to err on the side of caution...