So, buy a Ubuntu Certified Lenovo ThinkPad E325 for £290.00 & run Xubuntu on it seems to have gone well, very well indeed.
Few minor bugs all ironed out as configuration issues, with mostly everything working out the box. Only one tiny bug remains; rarely, UltraNav & left/right mouse buttons will not work upon booting. The fact touch pad still works, & as I recently discovered, two finger tap equals right click makes this less consequential. As I say, it is rare & overall I am very pleased.
Kicked 7 to the kerb (ran like a dog), can always be reimaged/restored by recovery disks (in event of sale.) Fit a slimline SSD, upgrade RAM (Lenovo charge a premium), mount temp directory in RAM, use discard option to turn on TRIM, and lastly switch swappiness to zero. Voilà! Plus Excellent!!!
The ThinkPad branding may be watered down, no ThinkLight or lid latches. Speakers not especially loud and toneless, lots of screen flex, no roll cage, but I would not, & didn’t pay full price, & as such it suits my needs just fine.
So, there we go yo.
