@keyboardpipette oh price differential is for used machines already kitted out with amount of ram you're looking for. If you're buying ddr4 sticks directly there won't be too much difference.

@keyboardpipette my lab runs on cheap used small machines. I second the recommendation for small format models from workstation manufacturers, like lenovo m75q or p3. They usually have tons of aftermarket replacement parts, manuals and some are designed for long, sustained workloads.

Cheap used workstation/desktop replacement laptops could be a good fit too. DDR4/DDR3 ram models can support upto 128gb and are VERY cheap computes (relatively speaking).