Recommendation on prebuilt laptop for Kali pentesting?

ITSec14

I'm looking to do some lab exercises to build my pentesting skills in a virtual Kali environment and want to pick your brains on what kind of prebuilt laptop would be suitable for this? I've been researching like crazy and can't seem to find consistency on the web so thought I would pick some brains on TE.

-Not planning to do a lot of password cracking. Some just for fun. Not sure what kind of CPU/GPU I would need
-Plan to use 2-3 additional VM's with a Windows OS's
-Max budget is between $1250-$1500
-Don't need anything with features like touch screen, 2-in-1, etc.
-Not a gamer
-Prefer a 15'' screen size

Ideally, this will be used to help me with eJPT and more advanced pentesting certs later on. Just want to get a solid foundation first so I'm not starting from scratch when the time comes.

Let me know if I need to clarify anything.

Thanks!

yoba222

For plan A install Kali on whatever you already have--desktop or laptop, in a VirtualBox VM. Cost: $0.00

For plan B, get an 8GB or 16GB USB stick and install Kali on that. Cost: $8.00

For plan C, buy an inexpensive 32GB or 64GB SSD off the Internet that fits into whatever laptop you happen to have lying around. Cost: $25.00

stryder144

If you are going to get a laptop, I would suggest buying a used business laptop like a Lenovo Thinkpad or a Dell Latitude (I own one of each). They have docking stations and usually have optical disk drives that are modular in design. As such, I have a replacement caddy that houses a 2.5" HDD. I bumped both laptops up to their CPU's memory limit (Intel Core i5 processors that have builtin memory controllers. Each supports 16 GB of RAM). I placed a 2.5" SSD in the main hard drive bay and a 2 TB 2.5" HDD in the modular caddy. Both are 15" models, though one has a standard 720 resolution and the other has a bit better resolution. The laptops cost approximately $125 each, RAM was probably $100, the caddy was about $30, the docking stations were about $50 each, and the HDDs probably set me back $200 total. So, about $710 for both. The Intel processors have builtin virtualization extensions, so I can run just about any Windows compatible type II hypervisor I want (Hyper-V, VMware Workstation Pro, and VirtualBox have been installed).

JoJoCal19

One recommendation is to STAY AWAY from laptops with HiDPI screens. Basically anything above 1080p sucks for Linux. I bought a SP4 to also use for this purpose and the way Windows handles scaling is awful compared to OSX. I forget the technical terms but in OSX when you increase resolution (like the rMBP vs MBP) everything stays the same size and just becomes sharper. With Windows, everything becomes smaller. So I haven't been able to get VMware Workstation to run Linux without running into scaling issues. It's rather a PITA. Linux HiDPI support just isn't great. IMO 1080p is perfect. I myself am going to probably pick up a refurb rMBP from Apple for this purpose.

Danielm7

yoba222 wrote: »

For plan A install Kali on whatever you already have--desktop or laptop, in a VirtualBox VM. Cost: $0.00

For plan B, get an 8GB or 16GB USB stick and install Kali on that. Cost: $8.00

For plan C, buy an inexpensive 32GB or 64GB SSD off the Internet that fits into whatever laptop you happen to have lying around. Cost: $25.00

I think you should start here, you're overthinking the system requirements for kali if you're just trying to learn it and do basic stuff. You could put it on a Pi and still probably do everything you need to. A VM setup is great for it though, run snapshots, roll back as needed instead of having to rebuild more often. In the end it's just a linux distro with tools preinstalled.

ITSec14

yoba222 wrote: »

For plan A install Kali on whatever you already have--desktop or laptop, in a VirtualBox VM. Cost: $0.00

For plan B, get an 8GB or 16GB USB stick and install Kali on that. Cost: $8.00

For plan C, buy an inexpensive 32GB or 64GB SSD off the Internet that fits into whatever laptop you happen to have lying around. Cost: $25.00

Thats the thing...I don't have a personal laptop anymore. My old one died and it just wasn't cutting it anymore either way. I'll also be using a new laptop for personal use too, not just for pentesting practice.

ITSec14

Danielm7 wrote: »

I think you should start here, you're overthinking the system requirements for kali if you're just trying to learn it and do basic stuff. You could put it on a Pi and still probably do everything you need to. A VM setup is great for it though, run snapshots, roll back as needed instead of having to rebuild more often. In the end it's just a linux distro with tools preinstalled.

Like I just told yoba, I need a new laptop anyway for personal use. My old one died so it's not really an option. I know Kali itself doesn't require much, but should my skills grow quickly, I'd rather not have to keep investing in upgrades to get what I need.

ITSec14

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

One recommendation is to STAY AWAY from laptops with HiDPI screens. Basically anything above 1080p sucks for Linux. I bought a SP4 to also use for this purpose and the way Windows handles scaling is awful compared to OSX. I forget the technical terms but in OSX when you increase resolution (like the rMBP vs MBP) everything stays the same size and just becomes sharper. With Windows, everything becomes smaller. So I haven't been able to get VMware Workstation to run Linux without running into scaling issues. It's rather a PITA. Linux HiDPI support just isn't great. IMO 1080p is perfect. I myself am going to probably pick up a refurb rMBP from Apple for this purpose.

I've heard the Macbook Air is a good option too, but I'm sure others would probably debate that.

Danielm7

ITSec14 wrote: »

I've heard the Macbook Air is a good option too, but I'm sure others would probably debate that.

I'd debate that. You're not going to be running kali as your daily driver OS, you'll be using OSX and VMs. From what I'm reading you can't put more than 8 gigs of memory, lots of them are at 4. You want more memory to run multiple VMs to practice stuff. I'm not even anti-apple, I like the airs, but I don't think it's a great VM host for setting up a bunch of systems.

ITSec14

Danielm7 wrote: »

I'd debate that. You're not going to be running kali as your daily driver OS, you'll be using OSX and VMs. From what I'm reading you can't put more than 8 gigs of memory, lots of them are at 4. You want more memory to run multiple VMs to practice stuff. I'm not even anti-apple, I like the airs, but I don't think it's a great VM host for setting up a bunch of systems.

Yeah that was my concern too. That's Apple for you though. Someone I know recommended a gaming laptop, but I think that's overkill both on the specs and the price.

JoJoCal19

ITSec14 wrote: »

I've heard the Macbook Air is a good option too, but I'm sure others would probably debate that.

The Air will be OK, but not great. I'd recommend at least the 13" MBP non touchbar version. Can get it with 16GB of RAM and has a more powerful proc than the Air.

Remedymp

I have an Elitebook Revolve 810 and it works great.

heartgold

I love my MBP 16GB RAM and VMware! Best setup for me!