this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2024
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Hello. I have never used Linux before in my life, but this post isn't really about the software. I know there are many guides and threads out there explaining how to set up Linux for beginners.

My question is more about what computers you guys suggest for Linux. I don't have any old computers lying around at home, I only have a computer assigned by my school that I'll turn in next year. To my understanding, Linux should be able to work on almost all computers, so I haven't thought about a specific brand.

My top priorities are (in order):

  • good/great battery life
  • quiet
  • compact and lightweight

Preferably a 13" or 15" screen, though I prefer the former. Just a small machine with a great battery life that also doesn't make much noise when several apps are open at once. I have looked at Asus before, but I'm not sure what the general consensus is of this brand, so I was hoping to get some suggestions. I've also looked at Framework computers, but honestly it's a bit expensive for me. My budget is ~1000$ (10 000 SEK).

Might be unnecessary information, but: I will be using this computer mainly to write documents, make the occasional presentations, browse the web, and watch videos and movies. So no photo- or video editing nor gaming at all. Like everybody, I hope to buy a computer that will last many years and survive many student theses. Cheers and thanks!

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[–] Strit@lemmy.linuxuserspace.show 52 points 1 month ago (6 children)

I will say that a second-hand ThinkPad is a great option. They can be real cheap, but you can also get a pretty decent new one for your budget.

You can likely find great T480-T495 that fits your needs really well.

[–] boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net 12 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I HIGHLY recommend against the T495. That thing has a great keyboard, fingerprint sensor, okay camera and mics, okay ports. But it is underpowered af, and Thinkpads always have the Thinkpad price.

It has a great chassis, but my coreboot Clevo NV41 has double the performance and kinda same battery life.

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[–] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 5 points 1 month ago

I'm farting around on a T480 for school and light retro gaming. Works great! Super easy to upgrade too

[–] JackiesFridge@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Another vote for the T480. I have a T480s running Mint and it's been lovely. No driver issues and for office/light media creation/consumption it seems to work without a hitch.

[–] mortalic@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Agreed, I love mine.

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[–] CMDR_Horn@lemmy.world 36 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Look at frame.work they have good documentation about various Linux distros on their machines

[–] clark@midwest.social 15 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I have, unfortunately they're too expensive for me.

[–] nichtburningturtle 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)
[–] helenslunch@feddit.nl 3 points 1 month ago

They're within the $1k spec you mentioned? Not to mention future cost savings in repairability and upgradability.

[–] boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Their firmware updates are pretty late and they ditched coreboot.

But I guess the hardware is awesome. Keep in mind that these thunderbolt adapters suck quite some battery, so having a laptop simply with the ports you need uses up less battery. Also, the modularity may not be needed and causes it to be less stiff.

[–] Chef6652@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

They gave some coreboot devs laptops but didnt invest anything apart from that, afaik. The result was not working well enough, so they use insyde (which has pretty cool features but also past security vulnerabilities and it is backdoored by Intel & the NSA)

Like, UEFI being backdoored by the NSA is not a conspiracy. "Persistence" in "end user device data retrieval" was one big goal. Persistence means than an OS reinstall, Secureboot, boot integrity, QubesOS disposable Cubes etc. will all not protect you, as that shit is in the firmware!

No security or privacy without coreboot. Google knows that and has all their servers on coreboot and also all Chromebooks. Android is ARM so that is different but also WORLDS more secure than any secureboot garbage.

[–] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It looks like work is still being done on Coreboot for the Framework. They got it running on the AMD version. It's not ready for use yet, but at least there is some progress.

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[–] HEXN3T@lemmy.blahaj.zone 29 points 1 month ago

Used ThinkPad or Framework laptop should be a copypasta at this point.

[–] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 22 points 1 month ago (1 children)

If it were me, I'd first be looking at used Thinkpads (with the caveat to make sure the specific Thinkpad has hardware which is generally supported). I'd also look into Linux-friendly manufacturers, like frame.work or System76.

[–] Omega_Jimes@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago

Ive had great success with their all amd systems, and older machines go on sale often, so you can score a Ryzan 6850 w/ 16GB of RAM for 700-800CAD if little else matters.

[–] electricprism@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 month ago

System76 or Framework

[–] asap@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

https://www.asus.com/us/laptops/for-home/zenbook/zenbook-14-oled-um3402/

22 hours battery life.

AMD.

Slim, gorgeous. Runs Linux like a champ.

I have bought only Asus for my last 4 laptops (previously I was Thinkpad), and I have never regretted any of them. Since switching from Windows to Linux earlier this year (Aurora-DX) I have had no issues.

If you want to go even smaller and lighter, this one is awesome but is Intel and doesn't have as long battery life.

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Unrelated question: I like Bazzite, but I would really like to also have the Dev tooling of Aurora DX. Does Aurora use the same fsync kernel as Bazzite? Have/do you do any gaming on Aurora? If so, how has it been?

[–] asap@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I believe you can run one of the ujust scripts to add all the same dev tooling to Bazzite.

I have a Steam Deck for my gaming, which is funnily enough the thing that got me into Linux in the first place.

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[–] boredsquirrel@slrpnk.net 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That depends on where you live.

In europe I recommend Novacustom or 3mdeb if you want coreboot, Starlabs too.

In the US System76.

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

My mantra with Linux hardware is "as normal as possible."

[–] mactan@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 month ago

I make sure it doesn't have certain brands of Wi-Fi card in them :/ miserable times with broadcom leave me wary

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 11 points 1 month ago

Tldr Amd & amd

[–] delirious_owl@discuss.online 10 points 1 month ago

Buy a laptop from a vendor that preinatalls Linux. Not because you need them to do that for you, but because it means its more likely to work on Linux without issues.

I run Qubes, but I think this is a great list of Qubes-certified hardware

https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/certified-hardware/#qubes-certified-computers

[–] Revan343@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Refurbished ThinkPad. The answer is always a refurbished ThinkPad

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[–] BingBong@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

To have one ready out of the box with linux maybe look at the System76 offerings? https://system76.com/

Edit: just got a chance to check and they are slightly above your $1000 criteria. So maybe on his recommendation.

[–] haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com 7 points 1 month ago

Depending on your budget, I would suggest tuxedo‘s aura 15 gen 3. starts at around 800 bucks and is linux first and made in germany.

If you have a lower budget I would go used as someone suggested since a new laptop is nice but unnecessary if you have budget constraints.

Wish you tons of fun.

[–] velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 month ago

If you can afford to pour in a little bit more money, get a Thinkpad T14 Gen 5/T16 Gen 3 AMD variant. You can also get the T14 Gen 4/T16 Gen 2 AMD variant, but the RAM will be soldered. The X13 laptop is probably what you're looking for, if screen is a big deal for you, but they have soldered chipsets, and the only thing modular is the NVME storage. Then there's the HP Elitebook 835, 845 and the 855, and also the Acer TravelMate (I don't remember the exact model). By the way, Framework is also available in Sweden, so you may also look into that.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago

Used/off-lease ThinkPad T-series.

[–] CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 month ago

If money wasn't an object I think I'd get a Framework but I've always had a good experience with Lenovo for a more budget-friendly option. My last two laptops have been Lenovos and have both worked super well with Linux.

[–] cRazi_man@lemm.ee 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I've just been through the process you've described and bought a laptop. Your budget is way overkill for your use (documents, browsing, video watching).

I recently bought myself a "like new" second hand Dell Latitude (5300, I think), 8th gen i7, 16GB Ram for £150 and it is amazing with OpenSUSE.

I got my wife a new HP Aero 13 (Ryzen) a couple of years ago and even that was £580 brand new and has been great.

Consider the secondhand market. A lot of laptops will meet your criteria.

[–] clark@midwest.social 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

You're right. I actually bought my current Pixel phone secondhand, so I'll check out the market for computers. Do you know of any red flags to watch out for in secondhand computer ads?

[–] cRazi_man@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I used eBay so I could get a refund if the laptop wasn't as advertised. I spent weeks looking at new listings looking for a good deal. I eventually found an amazing deal from a hospice that was selling excess stock. I've worked in a hospice before and know this would have only ever been used sparingly in an office and be very well looked after.

On eBay I would avoid anyone who hasn't written out a complete description and detailed pictures of condition and specifics. Like the other comment says, the BIOS being unlocked is very important. Read descriptions carefully. People fall victim to buying expensive things that can't be returned because it was mentioned in the listing (e.g. buying a box only for a very expensive price). For any laptop I find, I search for forum posts from other users about how that model works with Linux and videos for a teardown to make sure that RAM, WiFi module, etc can be upgraded. Make sure the charger is included.

Search eBay for "8th Gen 13 inch 16GB", then sort by lowest price for buy-it-now. That's what I did for a number of weeks. Got one for myself and a great one for my dad as well. Good experience both times.

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[–] tla@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago
[–] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 4 points 1 month ago

If there's a decent (even online) used market where you live buying a refurbished computer that's just a few years old can be amazing bang for your buck. 9th-11th gen Intel or Ryzen 2-4th gen. Any of the more business focused lines tend to be fairly well-built and are designed to be relatively long lasting while being relatively well-maintained during their service life. HP Elitebooks, Dell Latitudes, Lenovo Thinkpads, etc.

[–] LiamMayfair@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

If I had to replace my Linux laptop right now, I'd probably go for a ThinkPad T14 AMD. They also sell them with Snapdragon ARM chips now, which is a very interesting option, though I'm not sure how viable as a daily driver.

You could run Linux on it with no issue ofc, but I wonder how good the support for ARM arch from common Linux software is nowadays...

[–] Jayb151@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I love my dell 5300 latitude with fedora. Touchscreen, 13 inches, super compact. And a dime a dozen as you can find used enterprise laptops on eBay/Facebook market.

Slap a large nvme in there and you're good to go for like, under 300. With the leftover cash, you can even get a docking station and monitor if you wanted a dank setup at home.

[–] jpablo68@infosec.pub 2 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I'm a thinkpad guy but how are these dells for everyday use with Linux?

[–] jollyrogue@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 month ago

Dell Latitudes and Precisions support Linux pretty well.

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[–] InternetUser2012@lemmy.today 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Go team red would be my advice.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 month ago

Old Intel systems are solid as well. Something 2022 or older

[–] HotsauceHurricane@lemmy.one 2 points 1 month ago

Sounds like you need a higher end chromebook. I used Mr. Chromebox to load linux onto my Lenovo.

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