Decent laptops that can be Linux-ified

[Megaton Punch]

After being a loyal Windows customer for 23 years, I've decided that the bloat and spyware isn't worth the convenience any more now that 11 is becoming compulsory. Thing is I use a laptop, and every time I install Linux on a laptop everything breaks and I have to spend 100 hours downloading fragments of esoteric drivers so I can piece them together in an unholy ritual. Then the fucking thing still doesn't work anyway.

I like the look (and price) of Dell laptops these days, but I worry I'd run into the same problem.

All I really need is a pretty good processor - current i5 or better - and 16 gigs of RAM. An SSD with at least 500gb capacity is also a must. I'm not married to Intel chipsets and graphics don't matter as long as it can handle very basic 3d. I do indie game dev so as long as I can debug, I'm good. I don't actually play games on my laptop any more.

I would also like this thing to last as long as possible, so I'm willing to pay more if it's from a brand with a reputation for not breaking in a couple years.

I also have no idea what distro I'd use, but I figure I can worry about that later. Unless it really matters and somehow affects which laptop I can use.

 

[seri0us]

don't a lot of dell laptops have the option of shipping with a linux distro like ubuntu? they should be fine

 

[SIGSEGV]

Buy a refurbished, business grade ThinkPad. Depending on your distro, you may need to use Ethernet during the installation process and for a short time afterwards until you can install the appropriate package for your wireless network card. On Debian, this will probably be firmware-iwlwifi, which is a non-free package, so you'll need to edit your /etc/apt/sources.list to allow non-free packages. Or you could just go with one of the Ubuntu flavors (I'd recommend Kubuntu because KDE is really good) and it might just work out of the box.

 

[Geranium]

don't a lot of dell laptops have the option of shipping with a linux distro like ubuntu? they should be fine

Yeah, I thought the reason people got really into the XPS line a few years ago is because they shipped with Ubuntu? I don't know whether the good reputation of the XPS series still holds true for the current models though, it'd be worth checking recent reviews before diving in.

I would also like this thing to last as long as possible, so I'm willing to pay more if it's from a brand with a reputation for not breaking in a couple years.

The Framework laptops have a good reputation for being user-friendly for hardware repairs and upgrades. (Edit: Also if you don't need the latest-generation CPU, perhaps look at their 12th-generation Chromebooks. They're the same hardware as the normal 12th-generation, which aren't made anymore, but maybe cheaper than the current revs, and it's easy to replace ChromeOS with whatever Linux distro you like.)

 

[Lord Xenu]

I'm going to chock another vote for off-lease business grade laptop. Thinkpad seems to be the way to go (although I dont have one). Ive had pretty good luck with these machines, and in recent years the only hardware I've run into trouble with is the fingerprint scanners. I just dont use it.
Check your prospective model on https://linux-hardware.org/

Thing is I use a laptop, and every time I install Linux on a laptop everything breaks and I have to spend 100 hours downloading fragments of esoteric drivers so I can piece them together in an unholy ritual. Then the fucking thing still doesn't work anyway.

When is the last time you've tried this? Linux hardware support has improved significantly in recent years. Especially for non-cutting edge hardware. Usually everything works, occasionally you may run into trouble with wifi or sometimes things like display brightness, but theres a solution more often than not.

The Framework laptops have a good reputation

Id like to get one of these, but theyre pretty expensive. I heard they have a linux PDA coming out that sounds interesting as well.

 

[reptile baht spaniard rid]

You could do worse than a top of the line used Intel Macbook. They're built well, they're Intel so they don't require the gay to install Linux, and they're cheap as balls because all the macfags have fucked off to the M1.

 

[grump]

I have an old as shit cheap laptop thats nearing of not at or over 10 years old I got for about 100 bucks on Craigslist. I put Linux Mint XCFE or whatever the lightweight version is called and it runs perfectly fine aside from some minor preexisting hardware issues that have nothing to do with Linux or its interaction with the computer.

 

[Megaton Punch]

don't a lot of dell laptops have the option of shipping with a linux distro like ubuntu? they should be fine

All I see is Windows and Chrome OS. I'm not opposed to buying a Windows machine and dual booting into Linux, especially since this would make multiplatform debugging easier anyway, but I don't know if Dell has a reputation for supporting Linux or not.

Buy a refurbished, business grade ThinkPad. Depending on your distro, you may need to use Ethernet during the installation process and for a short time afterwards until you can install the appropriate package for your wireless network card. On Debian, this will probably be firmware-iwlwifi, which is a non-free package, so you'll need to edit your /etc/apt/sources.list to allow non-free packages. Or you could just go with one of the Ubuntu flavors (I'd recommend Kubuntu because KDE is really good) and it might just work out of the box.

For distro, I'm thinking Mint. All I need is the standard Boomer Machine capabilities plus the ability to use Unity. Mint seems like it's retard-proof enough for my purposes.

 

[RACISM]

Buy a refurbished, business grade ThinkPad. Depending on your distro, you may need to use Ethernet during the installation process and for a short time afterwards until you can install the appropriate package for your wireless network card. On Debian, this will probably be firmware-iwlwifi, which is a non-free package, so you'll need to edit your /etc/apt/sources.list to allow non-free packages. Or you could just go with one of the Ubuntu flavors (I'd recommend Kubuntu because KDE is really good) and it might just work out of the box.

Came here to say basically this.

All I see is Windows and Chrome OS. I'm not opposed to buying a Windows machine and dual booting into Linux, especially since this would make multiplatform debugging easier anyway, but I don't know if Dell has a reputation for supporting Linux or not.


For distro, I'm thinking Mint. All I need is the standard Boomer Machine capabilities plus the ability to use Unity. Mint seems like it's retard-proof enough for my purposes.

Mint runs with the minimum of fuckery on my old Thinkpad.

 

[Megaton Punch]

When is the last time you've tried this?

Quite a while ago. Probably close to ten years, and it was Ubuntu. It did not Just Work.

Came here to say basically this.

I'm a bit skeptical of used laptops because you never know how they were treated, nor how long they'll last. I have a three year old Lenovo that's starting to break down. Keys are breaking, the track pad is breaking, and I can't fix any of it without dismantling the entire thing. I hate not being able to repair even simple parts.

The Framework laptops have a good reputation for being user-friendly for hardware repairs and upgrades.

That is one expensive laptop, although I do really like the idea of being able to easily upgrade and repair. Better to spend a lot now and not have to buy an entire new laptop when the components start crapping out, which is the situation I find myself in now. Not a bad idea.

 

[Magicicada_septendecula]

The big-name ones like Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and HP usually have the easiest time taking a Linux distro. Beware of any special extra features though, those will become useless decorations. I had an HP laptop that did great with Linux aside from some hardware multimedia buttons that could never work with Linux. A more boring-looking one with no special hardware buttons should run without any issue.
Depending on what you're planning to do with it, it may be worth it to look at one of those boutique Linux laptop sellers. My daily driver is a Tuxedo Polaris which is now almost 2 years old and runs like new. It shipped with their own custom distro, but I ended up putting Sparky Linux on it. Another I was strongly considering was the System76 Pangolin. There are a few others, but Tuxedo and System76 have the best selection (I'm a bit of an AMD fanboy) and their laptops are easily upgradable.

 

[RACISM]

I'm a bit skeptical of used laptops because you never know how they were treated

Out of all of them, OLD Lenovos are usually the best. They get bought in bulk for business use the most often, so they've usually had a tech keeping them up to snuff. Because businesses frequently upgrade, they're usually pretty cheap second hand. Of all second hand laptops, Thinkpads are the best.

I have a three year old Lenovo that's starting to break down.

The newer Lenovo stuff is shit, they've really fucked the brand. Buy something from minimum 5 years ago and you'll see a much better build quality (and specs not that different. Moore's Law has stalled for quite some time now). Also if something does fuck up, it will be dead easy to get parts. The one thing you're going to have to replace (on any second hand laptop) is the battery, so just order one as soon as you choose the machine.

 

[Lord Xenu]

Depending on what you're planning to do with it, it may be worth it to look at one of those boutique Linux laptop sellers.

I have a lenovo legion that I chose because I strongly suspect that System76 laptops are built by the same OEM. The hardware is nearly identical, even the shell looks like its made from a similar mold design. Almost everything in Pop_OS worked out of the box. The only thing that doesnt work at all is the UEFI firmware upgrade tool (which is to be expected) and I had to use some kernel module or something to change quiet/normal/performance mode through the system tray. Next time I get a new one I think I will pay the premium & get System76 to support them, as I've been pretty happy with Pop, so far.

Probably close to ten years, and it was Ubuntu

I was actually going to specify the last 5-10 years. Its a big difference, I've been using Linux off & on since the late 90's and with the mainstream distros now, most just work. Sometimes you have to do a bit of finessing to get a feature working (like multimedia keys etc), but its not like the 90's where you had to have all the details of your hardware written down before you start installing.
Another piece of hardware that I had trouble with recently was an older LTE modem, I forgot to mention that. So if thats something you specifically need, make sure its one that is well supported.

The newer Lenovo stuff is shit, they've really fucked the brand.

I can not believe how cheap the trackpad feels on this (supposed) high-end machine. Within a week all the matte texture was buffed off. It works fine, it just feels very flimsy and shitty. Its the single worst feature of this laptop.

 

[Pee Cola]

Unless you're one of those faggots that likes a fancy UI or you're editing 4K video, you could probably get away with a 10+ year old business grade laptop with an i5 or better running a lightweight distro with Xfce.

Laptop build quality went to shit in the mid "10s, especially business grade laptops. A current year ThinkPad or Latitude feels like a toy compared to one from 10 years ago.

 

[SNEED.EXE]

99% of new laptops are utter shit in terms of hardware design unless you start looking into obscure niche stuff, you should only buy something newer than 5 years old if high-end performance in a laptop is absolutely necessary.

Also, when you're looking for a Linux distro, avoid anything with the GNOME desktop environment (e.g. Ubuntu) because it has devolved into a bizarre MacOS/Win8 hybrid. Look for something with KDE (Kubuntu) or XFCE (Xubuntu) instead.

 

[Waifu Denier]

Get a T480, it's the last real Lenovo Thinkpad with the traditional qualities, like easy repairability and upgradability to most of the parts, with the benefit of some more modern features such as a 4c/8t cpu, Thunderbolt 3, and a 1080p screen. They can be had for $200 used and work perfectly with linux.

Also, for other laptops, hope your laptop has an Intel wifi card, since they work OOTB given Intel drivers are all baked in while it can be a crapshoot with Realtek.

 

[Magicicada_septendecula]

I have a lenovo legion that I chose because I strongly suspect that System76 laptops are built by the same OEM.

Both sellers I mentioned make use of different OEMs. System76 gets theirs mostly from Taiwan-based Clevo, while Tuxedo gets theirs from Hong Kong based Tongfang. Not aware of any of Lenovo using any of these, but wouldn't be surprised if they made little to nothing on their own.

 

[White Devil]

I use a old Thinkpad, runs Manjaro and Mint perfectly.

Only pain in the ass I've encountered is a bug on Mint that hasn't been fixed in like a decade; after I wake up the computer from sleep, the actual hardware for the trackpad is turned off and I have to root and go into Terminal to manually turn it back on.

 

[Claude Sigma]

Just get a Thinkpad.
The gen you want depends on the specs you need, but the classics like X230, T430, W530 etc are good bets, work perfectly with W10 and can obviously handle Linux even better. You can go up to a T480 for very cheap.
Since it's a favorite for tech people, the drivers are always good, and it they just won't die. I've been waiting for mine to die for years so I can get a new one, but it simply refuses to. Darnit.

 

[Saddam Hussain Obama]

Yeah, I thought the reason people got really into the XPS line a few years ago is because they shipped with Ubuntu? I don't know whether the good reputation of the XPS series still holds true for the current models though, it'd be worth checking recent reviews before diving in.


The Framework laptops have a good reputation for being user-friendly for hardware repairs and upgrades. (Edit: Also if you don't need the latest-generation CPU, perhaps look at their 12th-generation Chromebooks. They're the same hardware as the normal 12th-generation, which aren't made anymore, but maybe cheaper than the current revs, and it's easy to replace ChromeOS with whatever Linux distro you like.)

The framework seems like a good choice, but it's pricey. I believe you can get it shipped with Linux. Though

All I see is Windows and Chrome OS. I'm not opposed to buying a Windows machine and dual booting into Linux, especially since this would make multiplatform debugging easier anyway, but I don't know if Dell has a reputation for supporting Linux or not.


For distro, I'm thinking Mint. All I need is the standard Boomer Machine capabilities plus the ability to use Unity. Mint seems like it's retard-proof enough for my purposes.

The Dell XPS 13 can be shipped with either Ubuntu or Fedora. Its problem Though is that it's not the most sturdy, but it has decent specs and is the only sanely named Dell product. That being said, I've heard it's slow on Windows.