this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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I'm actually looking into buying a new laptop and seriously considering choosing some Linux distro as my new OS (I've always used Windows before, and Mac once for work)
How do y'all recommend which laptop I should choose?
Whatever you do, pick one that ships with Linux or is at least explicitly marked as compatible.
You do not want the headache of having a laptop with this one component that genuinely doesn't work properly. Most will work, but for example fingerprint scanners are a very touchy subject. My freakin battery is not properly recognized by anything that isn't Windows. It's stupid, some just don't care about existing, well defined, open standards.
Personally I'd go with a Framework laptop. Otherwise Tuxedo or System76 might have something you like.
Tuxedo is great. Beautiful devices. I've been asked about this ramdomly 2-3 times by people along the lines of "wow, that's a nice laptop, where did you get that?". Component upgrades also at decent prices.
Linux compatibility though... Good, if you use one of their preinstalled/supported options, but can be a pain otherwise. I installed debian and still haven't figured out all problems with sleep/hibernation mode. The tool they offer is some bloaty node js crap that doesn't work well.
Other than that, I think if you buy any laptop that is maybe 2 years old you should be good. Best way to check is maybe to Google the model + Linux and see how others experienced it.
I just preordered a Framework 16 inch because their concept is amazing and early reviews are pretty good. It's a laptop where every part is replaceable and upgradable. You can replace/upgrade the motherboard/CPU, RAM, NVMe storage, keyboard, display, etc. all yourself, and they sell the parts separately. Even the ports on the sides are swappable - you can choose to make them all USB-C ports, or make any of them USB-A, 3.5mm audio, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, DisplayPort, HDMI, MicroSD reader, etc.
They have a 13 inch version that's already shipping today... The 16 inch is a preorder to ship Q2 2024. Their newer ones use an AMD CPU and AMD graphics which should work better on Linux than Nvidia graphics.
More expensive than a regular laptop company though... They don't have the scale that Dell, Lenovo, etc have so parts are more expensive for them (plus large R&D costs).
I've been happy with every thinkpad I've put Mint on.
Look at the refurbished ones on ebay
Get a Slimbook. They're good laptops, and they let you choose which Linux distro is installed out the box.
There's even a KDE version if their Plasma desktop environment is your cup of tea.
Or get the kde version and install another kde distribution, just to show them.
I've been using MainGear laptops for about 15 years now. It'll come with Windows and I've either dual booted or just wiped it to install Linux everytime. Great prices for what you get hardware wise. My first laptop I bought from them is still running and in use. Never had an issue with Linux running the hardware. But prior to them almost every laptop I had I had issues all from the bigger makers.