Advice for a Linux Laptop in 2025
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Try Framework.
You'll get a laptop sized to your budget and you'll be able to grow with it, upgrade any part your budget will allow in the future.
Their linux support is excellent.
Yes, Framework!
It's great and you support something (principals, ways) worth supporting!
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Open source hardware
I unfortunately had disabling experiences with the System76 Pangolin (12). Since then I would absolutely not recommend System76.
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Try Framework.
You'll get a laptop sized to your budget and you'll be able to grow with it, upgrade any part your budget will allow in the future.
Their linux support is excellent.
Framework laptops are not great actually. They basically are offloading their qa/qc onto customers. They routinely ship defective units new out of the box and try to kake you do all their engineering work for them.
The quality of the components is meh at best. If I were doing it again, I would go the ThinkPad route.
Framework is a bunch of VC funded shills who see the right to repair movement as a resource they can exploit.
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I don’t want to denigrate people that it works for, because I know the people that love them love them.
Has the battery life (more specifically drain while in suspend) gotten better? I’ve heard horror stories on that, port availability (pretty limited ports because each port attachment takes up so much space) and some complaints about build quality and durability.
Just converted their Chromebook over to an AMD system running Fedora. Battery life is what you make it. If you run the processor on performance with the screen brightness high, yeah, it can go quickly. But I can also get a full work day out of it no problem, you just have to keep things in perspective. Plus, you can literally swap to a bigger battery. What other laptop can do that?
Build quality is the same as any other Linux laptop; that is to say, it doesn't use the fanciest metals; the aluminum is cheap, but so is System76's metal, which is what it is when you're keeping costs down for customized laptops. Don't drop your laptop; you'll be fine.
Ports are a little limited, but nothing out of the norm for smaller laptops either. You do have the option to swap ports at any time, so there is plenty of versatility you can literally carry with you. Hell, don't MacBooks only have two ports? Things could be much worse.
The truth is, there is no perfect Linux laptop. Either the Framework appeals, or it doesn't. Trust that the same way you're nitpicking Framework could be done to any brand. Find the one you like, and go with it. For some of us, that's Framework, as it gets closer to our ideal than any other, which is kinda what using Linux is all about: fulfilling our personal ideals.
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I've been eyeing the slimbook lineup as of late. I am just waiting for someone to drop a review of the slimbook creative.
That logo on the bezzel, though
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Hi everyone, I use Linux on all my machines since a decade. Unfortunately my laptops are getting older and I will probably have to change them soon. Which Laptops would you recommend me to buy in 2025 a part Librem?
I don't have a high budget but I'm still looking for something relatively recent. I looked on H-node but it seems that there are not a lot of recent things.
I personally buy refurbished. Lately I got a Lenovo X280 thinkpad, for $160 with 8 GB of RAM, 1080p screen. Worked fine, Linux flies on it.
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Yeah but new ThinkPads comes with soldered RAMs. Even mostly all brands do the same. I think framework don't do it
Framework hasn't done that yet. They have an event in 3 days and a lot of people seem to be thirsting for a Strix Halo main board, though.
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I unfortunately had disabling experiences with the System76 Pangolin (12). Since then I would absolutely not recommend System76.
I had a galago pro and it was not well built. It fell apart faster than any other laptop I've used.
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Hi everyone, I use Linux on all my machines since a decade. Unfortunately my laptops are getting older and I will probably have to change them soon. Which Laptops would you recommend me to buy in 2025 a part Librem?
I don't have a high budget but I'm still looking for something relatively recent. I looked on H-node but it seems that there are not a lot of recent things.
If you have budget, Thinkpads can't go wrong. You can also find refurbished.
Tuxedo and Framework are also excellent choices.
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Hi everyone, I use Linux on all my machines since a decade. Unfortunately my laptops are getting older and I will probably have to change them soon. Which Laptops would you recommend me to buy in 2025 a part Librem?
I don't have a high budget but I'm still looking for something relatively recent. I looked on H-node but it seems that there are not a lot of recent things.
I have had a Tuxedo InfinityBook 14 Gen7, and I've been happy with it. They focus on hardware that has a good compatibility with Linux, so it works well out of the box without any tinkering. You say you don't have a high budget though, so these might be too expensive (I believe you can get similar specs at a lower price), but I've also been very satisfied with the after sales service they have provided - I've had some issues with it since I got it, but if it was Tuxedo specific (or appeared to me to be Tuxedo specific), and thus not easy to find general troubleshooting help online, I contacted them and I was helped out promptly, both via e-mail and the phone.
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Hi everyone, I use Linux on all my machines since a decade. Unfortunately my laptops are getting older and I will probably have to change them soon. Which Laptops would you recommend me to buy in 2025 a part Librem?
I don't have a high budget but I'm still looking for something relatively recent. I looked on H-node but it seems that there are not a lot of recent things.
I bought the Asus Tuf A16 AMD Advantage laptop. I installed Arch on it and it's been great. Got it for $600 on eBay. Put 32gb of RAM in it and a 2tb nvme drive into the second slot. Left the 512gb drive it came with.
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Hi everyone, I use Linux on all my machines since a decade. Unfortunately my laptops are getting older and I will probably have to change them soon. Which Laptops would you recommend me to buy in 2025 a part Librem?
I don't have a high budget but I'm still looking for something relatively recent. I looked on H-node but it seems that there are not a lot of recent things.
Maybe not what you're looking for, but I use Asahi Linux on an old M1 MacBook Air and it's quite nice. I bought it used for $480 last year.
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Maybe not what you're looking for, but I use Asahi Linux on an old M1 MacBook Air and it's quite nice. I bought it used for $480 last year.
Does everything work on it? Sleep/hibernate too?
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Does everything work on it? Sleep/hibernate too?
I think hibernate is a missing function - I've never tried it though. Here's a good write-up on the pros/cons and potential issue depending on your use case :
https://www.anuragrao.site/blog/05-asahi-linux -
so all the normal stuff that's normally upgradable
That's just the thing, though. Soldered RAM and even drives is becoming more and more common these days, especially in the Apple space. But, the main thing here is user replaceable. I don't know when you last swapped the RAM on a laptop, but on most consumer laptops these days it is a nightmare. With Framework, it's 5 screws (the driver for which is included in the box, but also just standard torx) and you're in, and they have a QR code to a guide on how to do the replacement for first timers. I know it can be hard to take if you're used to pulling apart computers for fun, I come from there too, but the easy user upgradeability is seriously, literally, actually a great selling point on the Framework.
Also, the case, screen, trackpad, etc that get all the wear and tear are just as easily replaced if that's your hang up.
especially in the Apple space
Offtopic, we are discussing linux laptops.
With Framework its 5 screws
Aw gee, then Framework wins! With Focus IR16 its nine phillips screws...
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Yeah but new ThinkPads comes with soldered RAMs. Even mostly all brands do the same. I think framework don't do it
Whether a Thinkpad has soldered RAM or not is model-by-model thing. When I was laptop shopping I tried to stick to the only non-soldered ones, but they are definitely more expensive, as they are the higher-end models. I absolutely cannot wait for CAMM to, if it ever does, become a normal thing for RAM modules.
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Does everything work on it? Sleep/hibernate too?
Pretty sure the mic does not work if you need to have video meetings.
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Hi everyone, I use Linux on all my machines since a decade. Unfortunately my laptops are getting older and I will probably have to change them soon. Which Laptops would you recommend me to buy in 2025 a part Librem?
I don't have a high budget but I'm still looking for something relatively recent. I looked on H-node but it seems that there are not a lot of recent things.
Do you want mainstream brands that work well with Linux? Lenovo or Dell
Do you want smaller brands that are specialised and support Linux? Tuxedo, System76, Slimbook, Purism...
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Do you want mainstream brands that work well with Linux? Lenovo or Dell
Do you want smaller brands that are specialised and support Linux? Tuxedo, System76, Slimbook, Purism...
Tuxedo is a bit hit or miss. Used one for 2 years and wasn't happy with the case quality. The plastic basically broke at some edges and screw holes
The hardware also wasn't as Linux compatible as they claim. 5Ghz wifi just didn't work reliably. With their support page saying the fix is to disable 5Ghz
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Hi everyone, I use Linux on all my machines since a decade. Unfortunately my laptops are getting older and I will probably have to change them soon. Which Laptops would you recommend me to buy in 2025 a part Librem?
I don't have a high budget but I'm still looking for something relatively recent. I looked on H-node but it seems that there are not a lot of recent things.
Been happy with my Purism Librem 14, and soon they'll have a 16". I think today, I'd probably buy their 11" tablet. Perfect travel size and you don't need to put it away during takeoff and landing of flights.
