Looking for laptop recommendations
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I've been very pleased with my factory-seconds Framework 13 (11th gen i7, 64 gigs of RAM and 2TB storage acquired through other channels). Linux support has been basically perfect for me, although there were some kinks earlier on. The Framework 16 might work for you if you need something with a discrete GPU.
If you want something more mainstream, ThinkPads are often great for running Linux. Not every model is perfect, so I'd recommend doing some research there. The Arch Linux wiki often has laptop specific web pages that show how well supported the laptop is. For example, here's the page for the Framework 13.
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This doesn't quite answer your question but I really like my Framework 13”. But that is not the kind of device you are looking for.
But I am just throwing out there - there is new products being announced by Framework 2-25 and there is speculation of possibly a yoga type laptop. Maybe it would fit what you are looking for!
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I love my < $100 thinkpads running Linux but being 10yo or so I don't think they're what you're looking for lol
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Framework, but check out the refurbs first. Also, they're announcing the 2nd gen this month, so might want to wait.
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I third this vote. Owner of a Framework 16. Amazing machines.
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I'd suggest you go with companies that offer Linux laptops, e.g. System76, Tuxedo, Framework, and a couple more. Failing that, get a Thinkpad of 1-2 years ago. Failing that, get a DELL from 5 years ago (before the new intel webcams). Just make sure the screen has enough resolution, and you get 16 GB of RAM. Anything else (e.g. cpu, gpu) is enough for Linux to work adequately. Just give it RAM.
I wouldn't suggest you buy a random new laptop, because even if they might "mostly" work, there will be parts that probably don't, e.g. the fan controls, the webcams etc. Linux can't support the latest and greatest, unless the manufacturer made sure of it.
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What about a lenovo yoga? Reportly good with linux.
I just got a T480 thinkpad from craigslist for 120$. Frickin stellar machine for the money. Its not the fastest, but fine for light dev. Or will be once I put 32G of ram in it. With 16 I sometimes experience slowdowns due to swap. Luckily memory isn't soldered in on this model.
No touchscreen though, and I wouldn't get one even if it was available. Paid extra for that in my old precision 5520, and almost never used it. If it doesn't fold completely then its not useful IMO.
Speaking of which, my dell precision 5520 was a good machine, but had chassis problems. Hinge fell apart after screws fell out, and as a result the power connector broke, as did a replacement power connector. Dell battery swelled up making the touchpad unusable, so did a replacement dell battery. No-name lower capacity battery ok. Keyboard wore out and keys cracked, replaced but now becoming unreliable again. Screen and motherboard are still good, but unfortunately its become unusable. Some of these problems are to be expected in a 7 year old heavily used laptop, but I haven't seen this same degree of decay in thinkpads.
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You should be in a good place with a laptop with integrated intel/amd graphics, and an Intel wifi card. Graphics and wifi are the most common pain points when it comes to linux so you can narrow down and research from there. I've had good luck with Dell and Lenovo.
There are some linux friendly OEMs too like framework, tuxedo, and ststem76 that are worth taking a look.
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Framework for sure. Built for Linux and upgradeable.
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Fourth it. Got a framework 13 running fedora and its great.
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Framework was too expensive for me so I went with Minisforum V3
It's a nice bang for the buck and most of the stuff works for me on arch.
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Though if you're good with using Ubuntu then new ThinkPads and Dells and some others generally work well as you get the enablement patches before they've rippled through to the mainline kennel. However you still often have a happier time waiting for others to iron out the kinks, not to mention better hardware prices by getting clear out deals for outgoing generations.
After years of ThinkPads I joined a company that gave me a Dell Inspiron and I am unimpressed in various minor ways. Crap keyboard is the big one.
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I just got a Thinkpad P14s Gen 5 with ryzen 7 8840HS/Radeon 780M, 32GB of ram and 1TB nvme ssd. I haven't even installed the os yet(tried live boot Mint, but I'm going with custom Arch Hyprland setup). I choose it for linux use, because all (enterprise?) Lenovo laptops have linux support, afaik. I was close to going with framework but it's a bit pricy for me personally.
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I got an ASUS Zenbook about a year ago for about $1,500: model UX3404VC-BB99T. But it looks like it's no longer available:
It has pretty decent specs. Intel gen 13 Core i9, nice looking touchscreen, 32GB of RAM, etc., and it all works out of the box with Ubuntu and now Fedora. It did have some issues with plain Debian, but that's fairly common with Debian and newer hardware.
Although that particular laptop is not around anymore, there might be some other Zenbooks as I have found they tend to be Linux-friendly in general. And ASUS gets a lot of hate for whatever reason, but I've always found them to be good for the price.
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Seconding this, build quality is meh but my experience with Inspirons is that they’re pretty repairable and work very well out of the box with touchscreens, fingerprint sensors, and accelerometers.
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Wow. Just looked it up.. What an nice machine!
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As much as I hate 'the other site', I recommend checking out /r/laptopdeals daily until you see something that fits your needs and budget.
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I second this.
