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What are some good Linux friendly laptops?

36 points by dontbenebby ↗ HN
I've been a macOS user for a longtime, but my most recent machine has left a bad taste in my mouth. Seriously considering going full linux on my next laptop. (Already I often just work in a Linux VM rather than fight with the weird errors that come from trying to install everything via brew into macOS directly)

Anyone have suggestions? I remember hearing when Lenovo took over Thinkpad quality went down, is that still the case?

I work in VMs a lot, so it needs to be powerful. I'd also like a removable battery, both so I can pack a second battery when traveling + one less point of failure so I can keep using the laptop longer.

(I tend to try to buy a fairly modern machine and drive it into the ground ala a Honda Civic you hold onto for 7+ years...)

44 comments

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smt88
Dell's XPS 13 (or XPS 15) is arguably the best laptop in general, but you can also get it pre-loaded with Linux. It's very Linux-friendly. I've also replaced macOS with Linux in the past with decent results.

I suggest going through Dell's official certified refurbished program, which can save you $1k+ and still get you a 12+ month warranty from Dell.

I did that 5 years ago, and I still use the same XPS 13 laptop today. It's not noticeably slow and is competitively light, with a 4k screen. I have the money to replace it, but just can't justify it when the laptop still works this well.

I strongly recommend a 4k screen, though.

dontbenebby
Cool. One question: How is service handled?

I like that if my MBP has a warranty issue I can take it to the Apple Store. Are they good about sending shipping labels/shipping boxes?

randomchars
Dell provides onsite service for many of its products. It's exactly as it sounds, a technician comes to your house/office, and fixes your laptop. I've even seen them switch out the logic board in one of them in under 15 minutes.
dontbenebby
Oh cool. Thanks, I was not aware of that.
ziddoap
If you care for privacy, I advise against Lenovo, as a personal opinion. Sorry I don't have much more to add to the conversation, other than trying to steer you clear of a company which has _repeatedly_ been caught with their hand in your data-cookie jar

[0]https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2427650/lenovo-get...

[1]https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/leno...

[2]https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/security-failings-demonstrate-...

[3]https://malwaretips.com/threads/lenovo-caught-pre-installing...

_Schizotypy
none of those things have anything to do with Linux. If you're installing Linux, you probably aren't using the included Windows installation which is where all that crapware was installed
paulrpotts
No, but they _do_ have to do with giving money to Lenovo, a company which has shown they don't deserve your money.
ziddoap
Thank you, this was my point but apparently I didn't make it clear.
dontbenebby
My concern was more about general build quality, but I also think it's valid to not reward companies with my business if they do egregiously bad things.
hourislate
Personally I think ThinkPads are still one of the best choices for Linux. Dell has some decent machines also. Here is some info from the ThinkPad thread on /g/ .

Don't buy anything OTHER THAN IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad T, X, and W/P Series if you want the Real Business Experience™! >Other business laptops are welcome in /tpg/ (Dell Latitude/Precision, HP EliteBook/ZBook).

Libreboot-compatible models:

>T60 (check lcd), X60(s/t.), X200(s/t. -s requires soldering), T400(s), T500, W500.

Modern models: >X220/X230 - 12", 768p, cheap and light

>T420/T430 - 14", 900p, socketed CPU, quadcore-compatible

>T520/T530, W520/W530 - 15", 1080p, desktop replacement

>T440s/T450s - best price/performance ultraportable

>T440p, T540p, W540/1 - last models with socketed processors

Upgraded models: >X210 - X200/X201, i7 8550U quadcore

>X62 - X61, i5 5250U

>T70 - T60, i7 7700HQ High-res IPS displays, USB 3.0, M.2 x4, mini-DP

https://forum.51nb.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=117 you can directly email the creator regarding purchases hope@ibmnb.com

Why ThinkPad? >Used machines are plentiful and cheap >Excellent keyboards - tactile feel and quiet >Great durability: magnesium rollcage for structural integrity, high quality plastic body panels >Utilitarian design: indicator LEDs, 7 row keyboard layout on older models >Docking stations that easily turns your laptop into a desktop >Easy to repair (most models), upgrade & maintain thanks to readily available service manuals for every model, spare parts easy & cheap to obtain >The TrackPoint™, great for those who type a lot or hate people swiping their fingers all over a touchpad >Excellent GNU/Linux & *BSD support

Helpful links: >Buyers guide: https://dankpads.com/tpg/

>thinkpad-tech-tree.txt - a plaintext map of ThinkPad history: https://github.com/Monkeyfume/thinkpad-tech-tree/blob/master...

>ThinkWiki - info on ThinkPads & running GNU/Linux on them: https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki

>Coreboot compatibility list: https://coreboot.org/status/board-status.html

>BIOS logo booru: https://biosimage.booru.org

shoo
i bought a second hand thinkpad T410 about 5 years ago for $280 . it is a fine development machine and i have not had any issues with linux compatibility.
ramgorur
Why do all those thinkpad bios logos feature anime girls? Also I am seeing one with that "Hitler and gas" meme. LMAO.
geophile
I was in exactly your situation -- longtime macOS user who wanted to migrate because of the decline in hardware quality. (And software quality, too.)

I looked around a lot and bought a System76 Darter running PopOS. The specs blow MBPs out of the water, and for much lower cost. After a couple of months, I'm very happy with it. The case and screen aren't quite as nice as a Mac, but they keyboard is fantastic, a little better than the best MBPs. The touchpad is pretty good, if too sensitive while I'm typing. PopOS is by far the best-looking Linux I've ever seen, and customization using Gnome extensions is very easy.

A friend got a Thinkpad for Linux, and while it looks very nice, I have no experience using it.

stuntkite
I got a System76 Serval for work, which could barely be called a laptop it’s so huge but it is the only Linux laptop with dual GPUs and I needed that. It’s pretty great.

A coworker got the Oryx though. I am pretty jealous. The construction is beautiful. Amazing keyboard, appropriate weight, normal charge adapter, and they offer an RTX GPU.

Overall, I’d say once S76 gets a trackpad comparable to apples, they’ll take the whole pro market.

diehunde
I got a thinkpad p52s a couple of months ago and everything has worked pretty well. I've tried a couple of different distros so far and no issues whatsoever.
stargrazer
I've installed Linux on Sager/Clevo. Unfortunately, can't seem to buy them without Windows pre-installed.

There is System 7 with Linux native laptops.

splintermax
My preferred place to buy sager is from xoticpc, default option for them is to ship without an os installed
nextos
In general, I would recommend you look for something that has an Intel chipset and graphics card. Be careful with wireless cards. In general, only (some) Intel and Atheros have good quality drivers.

This rules out most machines, sadly. Some Thinkpads and some Dells will be suitable, though. And from time to time, excellent models from other brands. Like Xiaomi Mi Air 12.

There are other exotic options that also run really well on Linux, like some Rockchip ARM machines, but these are not powerful at all.

I would also look into cooling, as some machines are a disaster. Thinkpads and Dells tend to be OK, but some specific models have had issues.

akoster
I have a Dell Inspiron 15 5000 series and its running flawlessly (tried with Fedora, Debian, openSUSE, and Arch)
xs83
The Dell XPS range has always worked great with Linux, I've not tested the latest model but the previous model is flawless :) Plus you get a decent GPU in it!
dontbenebby
Several people have mentioned Dell XPS, seems like a solid.

I'm not super sold on Ubuntu, but I guess it's better to stick with what they ship it with (at first).

xs83
I have been using Linux since I was 14 and professionally since I was 18 - Ubuntu makes so many things simple nowadays. It is my preferred choice on both Server and Desktop - I would imagine if you are dealing with Legacy systems you might want specific stability and kernel versions but otherwise there are very few reasons to not give it serious consideration
karmakaze
Any laptops with taller than 16:9 aspect ratio?

16:9 is so short for a 13" and even a 15" is so much better at 16:10.

karmakaze
I feel like the Surface Pro packing is ideal, super light 2 in one, 3:2 aspect ratio. If only they made one larger than 12"
uto
I've been running Fedora 29 on the Surface Pro 4 for a month or so now. I agree this form factor is almost perfect for a laptop. The screen and keyboard are great for coding.

I'm not sure if I'd recommend this as a primary work machine since you have to compile your own kernel to enable some of the features (touch screen, hibernation etc). Other than that it's been stable and better than I had anticipated.

Benjmhart
Pelretty happy with my asus x-555q. Great specs for the price. Otherwise go thinkpad
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croh
asus vivobook s15 is awesome. very light weight laptop with high end spec. I am using it over a year without a single issue. dual boot with windows and linux. put both os and important work in ssd. new ubuntu/mint boots almost in 3-4 seconds.

also if you switch between OSs, make sure to shut down windows machines properly using something like 'shutdown /s /f /t 0'. During installation, you need to tweak some bios settings to stop windows hibernating.

in modern ultra-slim laptops, battery is soldered. If you want removable battery, size and weight will be increased. asus laptop builds are not completely sturdy. you need to be a little careful but overall it is indeed a very good machine in given price.

https://www.asus.com/Laptops/ASUS-VivoBook-S15-S510UN/

godot
Can you tell me more about what you mean by shutting down windows properly and stopping windows hibernating?

I dual boot Windows and Linux on my personal laptop (Lenovo Ideapad) and I have hibernate/suspend issues on my Linux side in multiple distros (both Manjaro and Antergos). I haven't figured out why. I'm wondering if it's related to what you said.

drakonka
I've been running Fedora on a ThinkPad X1 Carbon since 2016 and have had no complaints. I think my next laptop will be a ThinkPad as well (though not the Carbon)
vfulco2
Have had multiple Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon models and consider them to be the near perfect blend of weight, performance, and durability with Ubuntu 14.04 thru 19.04.
yulaow
Avoid nvidia dgpu (especially 1050 series have a lot of problems in linux right now) and you are good.

I would suggest t480s of lenovo, dell latitude 7940 or the latest 15inches dell precision with just the igpu (I don't remember the correct codename)

Note that I suggest only laptops with easily accessible and replacable ram, ssd, wifi card and especially battery. T480s has actually one 8gb ram soldered and another dim up to 32gb (for a total of 40), but it' s still my preferred

In a month lenovo is gonna release a new t495 with the new ryzen3000 processor and vega gpu. If you can live without thunderbolt three, they should surpass by far performances and battery life of the intel version (but eait for a review)

neverminder
> Avoid nvidia dgpu (especially 1050 series have a lot of problems in linux right now) and you are good.

Is that specifically laptop version or desktop as well? We have several desktops at work running Ubuntu 18.04 with 1050 series and there are no problems whatsoever, more stable than my 1060 at home in fact.

yulaow
I had problems only with the laptop version, and again it's because the shitty nvidia support for its optimus technology and the fact the drivers are still not good for the specific laptop dgpu under linux

Tbh it's workable, not like it totally fuckups your config, it's just a pita and often a single kernel or nvidia driver update breaks all the acpi config and you have to fix them again. I want a system that just works after installation or updates

samuraiseoul
You could also consider looking into chromebooks with crostini depending on the kind of work you do in the linux environment. Its still in beta technically though so it might be a bit more green than you're after.
neverminder
I have Pixel Slate (i7, 16 GB) with Crostini, specifically to run IntelliJ in case of an emergency. It does work, but needless to say it's not exactly blazing fast, also considering this is pretty much top of the line chromebook.
samuraiseoul
Sure. Like I said, it's a bit green still though I think it has a lot of potential. Also the speed should improve a lot soon as the flagship chromebooks should be getting GPU acceleration in crostini when version 75 hits stable. Currently we're on 73.
dontbenebby
Part of why I'm looking into Linux is being interested in open source + free software, so not super excited about a chromebook.

I don't mind the form factor - I had an Asus netbook back in the day - but I'd rather just install Debian than use some sort of container thing in Chrome OS.

akulbe
This is such a frequent question, I'm surprised there isn't a wiki up for this.
dontbenebby
The problem is wikies are usually more like lists of laptops and their compatibility, but you could find something that's very compatible, search the model number, and it's 3 years out of date :/

It's great linux works on older machines but I like my Macbook pro. I don't feel a need to own a TV for netflix etc with a high res screen, and those savings let me go to more concerts/movies.

juangacovas
Take a look at Tuxedo computers from Germany
jason_slack
I have a Thinkpad L420 with 32gb of ram and an ssd. It is about 4 years old but it flies and it’s the best Linux experience I have had to date. It’s kept me happy and allowed me to use Linux as my primary OS for the first time in years.