Ask HN: Linux Laptop for Workstation

6 points by canadianwriter ↗ HN
My work will be giving me a tech bonus to get myself a laptop. I’d prefer something preloaded with Linux of some type, so the system 76 stuff looks good. What else is out there that I should look at? Not a gamer.

12 comments

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I would suggest checking out dell xps developer edition they are pretty good. I have been using mine for about 4 years now

It works like a charm very solid build quality

Thinkpads are also commonly available with Linux preloaded, though you might need to call instead of relying on the website.
+1 on Dell XPS (or Mobile Precision), though I wouldn’t get hung up on pre-loaded Linux; latest Ubuntu is generally full-featured on driver support. Razer Blade 13 and Book 13 both work well for vanilla Ubuntu install (Intel Tiger Lake-U).
Thinkpad X series / X1 Carbon / X1 Nano

May or may not come preloaded with Linux, I wouldn't trust what they'd put on it anyway. Easy to install any Linux distribution you want and stuff generally just works out of the box.

I'd be wary of just blanket supporting them (saying as someone having X1 Carbon 5th/6th/7th gen in the house): they always get there eventually, but 6th gen in particular required ACPI table patching to re-enable traditional S3 sleep (iow, suspend didn't work). Lenovo officially patched BIOS only a year or so down the line.
I would suggest a current top spec ChromeBook. Once you put them into developer mode, you can run Crostini on current machines and Crouton on older systems. I have been using Crouton for years and it makes for a light, fast enough for me, system that runs all day on batteries.
Check out GalliumOS too, an Ubuntu distro optimized for Chromebooks. I use it on a 6 year old Asus and it's fine.
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