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Ask HN: Cheap and Cheerful Laptop for BSD/Linux: what are my options?

11 points by rbsn ↗ HN
In the title. I have a 11" 2011 MacBook Air (which I feel is one of my best consumer decisions to date, and isn't going anywhere) but I'm looking to purchase a cheap laptop that I can just run into the ground. It should be compatible with Linux/BSD out of the box. That means integrated graphics and solid network interface cards. What are my options?

Edit: Battery life is not an issue. I am tempted by a cheap desktop, but I hate the idea of having cables everywhere and a great big stinking tower under my desk.

17 comments

[ 2223 ms ] story [ 293 ms ] thread
taurenk
I have been using a dell XPS 13 (got it on a deal for $500) and currently dual boot Ubuntu and Windows 10 Preview. I highly recommend the XPS 13 and you can even buy it will Ubuntu pre-installed.
Alupis
Sadly, the pre-installed Ubuntu version (Sputnik) is $100 more expensive than the Windows version. (I suspect some sort of back-room deal with Microsoft).

With that said, it is a great choice for a Linux laptop.

S4M
Can't you just buy the Windows one and then wipe the hard drive? That's what I did with my Dell.
Alupis
Absolutely can. But you don't get Dell support :/
S4M
I did actually. In 2012 I wiped my hard drive to install Linux on it. 6 months later the screen of my computer started to act funny, and I could use the guarantee to have my screen replaced.

FWIW it was in UK, maybe in other countries the regulations are different, and probably they would have refused to change, say, my hard drive if there were a problem with it.

sciencesama
if procssing power is the thing you are looking for go for a desktop, else you can choose a cheap chromebook it can run BSD but it needs some tinkering, unfortunately there are very few linux boxes that come out of the box, inedeed Dell XPS 13 is an amazing laptop period. may be the only one ;) also you can go through raigs list and buy a server for lessthan 100 bucks
otoburb
Does it have to be new? What about second hand Lenovo X230 models and their ilk? Running Ubuntu just fine on an old X201 to satisfy a similar itch.
rbsn
Nope. I'm actually looking at second hand ThinkPads, T series.
thecrumb
I picked up a cheap Thinkpad T420 from the Lenovo outlet. It's a few years old model but has the great keypad, touch pointer and runs Linux Mint w/no issues.
epsylon
A second hand Lenovo is what you seek. X or T series, I'd recommend staying in the 220 series or earlier, if you really want cheap. They are indestructible as laptops, have great keyboards, decent specs and good Linux support out of the box (depending on distro, of course).
dutchrapley
I saw this deal recently - $399

Refurbished: Lenovo T420 Intel Core i5 2520M 2.5GHz 8GB / 128GB SSD

http://www.neweggflash.com/Product/9SIA3TX2064547?icid=WP_0_...

Edited: price.

serf
Nice deal.

I have a T420s that was bought new and I love it as a computer -- but when I go to grab a laptop to work on 'on-the-road' I nearly always grab my old X201s + big battery that I bought on ebay for 80 bucks total.

If I was to buy a T420 now-a-days i'd check out eBay. Great deals on older hardware, especially if you don't mind repairing small problems yourself.

dutchrapley
Yeah, I was tempted to pull the trigger on that. I recently acquired a Dell Precision M4400 for a good deal and put an SSD in it, so I'm using that with Xubuntu as my primary now.
Alupis
Probably should note that Red Hat outfits all staffers with a Thinkpad T series (current gen), and just did a massive refresh of a few thousands of them. T series should "just work" with no fuss. In my experience, T series has always been "no fuss". Can't go wrong with this one.
Alupis
I've never had a problem with any Thinkpad, be it your Linux distro of choice or BSD (PCBSD is probably the best desktop BSD distro).

System76 also makes amazing laptops that "just work" out of the box with Linux (most distros). They even have full support sine they sell with Ubuntu pre-installed.

Dell has a good track record for me as well, although I personally prefer the T series Thinkpads myself.

boardstretcher
I've had a handful of successful Dell Vostro laptops.

They are dirt cheap and this Vostro V130 I'm writing this on is fast, cool and light. Found it on ebay for 75$ about a year ago.

Running Latest Arch_64 without any special mods.

atmosx
I'd got for a Chromebook and install Ubuntu on it.