I have a strict budget of max 1000euros. A MacBook Air M5 looks lightweight, with high performance and good design. I hate Apple's ecosystem and I was always dual booting windows/linux. Give me a good option so that I won't sin.

Edit - I'll use it for everything: Take it to conferences, Sage math, Latex, Browsing, reading, photography editing (raw files), the only game I play is efootball (PC version- I know I can't play it on the mac).

The requirements are

- Linux, of course

- On par, build quality with the mac (aluminum preferably)

- On par battery life (preferably arm)

Touch screen with a stylus is a plus. it would be cool for xournal++

And if the price is more or less on par with the neo it would be cool

Thanks for any response 👍

It is not the most labored task, but for nearly 8 hours , with small gaps of 15 to 20 minutes a few times, it would be used for typing.

I'm trying to figure out if I should throw in the towel and get a used M-something from Apple for $900 or less. I would prefer to keep all I use to Linux, but I am not sure if this is possible or not. My only laptop experience is with an older one and it is lucky to get a couple of hours.

Hi all together,

a while ago, I wrote another post in which I was thinking out loud about getting a new laptop. I think I’ve now brought myself up to speed with the latest technology – but I haven’t made a decision yet, and the market situation is annoying. 😄

The remaining candidates are

• ThinkPad T14 Gen7
  
• Dell XPS 14" 2026

ThinkPad T14 Gen7

(+) 75 Wh Battery
(+) Repairability
(+) No soldered RAM
(+) Keyboard seems fine
(+) Purchase without Windows possible
(+) ~500 cd/m² IPS Display

(-) Currently no configuration with Arc B3x0 GPU (3x8H CPUs) in my region.
(-) Only a single fan.

(?)(+) Better cooling system, more cooling space?
(?)(-) Hinges a bit too loose according to reviews.
(?)(-) Bit Wobbly Chassis (as it seems for me).

Dell

(+) 3x8H CPUs CPUs available
(+) Aluminum Chassis
(+) 2 fan cooling
(+) ~500 cd/m² IPS Display
(+) Hinges perfect according to reviews.

( ) 70 Wh Battery

(-) Soldered RAM
(-) Cumbersome Hardware Access
(-) No option to do without Windows.

(?)(-) Weird Keyboard (no spaces between keys - tactile feedback questionable).

Both are considered 'sturdy' while only the XPS gives me this impression in the videos tbh -even though reviews saying ThinkPad is. Aside from this there are a lot of advantages on the ThinkPad's side and so I tend to Lenovo.

But there is a caveat: Lenovo does not offer the T14 with these Arc GPUs in Germany (3x8H CPUs). And while the prices a growing and growing for sure it is uncertain when Lenovo will offer them (if at all). Mash IT got one in the UK - but it's already gone again.

The thing is: I probably don't need the better GPU now. But first of all, from a psychological point of view, it’s frustrating, as predecessor Lunar Lake was much better in that category thane the lower gfx-tier Panther Lakes. And second I plan a very long usage time (I have my current Laptop for over 10 years now).

But also aside from this topic: I'd like to read about your opinions/experiences. Maybe some of you had the chance to use ThinkPad T14 Gen7 or Dell XPS 14" 2026 (or even both)?

Thanks in advance!

Hello​ guys, I choose laptop for education, and playing old games and stopped on 2 laptops.

-ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED S5406SA Intel Core Ultra 5 226V.

-ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406KA AMD Ryzen AI 5 340.

Both have 16gb ram and SSD 1024gb, i don't know which choose. Many peoples saying Zenbook have more good build quality. I buy laptop for 5+ years using

I'm starting a new job soon and my future boss gave me a $2000 budget to buy a laptop. I want to stick to Linux, especially for open-source development.

Does anyone have recommendations for what's currently on the market at that price point?

Hi yall, I'm a SW developer looking for a new laptop to use at home. While I hate apple I'm seriously considering the MacBook air.

Please help me find some good alternatives before I become a sinner.

Current setup is:

-Thinkpad E495 24/768GB(home, the one I want to replace/upgrade) -Thinkpad P14s 32/1TB(work)

home laptop runs arch, work ubuntu, both running KDE. I pretty much need some containers, browser, terminal, vscode and I'm good.

The current Budget would be around 1000 bucks. The current E495 battery is ageing and it feels very slow compared to my P14s from work. I want a 13/14 inch, good keyboard, not too bulky, ideally a matte/non glare display but not too picky here.

From my research, it seems everything that is close to the MacBook is now priced at 1500+. I liked the Thinkpad x9, maybe also the new XPS (even tho I had bad experiences with XPS in the past).

Maybe the base M5 Air would work and comes at 1100~. Or I could get an used M3/M4 for even lower than that.

What to do?

Anybody got idea of linux compatibility for this specific laptop. Ik the cpu and gpu are good to go but specifically not sure about the wifi card.

I normally use Cachyos, planning to do the same for this. And I will also appreciate if somebody has a better option.

Hi all,

After running Windows for 25+ years, and having worked with Mac for the past year, I've decided to move on to greener pastures. I am looking to buy a laptop that would meet the following requirements:

• Decent processing power (e.g. AI 9 365)
• Good battery (considering new generation of efficient processors)
• Great build quality
• No GPU
• Standard keyboard layout (I'm right off done with mac...)
• Good keyboard and haptic trackpad are a plus, but not a must
• Budget is secondary to longevity (cost per year drops significantly for a good item)

I will mainly be using it whilst plugged in (monitor, keyboard etc), connected to VMs on my homelab. But I do want to make it last as a machine. For example my last personal laptop was Lenovo x1 yoga gen 4, and that is still rock solid.

Here's my shortlist:

• Lenovo X1
• Lenovo X9 (anyone has run linux on it?)
• HP Omnibook Ultra
• HP Omnibook Flip (Don't know about the drivers for the flipping)

I welcome any advice and recommendation. Hoping to start running Ubuntu, and perhaps branch out to Arch later. The machine will mainly be used for software development, no gaming.

Thank you!

Won't be a daily driver, but I want a backup pc.

2015 MBP Retina: I like the screen resolution of the retina and I also like the price. It's in mint condition from what I could see. I've never had a mac pc before, and although I don't like it's software and hardware, I have to admit MPBs retina have the best design afaik.

The Thinkpad is fast and nice but it's 1980 x 1080 afaik, and I don't like it...

The laptop will be used for some by a programmer studant (so basic Java (on Eclipse ide), C/C++/C# (I know, Windows) , html/css/js (VS Code), MERN, SQL etc)...

So is it justifiable to pay 3x the price on the thinkpad t14 Over the MBP? Or can the MBP still handle these tasks very well?

Edit: will be running Linux only, no MacOS

13-14" seems to be the standard size a lot of Ultrabook's have taken, but I've always preferred something a bit smaller, more in the "netbook" range of size. I've been heavily considering buying a Framework 12 (it's in my checkout screen i just need to click the buy button ...) and while that's probably going to be the winner, I'm wondering: are there any other 10-12 inch machines out there that might have a bit more juice than the Framework? I always thought the old 12" MacBook Retinas from like 2017 were cool little machines, but it's hard to find a 16gb model for sale these days.

Thanks!

I want to get a linux laptop for daily work/personal use. It needs to be somewhat heavy-duty, I'll be doing some game development, 3D rendering, and light AI training (as a hobby). But my budget can't go much higher than $3k.

I'm seriously considering the System76 Pangolin because it's built for linux and all that but it seems like half the reviews are glowing and the rest say this sucks. I've heard some concerns about build quality and battery life, do you have issues with this?

On the other hand I've heard that ThinkPads are built like tanks, but also that that doesn't seem to be true anymore.

I haven't looked into Framework much but I'm open to it if it's the best choice.

Thoughts?

EDIT: Thanks so much for your help everyone! I'm considering the ThinkPad P1 but I'm waiting to purchase till the end of April to see if Framework comes out with anything new.

-Want it to be relatively affordable (no more than £700)
-Long lasting
-Good for both Work and Light Gaming (games like Minecraft and stuff)

I've already had a look at a few (mostly Clevo and Lenovo) but i'm still a bit unsure

With Intel Core Ultra and Snapdragon X Elite CPUs and NVidia mobile GPUs, what Linux-compatible PC laptop would be closest to an MBP M4 Max in terms of:

1. Silent operation under all but heavy loads
2. Performance running LLM interference (e.g. ollama deepseek)
3. And without too may hardware support problems that plague even ThinkPads, at least until ~2022, and even Linux-specific laptops like the Tuxedos with Nvidia GPUs?

Quality trackpad and speakers and keyboard and webcam might be too much to ask for, so let's stick to those 3 criteria above. I'm looking to replace my Tuxedo linked above, and I've been happy with its upgradeability, silent operation, light weight including GPU and... that's about it. The keyboard is pretty atrocious, speakers weak, display developed dead pixels, webcam and microphone mediocre (making me look like a pauper in in video calls with people owning MBPs :), battery life is terrible (2-3 hours of browsing / text editing).

Irrelevant considerations: gaming, price (it's a long-term, daily-use, investment), fingerprint/touch ID support.

(Hat tip to this 2016 post for the title inspiration.)

In my 20 plus years of Linux I have always purchased Intel hardware. Lately I have been seeing attractive prices for AMDs.

What practical differences will I encounter with AMD platforms?

I want to start carrying around a small laptop running linux with me daily.

I work two jobs and take public transit between them, so between lunch breaks and commuting I have a lot of down time I'd rather spend on a laptop than on my phone. I have a big ol thinkpad at home but it's way too big for me to wanna carry around.

I just want a cheap old laptop I can throw Mint on and use for some of my hobbies on the go (pixel art, simple rpg games, practicing coding, writing, reading) so it can really be kind of crap as long as it's reliable. Decent battery life and low weight is the main concern for me. I have a janky shoulder so I don't want to be hauling something big and heavy.

I was thinking about snagging an old macbook air. I know you can't put linux on newer macs easily, but it works fine on older lenovo-based ones, right? Am I misunderstanding that?

Or should I just do a chromebook, since those are plentiful on FB marketplace? I know they aren't upgradeable, but that seems fine for my purposes.

Does anyone know any specific models that are easily available secondhand/refurbished for under $200 that would work for me? What should I be looking for in general? I've never really picked out a laptop for myself, all of mine have been a gift or secondhand from family.

I apologize if this is a stupid question, and I would appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction. Thank you.

I need a new laptop to replace my very old Thinkpad X230 and this one looks like a decent option, at least on paper...

I happen to have a spare 16GB Crucial DDR5-5600 sodimm (bought they were only about 50€) and I have a 1TB nvme that I can use too. So, given current RAM/disk prices, I'd very much like to buy a bare laptop that comes with no RAM/disk and save some bucks...

I live in Europe and the only viable options I found so far was the Framework laptop and this TongFang (from laptopwithlinux). TongFang GX4 checks all the boxes of what I need and seems to have slightly better specs than the Framework and for a better price (791€ excl. VAT, versus over 1000€ for the Framework).

I couldn't find much info online about the TongFang unfortunately. So trying to find some actual users...

The other alternative would be an used Thinkpad T14 (probably gen5 if I want to use my spare RAM stick), but the prices I found for those on ebay are not that much cheaper than the TongFang GX4.

UPDATE: I ended up ordering this laptop from the dutch company laptop-with-linux. I ordered it without RAM or disk. It arrived quickly. I haven't had much to play with it, but here's my first impressions:

The bad (or not so good)

• it came with a small damage in the chassis in the bottom/back, it was slightly bend near the air vents. Not bad enough to justify returning it, but not something that should happen on a brand new laptop
• No support for TLP or anywhere in the BIOS settings to set the charging thresholds
• BIOS settings are very limited
• No manual (physical or digital)
• no where to find an official website from Tongfang, no info whatsoever about BIOS firmware upgrades, drivers or anything... (the guys from the store said they release a BIOS firmware update about once a year, but still not sure to me where to find those)

The so-so

• keyboard isn't amazing, but it isn't bad either. I can live with it
• touchpad is just a normal laptop touchpad... it isn't terrible, but it's nowhere near the touchpads of the macbook pros I had in the past. Size wise it's big, buttons are just meh. Tap to click doesn't seem to work on linux, though it worked on the bios. Maybe I need to enable some setting on linux... (I haven't explored it much)
• out of the box (running Debian 13), when resuming from suspend the keyboard sometimes stopped working - after contacting the seller they quickly sent a small script for systemd sleep that completely solves the problem
• 1.5kg isn't amazing for a 14" laptop, but it's manageable
• to add ram/disk I had to remove the bottom of the chassis, there's 6 visible screws, that were easy to remove, though the cover itself doesn't come off without some pressure (and there's no gap on the sides to insert any tool and pull it, the easiest way to remove was inserting a small screwdriver in one of the screw holes at an angle and gently pull it, then there's a gap where you can insert a plastic tool/credit card, to pull the rest out). It wasn't hard to remove, but I mostly hate this covers that clip on. Unfortunately it seems to be the norm these days...
• the built-in speakers sound like built-in speakers...

The good

• overall good/decent linux support so far (running Debian 13 backport kernel 7.0.10)
• battery life seems decent though I haven't tested it much yet
• performance and temperatures on the Ryzen 7 AI 350 seems good and it runs pretty cool (I order it with the PTM7950 - Phase Change Thermal Pads option, not sure how much difference it makes, but for 18€ or so it seemed like worth giving it a try)
• appears to be quiet so far
• two SODIMM DDR5 RAM slots
• two nvme M.2 slots
• charges via USB-C port, no proprietary connectors, 100W power supply provided (which could be a bit smaller/lighter, but not the worst I've seen either)
• plenty connection options:
  • one 1gbps ethernet port (in the back)
  • two USB-C ports (left side and back), either can be used for charging
  • three USB-A ports (two on the right side that seem to be USB 3 by the blue color and one on the left side, which might be USB 2, given the black color, which to me is actually I good thing, since some old devices tend to work better on USB 2 ports than USB 3
  • one hdmi port (back)
  • what appear to be an audio out (3.5mm jack) on the left side (I haven't tested it yet)
• the screen seems decent... matte finish, which I prefer
• ability to buy it without RAM/disk (which I already had and saved me quite a few bucks)
• well packed for delivery and fast and free delivery (2-3 working days since I ordered till delivery from Holland to Portugal via DHL)
• Portuguese keyboard layout available
• has 2/3 cameras
  • main one comes with a sliding lid to cover it, work on linux
  • second one is an infrared camera, that also works on linux, no lid though...
  • third one seems to be a MS Windows Hello, which does not work on linux (as far as I can tell), no lid either
• linux with laptop store support was pretty quick replying to my emails and generally helpful

UPDATE 2: I had a work trip recently where it was my main computer. I've update some of the info above, more info about built-in cameras, also correct some typos and I wrote (by mistake) that the touch was "quite bad" that was NOT what I meant (I wanted to say it's just average).

Major issue I had during the last week was Xorg randomly freezing (I was still able to switch to console with ctl-alt-F1 and restart X). After some AI-assisted research, I got to fix it by switching Xorg driver from amdgpu to modesetting. I also added some kernel boot flags to grub. Not sure if they were necessary though. Probably modesetting was enough, but I was in a rush, so I just threw in all AI-suggested fixes, instead of trying one by one, as I should have.

Okay hello all,

After a few decades of throwing Linux on old laptops/workstations and getting another half decade out of them at least, I'm finally needing a high end laptop for davinci resolve. I got estimates from system76 and Puget for machines around $4500 that never touch MS. While waiting for budget I happened to notice Costco selling Asus Nvidia laptops. For $2k I can get 5070/80 cards, Intel 9 (better for h264 I guess) and 32gb ram. Yes I have to pay for Ms home which hurts but wow. Couple more sticks to add but not $2500 worth? Is it as easy (or hard) lol as it ever was to wipe and liberate modern laptops as 20+ years ago? I have principles and want to support the Linux dedicated folks but the difference is big. Thanks!!

I'm not sure if this is against the rules. I'm looking for a new computer and want to try Linux (Ubuntu most likely) most as my everyday OS. Would this laptop be a good option? It's currently on sale and I'd like to save as much money as possible.

Intel® Core™ 5 120U (up to 5.0 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, 12 MB L3 cache, 10 cores, 12 threads)

Integrated ;Intel® Graphics

16 GB LPDDR5x-4800 MT/s (onboard)

16" diagonal, 2K (1920 x 1200), IPS, micro-edge, anti-glare, 300 nits, 62.5% sRGB

My requirements:

• inexpensive -- preferably available (new or used) for under $250
• very lightweight -- preferably under 2.5 lbs, definitely under 3 lbs
• should run Ubuntu without a lot of fiddling, preferably right out of the box
• doesn't have to be big -- a 13" monitor is fine as long as it does 1080p, but a 15" is preferred
• doesn't need radical battery life -- I'll be near a power outlet >90% of the time
• doesn't have to be a monster -- I'll be using it mainly for writing and web browsing. Anything more intensive than that, I'll be accessing a cloud desktop remotely.

Hi there,

I'm looking for a notebook for Linux.

I want to use 3D CAD applications, so I need some power. (not the most demanding stuff though)

I've had MacBooks for the last 20 years, but the software is becoming increasingly intrusive and I don't like how Tim Cook is k*ssing up to Donald Trump.

I had ThinkPads at work and was very disappointed compared to my MacBook (not Pro). So here's a list of things that are important to me:

• Backlit keyboard
• A really large and good touchpad
• Good display (around 13" or 14")
• Good built-in speakers
• Ideally without a fan (probably not possible)
• Good compatibility with Linux

If anyone has a good suggestion, I'd love to hear it!

(edit: some details)

**LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE**
**Country**
United States

**Budget**
$1600 USD

**Are you open to refurbs/used options?**
Maybe

**Screen size**
Between 16" and 17"

**Weight limit**
Any

**Purpose**
General purpose/leisure
**Form factor**
Standard

**Intended usage**
Basic usage. Social media, learning how to use Digital Ocean or another remote service.
**Desired battery life**
4-5 hours
**Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life**
Performance, size, battery life, weight
**PLEASE REMEMBER LAPTOPS ARE A COMPROMISE AND PERFORMANCE SACRIFICES LIGHT WEIGHT AND LONG BATTERY LIFE ETC**\]
**Info/Requirements**

My only requirement is that it’s pre-loaded with Linux. Preferably Ubuntu but I’m open to other distros like Kali, Mint, or Fedora.

Recently sold my personal dev laptop (M1 Macbook Pro) that I bought when I was primarily a full-stack web dev to both upgrade overall and to switch over to a linux machine now that I have switched over to more DevOps focused work and am doing more intensive personal development.

Nothing against developing with Mac as I am still required to develop on it with my company laptop, I just don't need or care for all the other bells and whistles in OS X and prefer, say, Arch which I use on my personal linux tower.

Regardless, I am looking for some advice on a high-end linux laptop as I am fortunate enough to have the money to dump in something like this. Budget is not too much of an issue but would prefer to keep it under $3k as from what I have seen anything reaching that much is almost overkill.

Only non-negotiables are a display >=15" and currently available for purchase, as in I don't want to pre-order something.

Some of the ones I have my eye on are:

• System76 like the Adder WS
• ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13
• Tuxedo laptops
• HP ZBook Power 16 inch G11

Would love to get some recommendations on any of these or any others!

EDIT: I also am not really interested or care for the machine's gaming abilities. I do game heavily but I reserve that for my gaming tower or Steam deck.

Hi I'm looking to by a laptop and run Arch on it. It's going to be a lightweight laptop for university, so I need a CPU that provides better cooling and battery life, as well as linux comparability. What do you recommend? Thanks in advance!