Hey, I wanna know your preferred laptops, used is better and to run Linux on it. Something with at least 16gb and 512 SSD is good. Budget range. Thank you!
I’ve had good experiences with most modern Dell Laptops. Also Thinkpads. What’s “budget range” to you?
Wouldn’t go really beyond 600 bucks And old or new thinkpads?
New ish. My current Thinkpad is a P14s Gen 1 with a Ryzen 4750U 16GB of RAM, and it came with a 512GB SSD. I paid just under $300 for it on eBay and well worth the cost. I wouldn’t get anything that is still a TXXX variant anymore though (e g. T490), they simplified the product line. So T490 was replaced by the E14 Gen 1, and the P14s Gen 1 is an AMD variant.
Highly recommend. One thing worth noting though is to double check the fingerprint reader if you desire that, the E14 Gen 1 has a reader not compatible with Linux in a functional way. The P14s Gen 1 however does.
Fingerprint readers are definitely hit or miss… If you care make sure it was originally specced for linux (usually at least Red Hat), then you’re probably good for any distro.
And do you a t14 is worthing it?
I haven’t used a T14, just the E14 and the P14S.
My “budget” until my new laptop was “hey you just got a new pc? What was wrong with your old one? Slow as hell? Can I buy it cheap and tinker?”
Friends/family always give me the best price especially when they think it’s just “too old” and think I’m crazy, they don’t know the problem is windows.
I wanted a thin and light laptop for travel, I was looking between an X1 Carbon 9th gen, or a HP dragonfly gen 2, I ended up scoring a HP with a i5-1145g7, 16gb lpddr4 for $275 on eBay.
In the past, ThinkPads, but my next one will probably be an ARM-based one for the performance and power efficiency (e.g. Snapdragon X Elite).
When it comes to expensive laptops, there are plenty of good options for Linux. But for cheaper stuff, your best bet might be a second hand DELL, a model that specifically says that it supports Linux (newer models use some new Intel webcams etc that don’t have support on linux yet).
I have 2 lenovos (ideapad and yoga) and a pinebook. I’m happy with all of them, though I’m happiest with the pinebook and yoga’s impressive battery lives
I just bought the Slimbook Executive and although there’s I’m not a fan of the charger, it’s a beast.
I like running Linux on my Lenovo Ideapad. It wasn’t expensive and has everything I want, including easily running Linux.
The only thing is it’s not a popular laptop so it doesn’t have accessories, like cases or whatever.
A “factory seconds” framework 13 might fit your budget, and you get a laptop that is easily repairable and upgradeable. The 11th gen i7 version that starts at $500 is what I have been using for a couple of years now and still runs great.
They also have refurbished laptops, but those seem to start a little bit more expensive.
Love my 11th gen framework, but there is an issue with the 11th gens where the CMOS battery will die rather quickly. If it does die then the laptop needs to be plugged in to turn on, even if it is fully charged. Framework is aware of the issue and will send a free replacement battery or, if you can solder, a mod that will eliminate the issue for good.
Still love framework and would definitely recommend them - but the 11th gen line (their first product) has a few gotchas
I’m thinking about buying a Framework 13 myself, but I worry the keyboard will be a huge downgrade on my current ThinkPad T480. Are the Framework keyboards any good?
I have no complaints with the framework keyboard, is there a particular issue you’re concerned about? The track pad is almost apple quality. Certainly better than most laptops I’ve used.
I have an old Lenovo W550s Thinkpad with a 2GB Dedicated Nvidia and an i5 5500U. It’s got two batteries and sips power. It’s only 4 cores, but for what I run it does great. I get fairly consistent 60fps on low settings for “boomer shooters” like Selaco. The thing is an absolute beast and hardly flexes. The plastic is cracked and I can just hand it to my kids without a care in the world. Dump a drink on it, drop it, I could care less. I had them help me change out the RAM and SSD because it’s essentially bound for the dumpster and any value I get out of it is the cherry on top.
That and I can run pretty much and retro gaming console on it to about the Wii/GameCube, which blows my mind. All for probably like $200 of hardware.
“Couldn’t care less”
Few years old Dell laptop, they are incredible, even easy to open and repair, parts available everywhere, BIOS update even after 5 or 6 years.
You can buy a few years old Latitude for maybe $200, 14", i5 8th gen, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, wifi, bt, webcam, usb-c, name it.
Being 8th gen it runs win11, but they also run Linux pretty well, I’m running MX Linux (debian based) on them and everything is supported.
I was always happy with everything I got from Lenovo (mostly ThinkPads but also IdeaPad), both cheap ones, used and new ones, always worked without any problems.
I’m ok with the XPS 13 from Dell but I had some problems, they needed to replace the motherboard and when you hold it it bends a bit and does register a click on the touchpad.
I hated my Tuxedo laptop, very expensive and very bad quality, had to send it in to repair twice and after a year I gave up on it because it was so broken and bought a used ThinkPad.
ThinkPads are my go-to. I just got an X1 Carbon Gen 9 (i5, 16GB) for $350 and put Fedora on it after upgrading the SSD to 1TB. It’s a beautiful laptop.
Of course, there’s the tried and true T480. Love that thing, especially if you get the right display panel and touchpad upgrades. Swappable batteries, upgradeable RAM. Those laptops can be had for cheap on eBay. Also check r/hardwareswap or the Discord for ThinkPad deals.
XPS 13 units can do well with Linux, too. I’m just a ThinkPad fan.
I’ve been wanting to find an alternative to Thinkpads since Lenovo bought them, but despite them not being what they used to be, I just haven’t been happy with any alternatives. I’m hopeful for Framework improving on their modularity, and the System76 in-house design that’s in the works has me intrigued.
Right now I’m looking forward to their eventual redesign of the Z series. I doubt they’ll do it, but I’d love a light workstation class version of the Z16, with slightly higher end graphics, and a vapor chamber. I’m also hopeful that they work on Linux support for their ARM offerings, and bring back the X13s that they offered with Snapdragon 8 a couple years back.
Definitely. I got a T470s that had barely been used for business purposes on eBay for 100€. It’s a great machine. Lots of I/O, great IPS touchscreen, great backlit keyboard, great trackpad, great build quality, awesome form factor, good battery life (about 6-8 hours). If you need a cheap laptop, get a used ThinkPad. They’re the best bang for the buck imo
I only had bad experiences with an XPS, then I found out that the Linux model was a cut down version so that Dell didnt have to support the fingerprint reader and other gadgets.
Lenovo at the time were working with Fedora to get all their fingerprint drivers upstreamed so the choice seemed obvious.
AMD T14 Gen 2, and it’s still great.
Are running 2 Dell’s at home with Linux desktop on them. A 7280 and a 7480 model. Support for drivers etc just works. Dell get’s A+ from me in regards to ease of use with support for Linux. HP’s, not so much - what a struggle…
HP EliteBook 840 G5 or another EliteBook model. Even on Debian everything works fine after a clean install (including special keys), they never die and have a pleasant design.
We are using 845 G8/9/10/11 (AMDs) at work and from my testing with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS I have the opposite experience - nothing works. First problem as I recall (+1 year since I tested) was wifi driver problems.
Maybe that’s a specific Ubuntu thing?
Dell Latitude 5000 series are usually bought by corporations for employees. They are made of sturdy metal, and have features like backlit keyboards and physical trackpad buttons. Then, after 2-3 years, or if they have some minor problem, they end up in a giant stack that either never gets diagnosed, or just gets sent to recycling.
I have had fantastic luck getting a couple of these either direct from the company I’m working for, or from ebay or a company that recycles laptops. They usually don’t actually have a problem, and if they do, parts are readily available on ebay. You can end up with a high-spec laptop from just a few years ago for practically nothing.
