Hi everyone, I use Linux on all my machines since a decade. Unfortunately my laptops are getting older and I will probably have to change them soon. Which Laptops would you recommend me to buy in 2025 a part Librem?
I don’t have a high budget but I’m still looking for something relatively recent. I looked on H-node but it seems that there are not a lot of recent things.
I use Debian as a distro.
Do you want mainstream brands that work well with Linux? Lenovo or Dell
Do you want smaller brands that are specialised and support Linux? Tuxedo, System76, Slimbook, Purism…
Tuxedo is a bit hit or miss. Used one for 2 years and wasn’t happy with the case quality. The plastic basically broke at some edges and screw holes
The hardware also wasn’t as Linux compatible as they claim. 5Ghz wifi just didn’t work reliably. With their support page saying the fix is to disable 5Ghz
I bought the Asus Tuf A16 AMD Advantage laptop. I installed Arch on it and it’s been great. Got it for $600 on eBay. Put 32gb of RAM in it and a 2tb nvme drive into the second slot. Left the 512gb drive it came with.
Maybe not what you’re looking for, but I use Asahi Linux on an old M1 MacBook Air and it’s quite nice. I bought it used for $480 last year.
Does everything work on it? Sleep/hibernate too?
Pretty sure the mic does not work if you need to have video meetings.
I think hibernate is a missing function - I’ve never tried it though. Here’s a good write-up on the pros/cons and potential issue depending on your use case :
https://www.anuragrao.site/blog/05-asahi-linux
I personally buy refurbished. Lately I got a Lenovo X280 thinkpad, for $160 with 8 GB of RAM, 1080p screen. Worked fine, Linux flies on it.
I have had a Tuxedo InfinityBook 14 Gen7, and I’ve been happy with it. They focus on hardware that has a good compatibility with Linux, so it works well out of the box without any tinkering. You say you don’t have a high budget though, so these might be too expensive (I believe you can get similar specs at a lower price), but I’ve also been very satisfied with the after sales service they have provided - I’ve had some issues with it since I got it, but if it was Tuxedo specific (or appeared to me to be Tuxedo specific), and thus not easy to find general troubleshooting help online, I contacted them and I was helped out promptly, both via e-mail and the phone.
If you have budget, Thinkpads can’t go wrong. You can also find refurbished.
Tuxedo and Framework are also excellent choices.
Go to an electronics recycling center and get a retired thinkpad (or 5). Once they’re decommissioned by corporations, they wipe the drive and send them off to be recycled.
I’ve been eyeing the slimbook lineup as of late. I am just waiting for someone to drop a review of the slimbook creative.
That logo on the bezzel, though
😬
I’m loving my Framework, have Mint on there. Thinkpads are also well regarded I believe
Yeah but new ThinkPads comes with soldered RAMs. Even mostly all brands do the same. I think framework don’t do it
Whether a Thinkpad has soldered RAM or not is model-by-model thing. When I was laptop shopping I tried to stick to the only non-soldered ones, but they are definitely more expensive, as they are the higher-end models. I absolutely cannot wait for CAMM to, if it ever does, become a normal thing for RAM modules.
Framework hasn’t done that yet. They have an event in 3 days and a lot of people seem to be thirsting for a Strix Halo main board, though.
Depends on budget but if your budget is above $800 get a framework they are awesome and work great with Linux if your budget is below that look at an e series Thinkpad or used thinkpad on eBay that fits your budget
Try Framework.
You’ll get a laptop sized to your budget and you’ll be able to grow with it, upgrade any part your budget will allow in the future.
Their linux support is excellent.
Framework laptops are not great actually. They basically are offloading their qa/qc onto customers. They routinely ship defective units new out of the box and try to make you do all their engineering work for them.
The quality of the components is meh at best. If I were doing it again, I would go the ThinkPad route.
Framework is a bunch of VC funded shills who see the right to repair movement as a resource they can exploit.
Yes, Framework!
It’s great, works perfectly, and you support something (principals, ways) worth supporting!
Something what won’t lead to/support further enshitification of all the things.
(And we might even get usable RISC–V laptops fairly soon - to even further ditch megacorps.)not to be a downer but you could very likely buy a higher performing laptop than even the top framework laptop for less money than even a minimal build
Yes, but that’s not the point of framework
Framework is a great concept, a great idea for places technology could go, but even its newest offerings are janky. I’ve seen the reviews from people who want to love them. I too want to love them. The modular tech they’re built around is cool as hell but in terms of daily use laptop that moves with you day in day out, it just ain’t it, imho.
Ive run Linux on multiple think pads, a razer laptop, and an asus gaming laptop, and they all work fine. Buy the hardware that works for you, and put Linux on it. It’s that simple.
I daily drive my framework 13 since the first batch, upgraded twice the mobo. I run it on arch Linux, 0 issue whatsoever even after a year bringing it on site like the Texan boonies or on boats in the middle of the golf of Mexico … Compatibility wise with linux, 100% of the peripherals work, even the finger reader thing.
I don’t want to denigrate people that it works for, because I know the people that love them love them.
Has the battery life (more specifically drain while in suspend) gotten better? I’ve heard horror stories on that, port availability (pretty limited ports because each port attachment takes up so much space) and some complaints about build quality and durability.
Just converted their Chromebook over to an AMD system running Fedora. Battery life is what you make it. If you run the processor on performance with the screen brightness high, yeah, it can go quickly. But I can also get a full work day out of it no problem, you just have to keep things in perspective. Plus, you can literally swap to a bigger battery. What other laptop can do that?
Build quality is the same as any other Linux laptop; that is to say, it doesn’t use the fanciest metals; the aluminum is cheap, but so is System76’s metal, which is what it is when you’re keeping costs down for customized laptops. Don’t drop your laptop; you’ll be fine.
Ports are a little limited, but nothing out of the norm for smaller laptops either. You do have the option to swap ports at any time, so there is plenty of versatility you can literally carry with you. Hell, don’t MacBooks only have two ports? Things could be much worse.
The truth is, there is no perfect Linux laptop. Either the Framework appeals, or it doesn’t. Trust that the same way you’re nitpicking Framework could be done to any brand. Find the one you like, and go with it. For some of us, that’s Framework, as it gets closer to our ideal than any other, which is kinda what using Linux is all about: fulfilling our personal ideals.
It’s definitely not jank. Huge fan of mine as well as some other folks here. Fw13 with AMD.
Love mine and daily drive it. Not janky, zero issues. Everything works on Linux. Not sure what you’re referring to.
Can you get more bang for your buck? Yes, to start. But let’s compare after a couple of upgrades on mine vs whole laptop replacements with other brands.
Yes but in the future when you need or want to upgrade again, it’s a fairly trivial cost because you’re reusing 90% of the parts. It’s an investment.
Not to mention if there’s any kind of mechanical issue in the future.
reusing 90% of the parts
Oops you need a whole new mainboard anyway to upgrade the CPU… oops you need new DDR5 RAM for the new CPU… oops these framework parts cost a premium at about the same cost as a new laptop anyay. Congrats, you now have an upgraded laptop in an old case that’s already gone through wear and tear… at least you kept the SSD that could have been popped into a new laptop as a secondary drive?
Oops you need a whole new mainboard anyway to upgrade the CPU
Yes that would be the 10% I was referring to.
oops you need new DDR5 RAM for the new CPU
…and the other new computer you want to buy doesn’t?
oops these framework parts cost a premium
You pay a little more for the 10% of new parts but it’s easily accounted for in the other 90%.
Congrats, you now have…an old case that’s already gone through wear and tear…
…so? You saved buckets of money in the process…
That’s cool. Performance per dollar isn’t the only factor for a laptop.
Size
Weight
Durability
Battery life
I/O and other features.
A not dogshit network card
An actually usuable trackpad
I’m sure I could list more. But those are all things that are important on a laptop and you can’t change after you buy it.
Consider taking a look at this criminally underrated Linux-first vendor: NovaCustom. Prices aren’t cheap, unfortunate. But it boasts hardware from about a year ago. Furthermore, NovaCustom takes Libre very seriously: from supporting coreboot to offering blob-free WiFi-cards.
You can get a used thinkpad T480 off eBay for ~$150. I’ve dropped it multiple times and spilled orange juice on it and it works perfectly fine. No issues running Linux mint Debian edition. Main drawback is the fan which isn’t the most efficient at cooling, but it is upgradeable.
I bought a Framework laptop then threw Pop OS on it. I have no issues. They sell refurbished devices and they are modular so you can swap out whatever is giving you issues.
Have you gotten any of the mystery boxes from them?
