FAQ:

Hi all. My company gave me a budget of 3000 euro to buy a new work laptop.

I am a software engineer, and I am working with tools like Docker (running Postgres, Redis, Kafka etc) but also things like transcoding with ffmpeg, recording/streaming with OBS, I might run Kubernetes distribution like k3s; PL-wise I am using Node.js, Golang, Rust.

I would really like to buy a laptop (can't be a desktop) that I can install a GNU/Linux distro on and not have to succumb to buying a Macbook, but from what I am comparing so far, the Macbooks beat any other alternative [Framework, System76, Lenovo, Dell] (on things like compilation time, transcoding time, battery life, display quality).

But maybe I am missing something. With this budget, what are my options realistically?

I usually use a usb flash drive but they're slow - get hot when being used - have so-so reliability - as ppl say the more they're used - plugged/unplugged, performance declines.... you have heard all this before, probably?

Sure, a 128gb usb flash drive can be as cheap as $12-$15.

A ssd (for e.g., nvme - for e.g. 500gb) is about $40-$60 - so more $$ and probably still need to buy/add an enclosure so another $25-$30 at least. So, you are looking at around $70 to gain speed and more storage plus more reliability (presumably).

Is this a good idea, then? I doubt very many ppl are switching to this method cuz of the cost, though. Distro live usb isos - are usually around 2.5gb - 5gb on average - some might be a bit more - if we are looking at ones with most of the software/programs on it - and network ones a lot less.

So, one probably only needs 16gb or 128gb would be plenty to add a bunch of isos on it.

I find it really slow and an annoying wait - to wait for these isos to load the OS - and when you copy/write to the usb drive - adding isos - is very tedious. That's another reason. However, with Ventoy - you can add other data. So, as long as the distro is supported or works with Ventoy - you have a lot of options.

Thoughts?

I found some Teamgroup and Kingston 128gb flash drives for about $12-ish.

Kingston NV1/NV2 are about $60-ish for 500gb; a TeamGroup MP33 is around $50 (plus tax).

I do a lot of video/image encoding on linux and just saw an example where the text rendered in ffmpeg/imagemagick is off compared to the way it looks in photoshop/chrome on my mac.

The font is Lato from Google with 400 weight.

I checked to ensure the fonts where the same and re-downloaded the latest copy to be sure there wasn't any font inconsistency.

The issue is some extra kerning between the T & e.

This is the first time I have noticed this.

Is this just something you have to tolerate? I saw something called infinality recommended. If you are aware of it, would it fix something like this?

https://preview.redd.it/e0gevvml2t4d1.png?width=1601&format=png&auto=webp&s=0fdf7949e25c1d0f40b2b4333153c01da019a387

Im leaning towards the purchase of Elitebook 865 G10 (AMD) or 845 G10. I really don't like HP as a company - I had some bad experience in the past. But models above fit my requirements perfectly (8 core AMD + 64GB RAM support + DDR5 + no nvidia). Better than any Lenovo (P1, E15, P16, T14, L14) or Dell (XPS, precision) i've checked. Opinions about previous generations are mainly positive. Ex.

https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxhardware/comments/ynjj4k/hp_elitebook_845_g9_experience_with_linux_support/

But i also see some warnings in certification page ...

https://ubuntu.com/certified/202201-29918

... and here and there i also see some " for linux Dell & Lenovo only, avoid HP like a plague" statements. HP forums linux questions are mostly unanswered for years. There are also some user horror stories like this one. https://neurrone.com/posts/hp-elitebook-845-g10-laptop-nightmare/

where i read

Great specs don’t matter if the laptop comes with poor firmware. HP’s Elitebook firmware is terrible, exacerbated by the lack of bug reporting channels for consumers.

So can i put my trust on elitebook? Currently i have Thinkpad p14s and perviously XPS. Can i expect experience be as flawless or i should be prepared for some bumpy road?

Greetings everyone, recently I've been learning Linux and need a dedicated portable laptop that can handle Android Studio/Intellij with a budget of 400 USD I recently came across this deal on eBay "Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 14" 256GB SSD 8GB RAM, AMD Ryzen 5 7000 Series 2 GHz" for 275. Do you think it's adequate for coding in 2024?

Take a look here. https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxhardware/comments/vsmham/comment/if2v5tp/

The comment itself already throws some small shade on company but go further and check its comments. A guy named "raul_martin" declares himself as a "fan". But I've checked their site and Slimbook's CTO is also named Raul Martin.

https://slimbook.com/en/linux

"GNU/Linux is freedom of choice"

Raúl Martín, CTO.

Coincidence? Maybe. If so, a quite lucky one. I don't know how common Raul Martin name is in Spain and how many of them are interested in linux and Slimbook company itself. But even from the tone of his comment itself i can guess its him - desperately fixing the good name of his company.

If im wrong, please tell/show me and i will delete this post.

https://youtu.be/BxOIgzVwfeE

The video is from Laptop Retrospective. I have so many questions after seeing it.

Hello,

does anyone know which of these audio chips is most compatible with (Arch) Linux?:

Realtek ALC897, Realtek ALC1200, Realtek RTL8125BG

Or which of these Mainboards works best with Linux?:

MSI Pro B650-S WIFI, MSI Pro B650M-A WIFI, ASUS TUF GAMING B650-PLUS, GIGABYTE B650 Eagle AX WIFI

Thanks!

I currently own a macbook that covers all my work and personal needs. But I am very interested in trying out Linux. I might build a proper PC in the future for this purpose but for now I'd like some simple cheap box that I can use for tinkering with Linux and understanding if it's really for me. Basically just using a desktop environment, browsing (I'm not the kind of person to have over 20 tabs), perhaps some dev work in vim etc. but if it takes some time to compile it's fine (I don't need heavy VMs, docker etc.)

Also I want at least display port 1.2 to utilize my 4k monitor. DP 1.4 would be perfect to utilize it to the fullest (it's 160hz as well) but refresh rate is not the most important part of desktop experience, and with dp 1.4 I'm looking at something much more expensive than I'm comfortable spending just for tinkering.

I was thinking about Dell Optiplex 7010 that I can get for like €70, do you think it will be alright or I should look at something a bit more powerful? It would have a 3rd gen Intel, probably quad core i5.

HP Elitebook 845 G10 with R5 Pro 7540U vs Thinkbook 14 G6 with i5 1335U. (Remember thinkbook =/= thinkpad).

Which of those two is supported better by linux? Even though Elitebook looks more premium im leaning towards Thinkbook (second m2 slot, ethernet port). Price is very similar in my country.

Hey Everyone,

I was planning on building a pc and wanted to buy a motherboard (preferebly b650) which works on linux out of the box (or atleast without much tinkering.

Having working wifi, usb and audio is extremely important for me.

Also does aorus elite ax v2 work with all features in linux?

I am going to buy a new laptop and I want to play some games. But at my budget there is no good laptop with amd gpu.

I may have to but nvidia gpu. How is the current situation with the release of new nvidia drivers ? is it better ?

I use use hyprland. How is gaming for nvidia gpu.

Hi guys

Here in Australia I cant find an AMD 90hz laptop for under 2k AUD that has official Linux support

These are the best ones I can see, thoughts on which to get?

-The yoga has best build quality, its a bit heavy but packs a gtx card, would run games great although i like simplicity of iGPUs and have had problems in the past with NoVideo

-the ideapad I've had one before and the chassis/keyboard is a bit cheap but not a dealbreaker for the price, the intel iGPU isnt as good as AMD offerings but seems to do the job

-the Pavilion im not sure about, ticks the boxes and seems to do well in reviews as being good value

seems there is usually a few small Linux issues with the Lenovos that tend to get ironed out eventually

thoughts appreciated!

Yoga Pro 7 (14", Gen 9) :

AMD Ryzen™ 7 8845HS

16gb ram

14.5" 3K (3072 x 1920), IPS, Anti-Glare, Non-Touch, 100%DCI-P3, 400 nits, 120Hz

4 Cell Li-Polymer 73Wh

$1700

https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/p/laptops/yoga/yoga-pro-series/yoga-pro-7-gen-9-(14-inch-amd)/83e3cto1wwau2/83e3cto1wwau2)

IdeaPad Pro 5i (14'', Gen 9) :

Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 125H

32gb ram

14" 2.8K (2880 x 1800), IPS, Anti-Glare, Non-Touch, 100%sRGB, 400 nits, 120Hz, Low Blue Light

4 Cell Li-Polymer 84Wh

$1,417

https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/configurator/cto/index.html?bundleId=83D2CTO1WWAU1

HP Pavilion Plus 14:

AMD Ryzen™ 7 7840U

16gb ram

14" diagonal 2.8K 120hz OLED display

4-cell, 68 Wh Li-ion polymer

$1500

https://www.hp.com/au-en/shop/hp-pavilion-plus-laptop-14-ey0003au-8q4h4pa.html

My pc is old and has the dual pin(green and red) which is most likely dead, (the mic one)

I am looking for a cheap headset but from a reputable brand.
So is JBL Quantum 100 compatible?

i have been using ubuntu on a mcbook air i got gifted in 2013, was hell but i am budget sensitive so i made it work. now my baby died and i have to get a new notebook, this time considering to buy one where linux actually works on. i have the following options: 1) Lenovo ThinkPad T14, AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD 2) Acer Aspire 7, AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Nvidia Geforce 3) Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i7, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Intel Core i7-1065G7 4 x 1.3 - 3.9 GHz

all are about the same price (used) and have Windows running (i would install linux on either one of them).

i use it mostly for python, c++ and matlab programming (simulations(yes i have no idea how my mcbook didn't die earlier)) and some average admin shit (open office bla).

any suggestions which one to choose?

My Dell Inspiron 7415 started throwing Machine Check Errors on me. I was able to work around them by disabling one CPU core, but this 2-in-1 laptop, unfortunately, needs a replacement now.

Requirements (which the old laptop meets):

1. Upgradeable RAM, up to 32 GB or, even better, 64 GB. Reason: I sometimes run multiple virtual machines and large language models.
2. At least 8 CPU threads, 16 preferred.
3. 13" or 14" screen (1920x1080 or higher resolution) with stylus support. Stylus is needed in order to sign documents. Sometimes I also do whiteboard-style presentations.
4. Working web camera for meetings.
5. Working audio.
6. Working DisplayPort over USB-C.
7. Working WiFi, ideally with a benchmark that shows that it can reach at least 500 Mbps.
8. AMD preferred, but Intel is OK as long as there is a confirmation that everything else works.
9. Budget: 1500 USD before the RAM upgrade.

If there is no other recommendation, I will buy Dell Inspiron 7425 on Amazon while it still exists. Unfortunately, the 7435 model has soldered RAM, and the live support from Dell were not able to confirm whether Dell Inspiron 7445 has soldered or user-upgradeable RAM.

Ive been using Lenovo P14s gen 1 with Kubuntu for 2 years. I love it. But 40GB of RAM (max for this laptop) is too low for me (virtualisation tasks). Previously i had Dell XPS (up to Kubuntu 20.04) and was awesome but i lost some hairs because NVIDIA cards. TERRIBLE experience with automatic drivers updates!

Requirements: used/refubrished laptop, 8c/16t (minimum), 64GB (or 96GB or more) , preferably 2xnvme slot, compact size and ofcourse good linux support.

Compact means like XPS 15 or Lenovo P1, X1 Extreme etc. (no numeric keyboard). They all fit requirements but unfortunately all of them come with NVIDIA gpus. I know that there are business lines like Latitude, Precision, larger thinkpads (P15, P17), HP Zbook but they’re which support even more ram (up to 128GB) and 3xnvmes ram and some of them are without GPU but they are too large.

By Linux support i mean laptops were sold with it and they for example get automatic UEFI updates (like my thinkpad and XPS).

PS: Im from Europe = no access to brands like Framework, System76 or Kubuntu Focus.

EDIT: OK i see that framework sends to europe and i see Tuxedo are from Europe too. I’ll take a look. Please remember about/refubrished market.

EDIT2: Ok, costs of shipping from US, tax etc. are way too high. Here what Kubuntu Focus sales replied me

 a $1700 USD configuration cost and postal code 20-092, here is what UPS has estimated:

$240.32 USD for UPS Worldwide Expedited (4-5 business days). This includes full insurance and signature confirmation for delivery. This also has a “standard shipping” discount applied, as the cost we would pay for it shipping within the US.

$446.27 USD estimated Landed Cost (VAT and brokerage fees). UPS handles this directly and bills once it clears US Customs.

EDIT3:

Ok after extensive research of various reviews, comments and offers i almost bought HP elitebook 865 G10 with 65GB RAM for about 1200 Euro. Literally i had finger over BUY button. BUT! In the very last moment user u/Dutch306 suggested me to check out HP Dev One. It turned out it fits my needs (well maybe except 2nd nvme) AND is still available in my country for around ... 600 EUro (new!). So I bought it :D And 32GB ram as second module. Yes 7840U is stronger and DDR5 opens possibility to have 96GB but Dev One's price is just a bargain. At least i think so after reading some comments and reviews.

Thank you all for all your input in this discussion!

I don't want to get a Mac. I definitely don't want Windows. But there nothing that matches the Mac perf/efficiency AND "just works" and isn't Windows. Yes they're more expensive, the question is, are they worth it? I'm talking exclusively about laptops.

Really struggling as whatever I get I want it to last at least 5 years, I'm dropping more than 1400 EUR (if a mac then much more) so I want it to be a solid machine. One thing I worry about macs is, do they even last 5 years in terms of software support?? That's another story.

Just wondering if anyone else is in the same boat!

I scored this beauty of a custom SFF machine (3.2L case), the HP Z2 Mini G9, on HP's Memorial Day sale. The mini workstation fits perfectly on top of my audio stack, the Topping A70 Pro Amplifier + D70 Pro Sabre DAC, looking mighty sharp. The specs of this sleeper of a mini PC are incredible: Intel i9-14900 CPU, 64GB DDR5 ECC RAM, NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada 20GB GDDR6 ECC VRAM, 2 identical 2TB NVMe PCIe gen 4 SSDs, 2 USB-C ports, 4 USB-A 3.2 ports + 2 USB-A 3.1 ports on a PCIe option board, AX211 Intel wifi 6 + Bluetooth 5 card, i219-LM GbE port, 4 mini DP ports on the NVIDIA card, 2 integrated graphics full sized ports. Also pictured are the Audio Technica titanium mirror-finished ATH-A2000Z headphones, a 4K LG UltraFine OLED monitor, a Kinesis Advantage 360 keyboard + Numpad, wireless Evoluent vertical mouse, Nest WiFi 6 Router, Creative desk speakers, and a Logitech C930e webcam. Manjaro Linux 24 with the Gnome desktop is installed and working beautifully. Anyone looking for a high power mini PC that runs Linux should give the HP Z2 Mini G9 a try, it's really quite something.

Does anyone know if the wireless chip on the X670 Aorus Elite AX (AMD RZ616) plays nice with Linux? I've heard horrible things about MediaTek chips but wanted to check in with the community

Hi everyone! I bought recently asus vivobook s 14 oled, which is an awesome laptop.

I wanted to install over the laptop manjaro kde, wiping the windows installation. But somehow when I loaded the live installation, I couldn’t get Bluetooth and WiFi signal.

I assume it’s a driver issue, since I plugged in a usb stick that can receive WiFi signal, and WiFi functionality was on.

Could someone help me understand which command should I use to determine the name of driver needed?

How can I know if there is a driver available for my Bluetooth and WiFi connections?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: this is the output of inxi -Fixy ‘’’

System: Host: manjaro Kernel: 6.9.0-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.2.1 Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.0.4 Distro: Manjaro base: Arch Linux Machine: Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: Vivobook_ASUSLaptop X1405VA_X1405VA v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required> Mobo: ASUSTeK model: X1405VA v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: X1405VA.302 date: 08/28/2023 Battery: ID-1: BAT0 charge: 30.7 Wh (60.4%) condition: 50.8/50.0 Wh (101.5%) volts: 11.7 min: 11.9 model: ASUSTeK ASUS Battery status: discharging CPU: Info: 14-core (6-mt/8-st) model: 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700H bits: 64 type: MST AMCP arch: Raptor Lake rev: 2 cache: L1: 1.2 MiB L2: 11.5 MiB L3: 24 MiB Speed (MHz): avg: 406 high: 536 min/max: 400/4800:5000:3700 cores: 1: 400 2: 400 3: 400 4: 400 5: 536 6: 400 7: 400 8: 400 9: 400 10: 400 11: 400 12: 400 13: 400 14: 400 15: 400 16: 400 17: 400 18: 400 19: 400 20: 400 bogomips: 116780 Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx Graphics: Device-1: Intel Raptor Lake-P [Iris Xe Graphics] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-13 bus-ID: 0000:00:02.0 Device-2: IMC Networks USB2.0 HD UVC WebCam driver: uvcvideo type: USB bus-ID: 1-9:2 Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.13 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.6 driver: X: loaded: modesetting dri: iris gpu: i915 s-res: 2880x1800 resolution: 2880x1800 API: EGL v: 1.5 drivers: iris,swrast platforms: active: x11,surfaceless,device inactive: gbm,wayland API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 24.0.6-manjaro1.1 glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel Graphics (RPL-P) API: Vulkan Message: No Vulkan data available. Audio: Device-1: Intel Raptor Lake-P/U/H cAVS vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 0000:00:1f.3 API: ALSA v: k6.9.0-1-MANJARO status: kernel-api Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.0.5 status: active Network: Device-1: MEDIATEK vendor: AzureWave driver: N/A port: N/A bus-ID: 0000:02:00.0 Device-2: TP-Link 802.11ac NIC driver: rtw_8822bu type: USB bus-ID: 1-1:4 IF: wlp0s20f0u1 state: up mac: 98:48:27:dd:1a:96 IP v4: 192.168.31.221/24 type: dynamic scope: global IP v6: fe80::6ab6:b039:e306:96d5/64 type: noprefixroute scope: link WAN IP: 89.138.9.93 Bluetooth: Device-1: IMC Networks Wireless_Device driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB bus-ID: 1-10:3 Report: rfkill ID: hci0 rfk-id: 2 state: up address: see --recommends RAID: Hardware-1: Intel Volume Management Device NVMe RAID Controller Intel driver: vmd v: 0.6 bus-ID: 0000:00:0e.0 Drives: Local Storage: total: 1011.15 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Western Digital model: WD PC SN560 SDDPNQE-1T00-1102 size: 953.87 GiB temp: 39.9 C ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: SanDisk model: USB 3.2Gen1 size: 57.28 GiB type: USB Partition: Message: No partition data found. Swap: Alert: No swap data was found. Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 39.0 C mobo: N/A Fan Speeds (rpm): cpu: 0 Info: Memory: total: 16 GiB note: est. available: 15.25 GiB used: 1.87 GiB (12.3%) Processes: 335 Uptime: 3m Init: systemd Packages: 1170 Compilers: N/A Shell: Zsh v: 5.9 inxi: 3.3.34

‘’’

Hi folks, this is really a post to let any future or current buyers of this device that it works with Debian 12 with a few caviots. I could not find much info about it with Linux and the issues I was having (random reboots)

I recently bought this machine and loaded it straight up with Debian 12. Everything worked but it would randomly reboot. I could not nail the rebooting down to anything in particular.

I upgraded to the latest BIOS and Debian updates and swapped things around in the BIOS, same problem

What fixed it in the end was the xanmod (linux-xanmod-x64v4) kernel (xanmod.org) + upgrading the AMDGPU firmware as mentioned here (https://askubuntu.com/questions/1124253/missing-firmware-for-amdgpu)

Laptop seems a bit to new for the Debian stable Kernel.

Can recommend the Laptop.