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Buying a new computer to run Linux on - suggestions?

Hello. I have never used Linux before in my life, but this post isn’t really about the software. I know there are many guides and threads out there explaining how to set up Linux for beginners.

My question is more about what computers you guys suggest for Linux. I don’t have any old computers lying around at home, I only have a computer assigned by my school that I’ll turn in next year. To my understanding, Linux should be able to work on almost all computers, so I haven’t thought about a specific brand.

My top priorities are (in order):

  • good/great battery life
  • quiet
  • compact and lightweight

Preferably a 13" or 15" screen, though I prefer the former. Just a small machine with a great battery life that also doesn’t make much noise when several apps are open at once. I have looked at Asus before, but I’m not sure what the general consensus is of this brand, so I was hoping to get some suggestions. I’ve also looked at Framework computers, but honestly it’s a bit expensive for me. My budget is ~1000$ (10 000 SEK).

Might be unnecessary information, but: I will be using this computer mainly to write documents, make the occasional presentations, browse the web, and watch videos and movies. So no photo- or video editing nor gaming at all. Like everybody, I hope to buy a computer that will last many years and survive many student theses. Cheers and thanks!

Revan343 ,

Refurbished ThinkPad. The answer is always a refurbished ThinkPad

arefx ,

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, what’s a good place to buy them, ebay? I’d be using it mainly for web browsing and playing sames through moonlight

Revan343 ,

I’m not sure, I got my current one through our tech guy at work, not sure where he gets them

kittenzrulz123 ,

Get a Librebooted Thinkpad T440p or similar and then upgrade it (SSD, 16gb ram, etc).

lud ,

Or a normal booted ThinkPad if you don’t really care about that (I personally don’t) it will be able to run Linux regardless.

kittenzrulz123 ,

Yeah but if a laptop is old enough to support Libreboot that means it was released before Lenovo messed it up

lud ,

How did they mess up?

Also isn’t a laptop from 2014 (?) kinda pushing it when it comes to laptops?

I can’t be much more expensive to get a laptop that’s much better in pretty much every way.

Unrelated but I really wish modern ThinkPads had a think light.

kittenzrulz123 ,

I’m pretty sure the T440p is the newest one and it’s 2013. They messed up in the sense that modern Thinkpads are starting to solder components and overall the build quality is worse.

lud ,

Maybe the build quality is a bit worse but it’s not bad. My x280 is doing great and I would absolutely not replace it with an older machine (even if that machine had a think light)

And I much rather have soldered components from 2018 (or something) than non soldered from a decade ago

But sure, there is nothing wrong with running old machines yourself. I just wouldn’t recommend it to people that ask for a laptop unless they specifically request it.

kittenzrulz123 ,

Repairability and upgradability are incredibly important factors, when my computer breaks why should I need to buy a new one? Heck why should it break at all, old computers were built to last.

lud ,

I agree. I have even replaced the screen on my x280 to a IPS screen (because the old one was a crap TN screen) and the storage.

I wish newer machines were more repairable and I would buy a framework if I could afford it and if they had more ports. Fortunately most machines don’t break that often and very rarely is it in a part that couldn’t be replaced by a skilled technician (excluding some shitty products like Apple computers). Most business tier laptops like Lenovo ThinkPads and Dell Latitudes (5xxx and 7xxxx series at least) are fairly repairable and durable.

Upgradability is also great but doesn’t make a lot of sense to worry about when the machine is a decade old and still crap performance wise even if you gave it a few more GBs of RAM. You can’t really upgrade anything beyond storage and ram in any laptops unfortunately.

I wouldn’t consider a decade old computer no matter how repairable, durable, or how upgradable it is unless I worked exclusively in a TTY or some shit and I believe most feel the same way.

You do you, but I still don’t think it’s a good suggestion for someone that just needs a computer. Especially when they want good battery life and compactness. Neither of which computers that old are good at.

priapus ,

I personally love my Framework 13. Not sure if the battery life is up to your standard, but the new models are plenty enough for me.

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