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Why do people still recommend Thinkpads for Linux when there are Linux-oriented manufacturers now?

I’ve noticed in the Linux community whenever someone asks for a recommendation on a laptop that runs Linux the answer is always “Get a Thinkpad” yet Lenovo doesn’t seem to be a big Linux contributor or ally. There’s also at least six Linux/FOSS-oriented computer manufacturers now:

So what gives? Why the love for a primarily Windows-oriented laptop when there are better alternatives?

danielton ,
@danielton@lemmy.world avatar

System76 and other Linux-oriented hardware “manufacturers” basically take Clevo laptops and rebadge and mark them up. I got one from System76 and have been less than impressed with it considering what they charged for it. The screen is awful (purple tint to it) and the hardware didn’t fully work with any distro for a while. I wished I’d just bought a refurbished Thinkpad.

scytale ,

Side question since a lot of people knowledgeable about Thinkpads are here. What’s a good used thinkpad model that can support remastered classic games like StarCraft and Quake II? All my linux distros are on HP and MSI hand-me-downs that are starting to break down, and I’ve been wanting to get a cheap, used thinkpad.

Maoo ,
@Maoo@hexbear.net avatar

I haven’t found one that will reasonably sell me a warranty and that has a good reputation. Warranty cost is a proxy for how likely it will be to break and is insurance against having to shell out another $1k+ over a 3 or 4 year period. System76 is the only one I’d consider and their 3-year warranty is nearly $400. Thinkpad warranties are $150 for the same level of support and $200 for the warranty where they physically fly a person to fix your computer within a couple days.

makingStuffForFun , (edited )
@makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml avatar

In Australia you get these “warranties” regardless. You don’t need to purchase them.

I tested lenovo on this when my x1 carbon broke, a year outside of it’s limited warranty period.

They wanted to charge me. I reminded them on Australian consumer law, and they instantly agreed to repair and ship it at no cost.

They will all try to get around it, but as soon as you mention it. They comply

Maoo ,
@Maoo@hexbear.net avatar

Lucky ducks

makingStuffForFun ,
@makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml avatar

Not lucky, but worked for.

They still sell warranties, but only due to people not knowing about our strong laws. This is partially why I post about this when it comes up, to help educate people on their rights.

estebanlm ,
@estebanlm@lemmy.ml avatar

I have a tuxedo. I love it. But…

  1. it supports just its own version of linux (TuxedoOS, based on KDE) and Ubuntu. I use Majaro and I have to tweak it the same way as I would do it with any other non-linux computer.
  2. I had a problem with sound and needed to send the computer to germany so they were able to check at it and fix it (replacing the mother board). Client service is good, but I live at 1w distance of germany (france)… what happens with people living far away?
  3. Is certainly good… but not cheap :)
canis_majoris ,
@canis_majoris@lemmy.ca avatar

I find Ubuntu to be the best out of the box. I would not use Arch as a productivity machine. My laptop runs EndeavourOS and I was able to get it to a decent place for dicking around. Manjaro hardware manager helps the process of getting the Nivida driver, but Nvidia recently open sourced their newer drivers so they are generally included upstream as part of most package managers. I just had to install nvidia-dkms and it works fine for gaming now. I can do DXVK stuff with Lutris (WoW), run Proton emulation (basically everything else), or just natively run Vulkan games.

If I were to have to stick to a distro to make professional day-to-day use with I would probably pick Ubuntu. It’s the most well supported overall by communities, and it’s one of the most consistent experiences within the Linux environment. Every other distro has some stupid hacky way of connecting to proprietary clouds, while Ubuntu just has native OneDrive and GDrive capabilities. Having access to those shared drives for my org is one of the most important parts of my job, and on most distros I just can’t access them outside of the browser.

estebanlm ,
@estebanlm@lemmy.ml avatar

I have been using Manjaro as my daily driver for years now (I work making a programming language), and I have absolutely no complains ;) … but this thread is to talk about hardware :P

moist_towelettes ,

I bought a System76 Pangolin 11, then replaced it with a ThinkPad X13 within a few months because the battery life was trash. Total workhorse but it would die on me in meetings if I was sharing my screen.

tal , (edited )
@tal@kbin.social avatar

Last time I was looking, they were one of the few laptops that I've seen that come with a trackpad with three mechanical buttons. Linux makes better use of three buttons than some other environments, and I like mechanical buttons.

There may be other vendors out there now that also do so.

fakeman_pretendname ,

Absolutely. It’s a shame that this has become so rare. Even the Framework laptop, which is put together in a modular manner, allowing pieces to be swapped in and out, doesn’t give the option of having a touchpad with actual buttons.

I could have a full rant about it, but based on their lack of availability, I suspect I’ve got a minority opinion.

TheButtonJustSpins ,

Right there with you. I’d love it if someone adapted the Lenovo ThinkPad trackpad into a form that would work to plug into the Framework 16. I strongly prefer physical buttons.

Marduk73 ,
@Marduk73@sh.itjust.works avatar

Look at the prices.

Revan343 ,

$$$

Certainity45 ,

I hope nobody recommends Thinkpads manufactured after 2020. They’re pure garbage in so many ways, that there’s no point to list them all.

nottheengineer ,

I’d recommend against any lenovo laptop after the T580 and T490. My company switched to dell since the lenovo laptops had so many failures and weird issues that we’d have to keep an extra one in stock for every 10 in use.

But if the older stuff suits your needs, go for it. Lenovo used to make great laptops.

Ecology8622 ,

Agree with this. Any Dell Latitude can easily be as good as any Lenovo in terms of Linux support. Our company has moved away from Lenovo and only go with Dell’s.

0xeb ,

They still do a good job with build quality and I use them for work. I also use framework 13 as my personal computer, it is great and I like it but it does not feel as premium as my work laptop. It is probably a trade off for modularity though

TheButtonJustSpins ,

My work laptop is dogshit, but I do love my personal P50. I’ve preordered the Framework 16 to replace it, though.

morhp ,

Framework has some quality problems, not everyone is a fan of the keyboard, and it’s relatively expensive.

Tuxedo is quite good, but they often use stock Clevo models and customize them, so they might be cheaper and not that well designed than one by a “proper brand”.

Not sure about the rest.

There’s very little alternative if you want a ThinkPad style keyboard and track pad/trackpoint for the price of a used or older ThinkPad.

TCB13 ,
@TCB13@lemmy.world avatar

Why do people recommend Lenovo computers that are poor quality and fail often instead HP EliteBooks that are rock solid and well designed?

canis_majoris ,
@canis_majoris@lemmy.ca avatar

The Lenovos are cheaper to repair by and large, because there’s just so many of them. I find HPs have overheating issues and I steer clear of them as a manufacturer.

Contend6248 ,

Our Lenovo notebooks from the last 2 years sound like a jet engine, even when you look at the desktop, known problem, they don’t care or give you a possible solution.

canis_majoris ,
@canis_majoris@lemmy.ca avatar

My Dell does the exact same thing, or at least did when it was running Windows. I would go to put it to sleep and the fan would spin up like a jet engine, as if it was thinking really hard and doing the exact opposite of what I told it to.

Contend6248 ,

That’s because of the broken “modern standby”. www.youtube.com/embed/6ykdtaIAG_0

PipedLinkBot ,

Here is an alternative Piped link(s): piped.video/embed/6ykdtaIAG_0

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

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danielton ,
@danielton@lemmy.world avatar

I avoid HP at all costs because they’re a scumbag company that disables their printers if you don’t use them the way they want you to.

TCB13 ,
@TCB13@lemmy.world avatar

Then you should avoid all brands in general because they misbehave in some aspect.

fedorafan ,

One factor is that laptops need a little more design work to build out main boards and validate relative to a desktop, especially considering that you optimizing for power draw and that very little of the design is socketed. As a result a good chunk of the Linux laptop market uses OEM provided designs and then tailors their software around it. Last I heard system76 was working to bring that design work in house.

canis_majoris ,
@canis_majoris@lemmy.ca avatar

Thinkpads are cheap and accessible basically everywhere. They are business-grade devices and you can get one when folks retire their machines. A lot of places practically give them away. They were just gonna get thrown out anyways.

Framework is dumb expensive - a 16 even skimping out on RAM/HDDs comes out to over 3k CAD, and that’s for a disassembled kit – pre-built with full components comes out to easily over 3.5k, which is like a MacBook price for the promise of upgradability down the line.

System76 are rebranded shitty components from Chinese manufacturers. They’re not better for Linux than any general consumer laptop, and their entire position is basically branding regarding freedom and 1776. Ironic that a company so deeply American in nature basically just resells garbage from China.

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