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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?

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.

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.

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.

Revan343 ,

$$$

Marduk73 ,
@Marduk73@sh.itjust.works avatar

Look at the prices.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

outbound ,

Refurbished ThinkPads are awesome!

  • Availability - ThinkPads are very popular in corporate environments and are generally replaced every 2-3 years. Although mostly Intel CPUs, there is a wide variety CPU+GPU available from lightweight to high performance.
  • Tough + well built + last forever
  • Easy to upgrade/repair. They’re very user-accessible and its simple to upgrade RAM or SSD/M.2 drives. Plus, because they are so popular in the corporate environment, replacement parts (from batteries to WiFi+Bluetooth chipsets to trckpads) are very available and cheap.
  • Well supported in most (if not all) linux distros. Graphics just work, trackpads just work, WiFi just works.
  • Cheap.

Sent from my ThinkPad T580 (with both an internal and removable battery, I get 10+ hours of battery life)

Franzia , (edited )

I’ve heard of potential security issues when buying them. How can I mitigate that - buying from a safe source, wiping them etc.?

Thanks it sounds like simply wiping the system is enough to get around security flaws.

rufus ,

We’re talking about Linux here. You’ll probably wipe it anyways. Chances are slim the company that used it before put Arch on it.

outbound ,

Always wipe and do a fresh install. If you’re installing Linux, its unlikely that the refurbisher will have installed your flavour of Linux anyway. If you want to dual-boot with Windows, most business ThinkPads come with a Windows Pro licence - just download the ISO and install it fresh, then install Linux.

Frederic ,

For me it’s Dell, when I bought my (used) Latitude E5470 there was even Ubuntu running officially on it IIRC at the time. I like the small Dell because there’s ton of them 3+ years old, parts available everywhere, they are pretty solid and made for corporate world, they are no toy like Asus. A $1500 model can be had for like $200-300 after a couple of years. I installed MX Linux on it, everything works perfectly without touching or configuring anything.

For instance now you can find a nice E7480 for 200-300$, with Core I7, 8GB or 16GB RAM, SSD, 1080p, NFC, fingerprint, USB-PD dock compatible, etc.

agent_flounder ,
@agent_flounder@lemmy.one avatar

I’ve had good luck with Dell Latitudes* from work and personal purchase from several years ago. I would probably tend to get one again when I update. I had zero issues installing Mint on one of the E6410s.

We switched to HP at work and mine have been reliable also and a nice minimalist look and decently thin form factor. I’d consider those too.

ExLisper ,

Also Vant and Slimbook from Spain. I own a PC from Vant and I’m happy with it but I would think twice before buying a laptop for 1.5k when I can just get a used lenovo for half that price and use it for next 10 years.

tekeous ,
@tekeous@apollo.town avatar

The only good system on that list is the framework and it’s $2800 for my ideal version.

Last year’s Thinkpad P-series goes for around $400 on eBay.

iopq ,

You’re comparing ideal to “will get the job done” which is a big gap

The Thinkpad probably doesn’t have a high resolution high refresh screen, which is exactly why I’m shelling out $1400 for the Framework.

nyan ,

To many of us that doesn’t matter. My secondary machine is a laptop from 2008 (not a Thinkpad, though), with a standard-for-the-time 1280x800 17" screen, and I’m fine with that, because I’d rather have a coarse 16:10 17" screen than a high-res 16:9 14-15" one. Occasional window shopping suggests that a new laptop with a screen of the same physical size as my old one would cost more than I really want to pay at the moment.

You obviously have different priorities. That’s fine—plenty of machines of different sorts to go around—but please try not to project your priorities onto others.

iopq ,

If you’re happy with it, no reason to switch. I’m just saying you can’t compare different price range products

promitheas ,
@promitheas@iusearchlinux.fyi avatar

I think what hes trying to say (correct me if im wrong OP), is that not everyone needs that high end machine, so its not comparing apples to oranges as you seem to suggest. Its like comparing a Lamborghini to a regular albeit good sedan for the purpose of taking your kids to school, doing groceries, etc. If we ignore the obvious impracticalities of the Lambo for these jobs, sure its really cool, but if you can achieve the same task with the sedan (again ignoring that the Lambo might not allow you to conveniently achieve them and assuming practicality is equal so that the car analogy can fit in with the laptop question), why specifically go looking to get the Lambo?

Edit: meant to reply to [email protected]

iopq ,

Thinkpad won’t play AAA games, it just can’t run them at a playable frame rate

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