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?
It comes down to price. You can buy used ThinkPads and replacement parts for them quite cheap a lot of the time.
It’s been a while since I’ve looked at devices from places like System 76 but if I recall correctly they are still over a thousand dollars when a used ThinkPad T440P for example can be found for around two hundred dollars.
Framework laptops are interesting and I hope eventually the modularity allows the components to go down in price. Right now I was looking at a 16 (which all sold out within 3 hours of pre-order launch) but it comes out to easily over 3k CAD for a disassembled kit, skimping on RAM and an SSD.
yoo I didn’t know about used/refurbished Thinkpads being that cheap, I just checked and indeed you can find a T480 with 16GB of RAM for $248 on Amazon!
Those linux laptops are too expensive and they are not available in some countries
Used thinkpad is much cheaper
Thinkpads tend to have excellent build quality, solid firmware and well thought out design. Price to performance on second-hand models is always outstanding and their popularity ensures hardware compatibility with Linux.
Of the brands you named, I just don’t trust the hardware. Tuxedo computers for example uses Tongfang white-label computers that they just slap their logo on. Quality control isn’t as thorough as Lenovo’s, firmware is sketchy, TDP tends to be all over the place and keyboard quality doesn’t come close.
Thinkpads also have-- and I can’t stress the importance of this enough-- a nipple. I don’t really use it, but if you try to take it away from me I’ll bite you.
Cause thinkpads are cheap and easy to come by
Source: i work in ewaste
Because these are small shops that have limited availability outside North America, and are fairly expensive compared to Thinkpads which are widely used by corporations, and can be found pretty cheaply.
15 years ago I would have been surprised to hear that Thinkpads are cheap laptops !
In the US a lot of business use them. It’s not uncommon to see a pallet of “old” ThinkPads at the swapmeet selling for less than $200. We’re talking x1 Carbons. These machines have upgradable SSDs, Wifi, and battery. For less than $300 you can get a BEAST of a machine that runs Linux very very well.
Because not one of those laptops have a TrackPoint style mouse.
You mean the nipple mouse?
Recently I had to decide what laptop I buy and I decided to buy an used Thinkpad T480s for 260€
I was browsing in the Framework and Slimbook websites but the price it’s more than three times. It’s true that they are new and the Thinkpad is used, but I was looking for Framework and Slimbook in second-hand websites but I didn’t find nothing.
My third world country only have Thinkpad around so. It is what it is.
I also live in Europe
yeah good luck getting those brand outside of US
Lenovo makes great computers. They have amazing price-to-performance ratios.
The only reason I wouldn’t buy Lenovo is they were caught twice shipping laptops with spyware, and on my NAS their upgrade firmware contained google ad banners. While this will not affect a linux reinstall it just shows they are a shit company
American producers are shipping NSA spyware as well. If this is a concern (which it should be), best thing is to install Linux on it yourself.
What do you mean by NSA spyware? Anything that I can think of along those lines isn’t really the same thing as what Lenovo did.
That’s not really the same thing. It’s also bad, but the producers aren’t shipping that themselves, the NSA modifies it the devices after shipment. That’s in some ways worse, since installing Linux yourself won’t help against adversarial firmware/hardware.
I bought a Framework once. The build quality was better than System76, but not great. However, Framework is not a Linux laptop. They designed it for Windows and only afterwards they were surprised to find that people wanted it for Linux.
A lot of Linux laptops don’t have HiDPI displays because they’re not really compatible.
Example Framework: https://community.frame.work/t/tracking-state-of-hidpi-on-linux/8301
For years people have been trying to work around Framework’s poor display choice. And they’re still trying.
If you have a regular DPI display, you get to avoid a whole class of bugs and issues.
If you wanna have a good time with Linux, you need some mechanical sympathy.
Btw, tbh, brb, I’ve had good success with the Dell XPS 13 and the Lenovo X1 Carbon. System76 build quality was meh.
