Linux Laptop Options for 2020?

I run Linux on a ThinkPad P51: powerful hardware, good 4K screen, excellent keyboard, all the ports. Not small. You could also just put Linux on a Mac, alright you'd be paying the Mac premium for sort of not a Mac, and you'd be stuck in dongle land.

I was in a similar place in December 2019. Two main options before me: Dell XPS or the Thinkpad X1 Extreme

Both are great machines, but I went for the Thinkpad.

Reasons:

1. The near zero bezels of the Dell XPS look great, but I use an external monitor most of the time.

2. Thinkpad keyboards. Enough said. Best in breed.

3. Upgradability. Thinkpads are still one of the most upgradable laptops. Almost every part can be upgraded.

4. Thinkpad aesthetics and military grade hardware testing.

5. I find the build quality of the Thinkpad's better than Dell XPS.

Downsides of the Thinkpad is battery life, especially if you go for the 4k version of the screen. With that I get 4 to 6 hours depending on type of usages. Doesn't really bother me though. I find that enough. I'm not a sit in a cafe all day unplugged kind of users. I need my multiple external monitors.

Here's an affiliate link to the Thinkpad X1 Extreme: https://amzn.to/2VJr5fr Non affiliate link: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x/X1-...

Linux support you ask?

I have a dual boot with Windows 10. The Linux setup is Debian based XFCE desktop. Everything works fine. Bluetooth, HDMI, you name it. Even the Nvidia 1650 works perfect.

I'm in a similar position with my 2018 13" MacBook Pro. I want a working keyboard again and I have no interest in a 16" (13" is the perfect size for me) but that doesn't seem to be possible.

I'm also a little more out of luck because I'm looking at switching over full time to BSD which I've used on-and-off over the years for a desktop and consistently on servers.

Thinkpads seem to consistently be the go-to and currently that's where I'm at, looking at a few different models. Also came across System76 and Purism and haven't totally ruled them out yet but probably won't go with those for different reasons.

I bought a Thinkpad P52S last year and installed Pop_OS. It's built on top of Ubuntu and I highly recommend it over Ubuntu. I used a macbook for ~7 years before this, and then Ubuntu for a ~1 year. Pop_OS is much more similar to macOS that anything else I've tried.

With the Ubuntu Tweaks tool, it's been a dream to run. Required very little configuration, shortcuts to switching

I primarly use it for Python (virtualenvs) and a little docker.

I bought the P52S because it had all the hardware ports (Ethernet couple of USBs, a SIM card slot and a proper HDMI port. If those aren't important to you, you could get by with a lighter Carbon.

Please note - Most Linux laptops are being throttled due to low cTDP bug. It impacts almost all new laptops, including Lenovo.

You can read more about this -> https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Other-Linux-Discussions/X1C6-T4...

If you are planning to buy Lenovo, go for higher end (T/P series models) as Lenovo will provide Bios updates to resolve this issue.

If you have MBP money and want "4+ fast cores; 32GB of RAM; 15" screen that's very high quality, if not exceeds what I can get on a MBP; 1TB SSD NVM" you could go with the System76 Adder, which has a 4k screen at 15.6 inches. [0]

I have no affiliation with System76 and have never bought one of their products, but I almost bought that one late last year when I was purchasing a laptop.

[0] https://system76.com/laptops/adder

I have a 15.6" LG Gram running Mint 19 and I love it. It's lighter than a 13" MacBook Air and I usually get ~10 hours of battery life. My only complaints are the very high-gloss screen and the flimsy, proprietary power connector (edit: it looks like current versions use Thunderbolt instead). Also, I like the keyboard, but I'm not picky about keyboards so you may not want to trust my judgment on that.

I got myself Thinkpad X1 Extreme last year with 16 GB RAM, 256 GB NVME SSD, 8th gen i7 running Linux, so far I'm very satisfied. It can be upgraded fairly easily, I already installed additional 1 TB SSD, and will probably upgrade RAM down the road.

On Linux apart from switching between dedicated Nvidia GPU and integrated, everything worked out of the box for me.

The only comparable machines in quality and spec are probably the Dell XPS 15 / Precision whatever or the Thinkpad X1 Extreme series.

And these are only "comparable" in quality if you're being generous. Keyboard preference is subjective but nobody would argue the rest if they used these side by side with a 16" MBP.

System 76 seems like the best option to me if you've got the dough.

If you like mac, there's a great site called Backmarket.com

Welcome to the club!

I've been very happy with my XPS dev edition running Xubuntu. It's a 13", as I prefer smaller and lighter for travel. The laptop it replaced was also a 13" XPS with Xubuntu (slightly older), and when it comes time to upgrade, I'll almost certainly get another.

Been using an X1 Extreme gen 1 for over a year now for work with Pop os. Love it, works great, besides fingerprint reader.

I have not interest in switching back to a Mac anytime soon for work or a personal computer (x1c6).

Consider using Windows 10 with WSL - Surface Book 2 could be your option then (as I'm not sure how it works on pure linux, but I use it with WSL since 1.5 year without any troubles)

ThinkPad, namely the P53s or X1 Extreme. You could go with the P1 if don't mind something a little heftier.

I'm still using second-hand a T450S since you can buy them all day long on eBay for $150.

Do not buy the Thinkpad X1 carbon 7th gen. There is a battery issue, Lenovo upgraded the bios 2 times by now trying to solve the problem but seems to be a hardware problem.

Very very happy with my ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th Gen). Installing Linux was a breeze, and everything works fine out of the box with no tinkering.

What about the XPS 15 or its enterprise counterpart (Precision 5500 series)? I ran Ubuntu on an older XPS 15 for years with few issues.

I can't recommend the XPS series less.