Need advice on best Linux compatible laptop under 2K

Question

My Mac Air is close to giving up the ghost and I'm currently evaluating an M1 (16GB, 1TB) but somehow Apple's recent moves is causing disquiet and am considering returning it (even though it's actually not a bad machine).So I need your advice on a developer's laptop capable of running some flavor of Linux for under 2k. Back in the day the choice would have been simple: ThinkPad but there are all sorts of negative reviews regarding quality of Lenovo and I've been buying Macs for decades so I'm fairly clueless regarding alternatives. Many thanks.

jguzmanjr · Accepted Answer

I'm in a similar boat to op. I love my MacBook Pro (and other apple products) but after the Apple debacle, I've decided to go back to Fedora.I'm building my own custom 16 core 64GB 7000MB/s NVMe workstation but if I were looking for a laptop, I'd consider the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9. I found out about it through the Fedora Magazine website. Interesting thing about the laptop is that you can order it with retina screen. Just choose 3840 x 2400 14" option. The laptop comes preinstalled with Fedora so you know it's Linux friendly at the least.

_benj · Answer

I&rsquo;ve had good Linux experiences with Lenovo laptops. A few of them, specially their business line, support Linux and you can even order them with Linux pre-installed.The support is more than the devices that the laptop has there are Linux drivers for it, what it means is that, for example, you don&rsquo;t need some windows app to update the bios or fingerprint reader, there are Linux tools from Lenovo to do that.

fhaldridge7 · Answer

Be sure to check support forums, subreddits, yt review videos before buying a laptop. I wanted to buy a system76 laptop but after reading the subreddit there seem to be many people having problems especially with the build quality, things are just breaking after one or two years.
For now I'd just use a Thinkpad. Linux works great on it and if there are any problems it's easy to find help online.
The framework laptop has no official linux support yet. They have a forum where people share their experiences running linux on it and discuss problems.

rl3 · Answer

The Framework laptop, from a month ago:https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27926425System76 shipping a new model, today:https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28372771I've no opinion on either of these, and am pretty much in your boat pondering the same question.

giantg2 · Answer

Here are a few options. Although you should be able to load linux on just about any of the laptops that come with Win too.https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?storeName=Laptops-Notebooks&page...

bjourne · Answer

I have a five year old ASUS ZenBook UX305 which I'm very happy with. So I suggest looking into ASUS' newer ZenBooks and Zephyrus laptops.

alsoicode · Answer

System76 for the win. Their machines are quite durable and affordably priced.All of the hardware is guaranteed to work with Linux and their customer support is great.

sdze · Answer

Puri.sm

Need advice on best Linux compatible laptop under 2K

The Framework laptop, from a month ago:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27926425
System76 shipping a new model, today:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28372771
I've no opinion on either of these, and am pretty much in your boat pondering the same question.

Here are a few options. Although you should be able to load linux on just about any of the laptops that come with Win too.
https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?storeName=Laptops-Notebooks&page...

I have a five year old ASUS ZenBook UX305 which I'm very happy with. So I suggest looking into ASUS' newer ZenBooks and Zephyrus laptops.

System76 for the win. Their machines are quite durable and affordably priced.
All of the hardware is guaranteed to work with Linux and their customer support is great.

Puri.sm