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LinuxHello everyone,
I currently use Linux as my personal operating system and really enjoy it. I’m now looking for a reliable laptop for my business.
I’ll mainly use it for office work, software development, and programming in C++ and Python. I use Debian, so good Linux compatibility is important. Durability and repairability are also high priorities, since I plan to use it as my primary work laptop every day.
Could you recommend any laptops that would be a good fit?
Framework and System76 aren’t options for me because I’m located in Costa Rica, where they aren’t readily available.
Thank you!
I've been fond of the HP Elitebook series; not the strongest powered of things but fairly easy to replace things like the battery, fan, or keyboard (in one of the worst streaks I've ever had in owning a computer – I literally cannot think of having done anything like it, before –, I managed to get a sufficient amount of liquid into the keyboard 3 times in the span of, like, 2–3 months; random keys went dead within days of each spill. So I ended up replacing the keyboard three time and that was pretty much all I needed to do. Kept chugging, after each time and entirely usable, still (now that the keyboard's replaced)).
If you're fine with buying an older generation, you can easily grab a used one for no more than $200.
One or two gen old HP elitebooks on Ebay, cheap and they have fwupd support
Don't sleep on Dell Latitudes.
Yep, I have a 5290 (since 2023, 2018 model). If I had taken a minimum amount of care for it, it would still be in a great condition. But now, the housing is broken in multiple places and I have to replace the battery. But everything works great.
Dell's Linux support has carried my ~10 year old XPS through a lot of changes and updates. It still runs almost brand new. Not much to complain about.
This comment made me realize my XPS is 11 now.
Hard to believe isn't it? If you're not ray tracing your spreadsheets you don't need to update that often. :-P
This. I got a dell latitude 5450 for $400 with a core ultra 7, 16gb ram and a 256gb ssd. There are 2 upgradeable ram slots, and its awesome. Really fast.
Well, I kinda missed the chance. It's extremely expensive now (occasionally checking eBay).
Older T ThinkPads
Las Lenovo Thinkpad son lo mas recomendado con razón, pero suelen ser bastantes caras aquí en Latinoamerica. Una buena opción más económica son las Lenovo Thinkbook, tengo una con Debían instalado y funciona todo.
Son carísimas, pero si he encontrado varias T14 gen 5 o gen 6 (usadas) a un precio razonable. He visto que también algunas Dell son buena opción. Gracias por comentar.
Lenovo Thinkpad. New ones are quite expensive. But they tend to last a decade and many companies sell off old ones, so you might get a used one for cheap. Don't get the E or L series, though; those are cheaply made. T, X, etc. are good.
Lenovo ThinkPads are quite compatible.
They are also easy to get into, just undo some screws and you're in. Just make sure the insides have expandability in case you want to plug in another SSD or more RAM (in this economy?! 😉).
What do you mean durable? As long as you are careful, and don't use it as a frisbee, any laptop can last for 10 years. If you travel about with it, get a proper laptop shoulder bag that fits it well and has a soft padded interior. Then keep the laptop in that when you travel, and don't squash it into a bag or suitcase.
Beyond that, simply look for the laptop that you like best. The Thinkpad is a meme laptop IMO. I had one for work, and yes it worked fine with Linux, but so did both the laptops I bought for myself, neither of which were Thinkpads. If you like the look of the Thinkpad, then go for it. Personally I don't really dig that clunky 90s aesthetic, I prefer laptops with a sleek minimalist aluminium look.
My advice is to make a checklist of everything you need and/or want in your laptop. How long do you want it to run on battery? What size screen do you want? What connectivity does it need - USB-C ports, a couple of USB-A as well? Do you want it to use a USB-C charger (this is very convenient when travelling)? What kind of touchpad, keyboard layout, how much RAM, what speed WiFi etc etc
Then simply start looking, and build a shortlist of laptops that appeal. Create a spreadsheet, with a column for each of the features you identified as being important in the last step.
Regarding Linux support, the best thing you can do is check reviews. Even if you buy elsewhere, Amazon reviews are great for this - you can search reviews for keywords, so when you see a laptop you like the look of, search for reviews that mention Linux, and check that everyone's happy and not complaining about unsupported devices. This is not the lucky dip that it used to be, but there are still problematic components like network adapters that may not work out of the box.
I have only had two laptops, the first of which I bought in 2018. It was an Asus, very midrange at £600. I prepared a live USB, booted on to it and checked everything worked OK, which it did, and then without further ado I installed Linux. The sensible thing to do would be to have left the "Windows rescue partition" intact for a couple of weeks until I was sure I was happy with the machine, but I just wanted all trace of Microshit purged from my shiny new machine, so I deleted it and set the entire disk as my single Linux partition (plus of course a small boot partition), and I never looked back.
The computer worked great, did everything I needed from it and was still going strong last year when I finally got a replacement. The laptop I have now is a Lenovo IdeaPad 5. It was also £600, and its performance is way better than expected, being way faster and more pleasant to use than my old Asus. it has an integrated Intel Arc graphics card, which is surprisingly capable. While my old laptop could only run vintage games, such as KOTOR, this new one is able to run current games on medium-low settings. I've currently got addicted to ARC Raiders, and it runs perfectly acceptably. Nothing like as smooth and pretty as it runs on my desktop PC at home, but perfectly good enough for me.
As long as you are careful, and don’t use it as a frisbee, any laptop can last for 10 years.
HP has entered the chat
The aluminum bodied HPs are odd. The aluminum is so soft it dents if you look at it funny. But the repairability is insane. Almost as good as a t580. Better in some aspects.
My sister has 2 t580s. One with a 7th gen i5, one with an 8th gen i7. I've worked on them before. Cooling system was 2x my first pavilion had (same i5 and mine had a gpu). I liked the captive screws. But the entire thing is one board. I can't replace busted ports. She broke the main USBC for charging and if she broke the thunderbolt one, she's kind of screwed unless if she buys a dock.
If I did that to my current pavilion, I can replace the port. I still have the USB c issue but that pavilion has a USB on a daughter board. Performs like the other USB ports. Why can't more laptops do that?
Well, the aluminum housings are overrated. My Redmi 4x housing deformed when the battery expanded (somewhat understandable), my dad's laptop's housing deformed from sitting on the table. And the Redmi's housing is extremely scratched by just being in a case.
I don't get why they don't just use stronger metal for electronics.
If you don't use a laptop ut can last for 10 years, and even then I have my doubts. Some laptops are so cheaply made it's beyond anyone would have imagined, with fringes breaking after one month of opening it with utmost care and displays ungluing from its frame. Why people buy them? Because that's what was affordable to them. Would they be better off saving some more money to buy better quality? Probably, but necessity and urgency make it economically feasible for this kind of companies to exist, which is regrettable.
I mean durable as I will use them day to day for my work, that includes office work and development work. I am an Engineer working with automation and I need to program using c++ (for embedded computers) and python, also I need to make quotes to my clients and use email services. I tend to be very careful with my computers and always travel with their respective cases and all. Now I have a macbook pro 2016 that is in perfect shape because I take care of it and I expect my new pc to last as long as this one. All in all thanks for taking the time to reply!
Got you, makes sense! If you took worse care of your devices, then it wouldn't be such an issue if a capacitor fails after just a few years. A company such as Apple is not going to be using bargain-bin components from random no-name manufacturers, and that should be reflected in better longevity even with heavy use.
Good luck in your search, and I hope you find the perfect beast for you!
If you can, look for used Lenovo Thinkpads. Those machines are extremely compatible with Linux, out of the box, have good hardware profiles and, if used, can be sources really cheap and are very easily repairable.
I have two Thinkpads running Debian and the machines are brilliant.
Lenovo has pimped out the Thinkpad name ever since they bought it from IBM. Whilst some thinkpads are still durable (the business class especially) they also slap the name on some very poorly made laptops. Worth spending time researching models rather than just assuming every thinkpad is built like they used to be.
tbh, the lenovo models are more durable than ibm ones. the last ibm thinkpad (t43) has fragile plastic housing while the first lenovo model (t60) has sturdy magnesium rollcage.
most if not all T/X/P models are still good. worse than 2006~2013 models in some ways, but still miles better than other laptops on the market.
I wouldn't completely disagree with what you're saying, but ThinkPads are absolutely still the most reliable laptops you can buy in their respective price range
Worth spending time researching models rather than just assuming every thinkpad is built like they used to be.
A very brief version: Look for T-series with specs you like. W works too if that branch is still around. Xnnn series is pretty good, X1 not so much. L series is a consumer brand, a bit better today but specially first L-models were just trash.
Why don't you like the X1s?
I've had OpenSUSE Tumbleweed running on a Carbon Gen 11 for a year now with no issues. The fingerprint reader and touchscreen both worked out of the box.
Just that they are not built the way "traditional" thinkpads are. I don't have personal experience how durable they are, but in general they aren't as easy to repair as T-series (for example). With T-series it's pretty straightforward to replace nearly every component separately (wifi, ram, keyboard, display...) which is either way more difficult or straight impossible to do with X1. Also spare part availability is generally better with T-series.
But to be honest, newer T14s aren't as service-friendly either as older T-series. But if repairability is a deciding factor then I'd skip X1 and get some T-series instead.
Thanks for adding the model ranges, @IsoKiero@sopuli.xyz
Thinkpad + Debian = perfection
Thank you!
https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Lenovo_ThinkPad_T14_Gen_7
The Lenovo Thinkpad T14 Gen 7 got a 10/10 repairability score on ifixit.
I bought one recently. It runs Fedora Silverblue great. Everything works, Bluetooth, webcam, etc.
I'd like to add that Lenovo's warranty and extended warranty is second to none. Although I cannot verify Costa Rica, I do know that they have strong international coverage. Thinkpads are meant for business across the globe.
Used thinkpad 16gb+ ram, i5 10th gen or higher.
Have you checked out Framework? They build laptops aiming to be as repairable as desktop PCs and have become a favorite of linux users (myself included)
EDIT: apologies for not seeing the Framework note at the end of the OP (thanks for pointing that out @digdilem@lemmy.ml)
We use framework, and they are very good and I like them a lot. (Noting OP explicitly excludes them though)
But I wouldn't say they're particularly durable. The chassis has some flex in it and we've had two screens fail out of 30 without being particularly abused.
But of course, parts are available and repairs are very easy, so there's that.
Yeah the bottom housing of my Framework 12 laptop developed spiderweb cracks in it after only 3 months. I'm the most careful person I know with my electronics, so it's not because I'm abusing it or anything.
Framework is dragging their feet on a warranty claim too, which is frustrating since a new bottom housing replacement is only like $60. I really love the concept of Framework, but so far I'm not impressed with their durability or support.
The old Dell XPS laptop that I had before this is 13 years old and still in great condition despite being too slow for my work needs now.
I am happy with the refurbished ThinkPad T590 that I purchased earlier this year. It works well with Debian. The primary reason I purchased it is because I couldn't get a replacement keyboard for my not so old Dynabook. No such problem with this one - parts are readily available.
Thanks for the advice!
Today I was looking at the Intel IME issue.
Intel has the following advisory: Intel® Management Engine Critical Firmware Update (Intel-SA-00086)
Intel does not provide updates to the software in their IME. They claim they cannot do so due to the system manufacturers possibly having customized parts of the system.
Lenovo no longer supports this model. The last IME update from Lenovo was to version 12.0.95.2489, release by Lenovo 2025/02/13.
This predates to latest vulnerability discoveries in the Intel IME. Neither Intel nor Lenovo will provide any further updates for this model. So it will remain vulnerable.
You should consider this, when you consider any older laptop with an Intel CPU.
Otherwise, I am quite happy with it. It is physically more robust than my previous laptops and it works very well with Debian. But it isn't a perfect solution.
I been selling used dell latitude 3520s. They’re less durable than the old style thinkpad but about on par with the new style ones. They’re just as repairable. Manuals and parts available online.
I've got a Framework 16 and love it. Very good laptop and they have first-class Linux support. It's unfortunate you can't get one!
Failing that, the Lenovo ThinkPad business laptops (the T, X and P series) are good. For work, I've currently got a ThinkPad T1g, and used to have an X1 Extreme. Fedora runs perfectly on both.
Being European, I'm assuming slimbooks aren't really it easily available? Repairable, Linux-first. Very happy with mine.
I don't know how they are today but I have an old af latitude e5430 that's been used hard and still works great.
