Choice of a good Laptop?

English Hardware
1

Hello there,
I’m currently in the market for a new laptop, specifically one that runs Linux smoothly. After some research, I’ve come across Slimbook and Tuxedo laptops, and I’m curious to know if anyone in the community has experience with these brands.

system76 is not an option because of the customs, and the price is on the high-end

My main considerations are performance, reliability, and overall value for money. I’m comparing these options to brands like Dell and HP (found using search here). If you have insights or personal experiences with Slimbook or Tuxedo laptops, I would greatly appreciate your input.

Any personal experiences or tips on models to check out (or avoid) would be super appreciated.

2

No personal experience of those two brands I’m afraid, but similar questions have arisen on Reddit. Possibly the discussions there might be informative, despite being old?
https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxhardware/comments/xog034/which_linux_laptop_i_should_buy_between_those_two/
https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxhardware/comments/14ji660/slimbook_executive_16_vs_tuxedo_infinitybook_pro/
TW runs flawlessly on my Thinkpad P16, but your post suggests it may be more than your budget. We also have Leap running on a seven-year-old Entroware Triton.

3

I am happy with Tumbleweed running on a Lenovo ThinkBook:

thinkbook:~ # inxi -SCMz
System:
  Kernel: 6.6.3-1-default arch: x86_64 bits: 64 Console: pty pts/5 Distro: openSUSE Tumbleweed
    20231205
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 21DL v: ThinkBook 15 G4 ABA serial: <filter>
  Mobo: LENOVO model: LNVNB161216 v: SDK0T76530 WIN serial: <filter> UEFI: LENOVO
    v: JPCN19WW(V1.05) date: 07/18/2022
CPU:
  Info: 8-core model: AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with Radeon Graphics bits: 64 type: MT MCP cache:
    L2: 4 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 400 min/max: 400/4546 cores: 1: 400 2: 400 3: 400 4: 400 5: 400 6: 400
    7: 400 8: 400 9: 400 10: 400 11: 400 12: 400 13: 400 14: 400 15: 400 16: 400
thinkbook:~ #
4

Dedoimedo has been using slimbooks for some time, you can check some of his reviews
https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/slimbook-titan-report-1.html
Though he uses Kubuntu, but I would say opensuse would be fine also.

5

I currently use a Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen-9. At the time of purchase, its graphics were fairly new, so that pushed me to use a new kernel (which helped solve some graphic issues, a bluetooth issue, a shutdown issue, and the occasional freeze issue). I don’t often install custom kernels, so that was a challenge for me. One thing I like about Lenovo is they have an official Linux support forum, albeit most of those looking for support are not from openSUSE linux.

Recently I subscribed to a Framework laptop ‘advertising’ (?) mailing list, and that laptop has me intrigued, although I know nothing about it. If in the future I were to purchase such, I would spend time first confirming it works ok with GNU/Linux.

6

@UshersBleakConsign @oldcpu @nenadandric @karlmistelberger

Firstly, thank you for the replies and knowledge shared.

In my search, I completely overlooked Lenovo, and I’m not quite sure why. After a visit to their website, I found some excellent Christmas deals. What’s even better is that for many laptops, there’s an option to exclude the pre-installed operating system (Windows), resulting in an additional reduction in price. Lovely!

This significantly narrows down my search criteria. While I would have loved to purchase a Tuxedo, the price difference during the holiday sales with Lenovo is substantial—especially important for someone on a limited budget.

I understand that all Lenovo computers are Linux-certified, so no worries about compatibility with Tumbleweed. It’s unfortunate, though, that their EU websites don’t mirror the product availability found on the UK site.

So, thinking out loud:

Dedicated GPU or not? I lean towards not, as I don't prioritize gaming on laptops. There will be games but not AAA that requires a 4090. On my desktop, I have a 6600XT and I only got it a few months ago for BG3. Else, I was still on my 760GT.

Screen? Full HD is more than sufficient for my needs. I am on full HD on desktop. Not a priority to upgrade this.

Material? If possible, I'd prefer aluminum over plastic.

The variety of product lines—IdeaPad, ThinkPad, Legion—can be overwhelming. Manufacturers do have a love for overcomplicating their offerings.

Storage:  1TB no less

RAM: 16GB minimum, but really thinking 24/32.

So far, ThinkPad E16 and LOQ3i are within budget and criteria…
The one from Tuxedo would be TUXEDO InfinityBook S 15 - Gen8…

Warranty? Tuxedo 2 years, Lenovo 1 year… This I don’t get. I thought 2 years was across EU.

I still have a few days to sleep on it, and if I miss Christmas (the laptop is a present for my son) then be it.

7

I am not certain all Lenovo laptops are GNU/Linux certified. You could join their Linux support forum and ask about the specific model laptops that interest you.

8

Warranty? Tuxedo 2 years, Lenovo 1 year… This I don’t get. I thought 2 years was across EU.

It is 2 years. But some companies put 1y on site/store, and hope uninformed users will not complain if something happens

9

I have been using Tuxedo laptops for several years now and I am more than satisfied with them. The workmanship is great and Tuxedo also allows you to open the devices and carry out your own repairs. The support is also great and very helpful with questions. I can highly recommend it.

10

Leap 15.5 dual boots with windows xp on a lenovo thinkpad r500 (from around 2008 or so). Leap runs all I have tried so far. Not any real numerical work though.

Did upgrade ram to 4 gig.

11

20230213_105122
20230213_1051221920×2560 391 KB

Wiped windows off, and installed Tumbleweed with Gnome. Runs very well.

12

So I did contact their support… The answer was interesting.

The model I am interested in, the E16, comes with an AMD or Intel CPU. The Intel model is listed as supported for Ubuntu, not the AMD.
I did a compare of both on their site: PSREF General Product Compare

And there’s this for the Intel :

“Some features may not be supported on the system with Linux preload, including but not limited to Intel RST RAID, MIPI computer vision camera, WWAN, Human Presence Detection, etc.”

Funny enough, I did not ask whether the model was supported by Tumbleweed, only which model is best for my need, and I mentioned Tumbleweed as being my OS.

I think it is possible to have the fingerprint reader to work on Tumbleweed, from what I’ve read, so I am not to worry about that.

I searched quite extensively on the web for information on both models. One thing is for sure is that many Linux users do have the AMD model, and are very happy with it.

I just can’t find information on the Intel model, and that is a bit frustrating.

I want to go team Lenovo because, as opposed to Dell and HP (from what I can see) you can go on the website and remove the OS from the configuration, and get the price of the computer go down. Not paying for a licence I will not use is good.

The soldered memory could be an issue of some sort for dual-channel memory, but that is beyond my understanding.

So, my last question for you, the community would be : Anyone with a laptop with an Intel i5-1335U and Nvidia MX550?

Will the discrete GPU increase the heat of the unit too much, for example?

I missed the Christmas delivery at this time, so I can wait a bit more :slight_smile:

13

I would suggest the opposite: search for a good laptop, select 3-4 of them, then look for users using that laptop with Linux. Even if you find someone using another distro (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, etc.), you can likely make it work with openSUSE as well (in case, the forum is here to help you). I always did this way and never had problems.

Computers with Linux pre-installed are usually sold at a price higher than what they are worth of, and even if you’ll pay something for Windows, you are still paying less than the over-priced computers with Linux…

In general, look at the Arch wiki, they have a rather updated list of laptops with instructions for installing drivers (ok, the instructions are for Arch Linux, but they won’t be that different here…)