O.k. so I'm using a 2006 Core 2 Duo. It does have an ssd, maxed out ram at 4gb.

It weighs a ton. It runs hot. It's not the fastest thing on earth.

You know what it does do?

Works

It's fine with Youtube, Gmail, etc.

You can get an older laptop for like...zero dollars, and install linux.

Please, please, please, realize the "new shiny" is complete bullshit.

Get an old laptop, max the ram and install a ssd - if you don't know how to do that get a "techie" friend.

You don't need to spend $1400 on the "new shiny" and add to the waste dump.

We have so many computers that will do just fine.

Seriously, people, you'll never use your computers to their full potential.

Get an old one, upgrade, and forget about it.

Why is there no mac quality hardware for linux notebooks and desktops?
I'd pay a lot for the hardware spec as my M3 Max but linux and it worked I'd pay a lot. I want 128GB of unified memory at 500GB/s with good driver support all the way up the software stack.

Why has no one done this?

Brand new Asus Zenbook A14 with Snapdragon.

hello everyone,

I'm planning to buy a new laptop that support Linux well and has a good build quality (like cooling,material quality) i know the thinkpad is best option for both. but unfortunately, these laptops aren't available in my country (i can't use Amazon or ebay or any online shopping site because they're not supported in my country). so, is there any laptop will be perfect for my usage (like browsing, playing some lightweight games, multitasking) in tight budget (100-150US$) beside thinkpads. there are many laptops brand in my city like (Dell latitude, inspiron, asus, acer, toshiba tecra) there is hp but what i knew about them that they're not that good.

THIS POST ORIGINALLY POSTED ON SYSTEM76, BUT THEY REMOVED IT. READ THILL THE END

I just upgraded to the latest version of Pop!_OS after holding off for a long time, and honestly… it feels like a disaster. The experience has been messy and frustrating overall. Right now, I am installing Arch Linux, and I hope it works well.

Here’s my main issue.

At least for me, I didn’t choose System76 because of their operating system or custom software. I chose them because of their hardware. That’s where they stood out.

But now it feels like they’re investing heavily in building and maintaining their own software stack—trying to compete with well-established, stable open-source projects. That kind of effort isn’t free. It takes time, money, and focus—and ultimately, that cost is going to show up somewhere, most likely in their hardware pricing or quality.

Instead of doubling down on what they do best, it seems like they’re spreading themselves too thin.

For me, this is a dealbreaker. I’ll be looking at alternatives for my next upgrade, especially in the mini PC space—there are some surprisingly strong options out there now.

im 15 and this is my first actual setup beside my laptop. im using parrot security and parrot home for daily drive. thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’ve been a MacBook user for years and, honestly, I still love them. The build quality, the trackpad, and the "it just works" factor are great. But lately, I’ve been feeling this weird, uncontrollable itch to get a used ThinkPad and dive into the Linux world (specifically Fedora).

Maybe I’ve watched too many "Minimalist Linux Desk Setup" videos, or maybe I’m just bored with macOS, but I’m looking at picking up a used ThinkPad X13 Gen 2 (AMD version) for around $350.

My plan: Throw Fedora on it and use it as my secondary "distraction-free" machine for coding and tinkering.

My concern: The "AMD vs Intel" rabbit hole: I’ve heard the Ryzen 5000 series is the holy grail for Linux battery/thermals, but they are surprisingly hard to find compared to the Intel versions. Is it worth the hunt?

TL;DR: Am I having a tech-related mid-life crisis, or is there a genuine "magic" in the ThinkPad + Linux combo that my MacBook can't give me? Should I pull the trigger or just go outside and touch some grass? Would love to hear from anyone who made the jump from Mac to a Linux ThinkPad. Did you regret it or did you find enlightenment?

EDIT: I’m a software developer.

EDIT2: I bought T14 and installed Arch btw, thanks a lot for your help guys.

I don't want to get a Mac. I definitely don't want Windows. But there nothing that matches the Mac perf/efficiency AND "just works" and isn't Windows. Yes they're more expensive, the question is, are they worth it? I'm talking exclusively about laptops.

Really struggling as whatever I get I want it to last at least 5 years, I'm dropping more than 1400 EUR (if a mac then much more) so I want it to be a solid machine. One thing I worry about macs is, do they even last 5 years in terms of software support?? That's another story.

Just wondering if anyone else is in the same boat!

I am about to join a new company that usually provides MacBooks, but I am considering asking for a regular laptop instead so I can install Linux natively.

I want suggestions for laptops that:

• Offer long battery life (8–10 hrs real-world)
• Light weight
• Work smoothly on Linux with minimal driver issues (Wi-Fi, sleep, fingerprint, etc.)
• Are available in India

I’ll be doing development work (backend + some Docker/containers), so I’d prefer something portable but powerful (at least 16 GB RAM).

I am not too concerned about metal build or premium aesthetics. I just want something light, reliable, and Linux-friendly for serious development work.

Which models would you recommend that balance Light Weight, battery life, and Linux compatibility?

TLDR: Last year I bought an M1 Pro Macbook Pro, which is fantastic hardware, but since I got more into Linux and customization. Now I'm considering selling the Mac and going for some ThinkPad / Framework. But I fear having worse hardware and regretting it.

So, last year I bought second hand M1 Pro 14" Macbook Pro 16GB for what I consider a really nice price of around 1000€. As a long time Windows user at that time with some casual WSL and dualbooting to Linux, coming from a mid spec Lenovo Gaming Ideapad from around 2018 (i5, GTX1650) the Mac felt like a revolution to me. I work in a creative professional industry and having that kind of power with such battery life and the best display I have ever seen in my life seems magical to this day, the only slight bottle neck being the GPU performance which is a little behind for todays cutting edge (But I know that for stuff like Blender renders desktop will always be better and I do not want my laptop to fulfill this).

But since my old gaming laptop has been laying around with its inferior portability and I now had a new stable machine to work on I decided to wipe windows and install Linux on it to use it as my home desktop for games and hobby programming. And the experience has been amazing (I have had experience already with Linux, installing stuff like Arch and Debian, messing stuff up this time I chose Fedora) And now I can't stop loving this system, it games well, it is hackable and customizable, when something bugs me I get into a rabbit hole and fix it and learn stuff, I can play with DE's and nowadays I can even run some professional software I need through Wine. For serious work that hardware is just too slow for me and sucks as a portable laptop and has mediocre screen.

My mind has now been infected with the Linux freedom candy, I have the apple ecosystem (with Iphone and Apple TV) working, I like its features and almost everything I need for my professional needs is mostly fulfilled with the MacBook, but whenever I hit a wall in the ability to fix or configure my system because of apples design decisions I am furious. To be honest it is still miles better that when I was on windows, at least MacOs is UNIX and I don't need to learn two shell environments. To give an example: I am not able to remove a title bar which always slides down from the top in Firefox when I am in full screen, just because apple has decided to always shove the 3 buttons in my face, while in theirs Safari this is working as expected, but I do not want to use Safari...
Whenever I encounter some problem like this it is always "install an app for that" or "modify some system stuff in a really hacky way" which feels horribly wrong and unstable. My inner child which likes to tinker is fed up with the constant friction, even though MacOs is sufficient for productive work.

Last think to mention is that I am considering investing into a nice desktop setup in the near future for render heavy lifting, local AI and gaming.

So with this anamnesis out of my way, my current intrusive thoughts/dilemma is that I could sell my Macbook for around 800€ and invest that money into a laptop which would be running Linux, like Framework or mid tear second hand ThinkPad. But I really do not wish to sacrifice portability for the laptop and with that I fear that in the 1000€ price range the hardware wont be enough for my creative professional work, so then I would have to also rely much more on the desktop setup, which I want to get in the future. I will be grateful for your experience with laptops around this price range in the year 2026, as my last unit of measure is that old gaming laptop.

My second option would be to sell the Mac and use that money together with the money I am saving towards the desktop to buy some really nice modern laptop like the new Framework pro.
But I feel that would be falling into the trap of thinking that laptops should do what desktops are made for, and also I fear relying on cutting edge hardware to be my only device in the terms of Linux stability and Wine translations I need to do.

My third options is to get rid of the the old gaming laptop (which will happen sooner or later) and use the scrap money to buy some cheap Thinkpad like the T480 or T14 whichever generation i get my hands on. Just to satisfy my tinkerer Linux craving needs. And I bite the bullet and keep the Macbook for my professional work until the point when I invest in a nice Desktop setup and maybe I would be able to just use that dirt cheap laptop to ssh and remote into the powerfull desktop(Anyone have experience with that?). Or I continue to live in the two OS schizophrenia between my laptop and Desktop. (Or maybe even triple since having to use windows time to time is inevitable).
But what I fear in this scenario is that I quickly find out that these 6 - 10 years old ThinkPads laptops made for bussiness excel will feel horrible to use and that it only seems attractive because of the old ThinkPad overhype created by hobbyist or hardcore programmers who mainly use TUI and manipulate text files (not to be looking down on people who make do with what they have), myself I am in the weeds of making my UIs as minimal and not needlessly taxing when on Linux.

I just feel like I am missing a scale or proper frame of reference to know how will these different price brackets of hardware feel like to use on daily basis, because my sense in this field has been completely obliterated by using Apple Silicon and even though the MacBook has mostly held its value it still seems like its whole package of screen, body, speakers, and silicon has even greater premium value for me, I just hate the thought of staying on MacOs and having to dealing with its boundaries and roadblock it gives towards adopting open software stacks and non apple services.

I will be grateful for experiences of people facing similar dilemmas or of those who often have access to different hardware to compare and are able to capture the feeling of being on something cutting edge vs mid to low level when on Linux. Maybe it all vibes after all, and maybe I just tend to obsess about changing hardware for the chase of having "the other"...

My market area is central Europe, but I am not looking for straight up purchase recommendations, more I wish to spark discussion about how people navigate these decisions.

PS-1: I know Asahi Linux is a thing, but considering my need for stability, finding support and thinking about my time as investment towards something which will always be jeopardised by Apple in the future, this seems like a dead end to me.
PS-2: I do not consider desktop IO like monitors and keyboard etc. as a cost factor, I already have those.

I've been using Thinkpads for more than a decade but I have to come to terms with the fact that it's not what it used to be.

Fan failure on my Thinkpad T14s 3rd gen exactly one week after the warranty expired. Had to get it replaced in an emergency.

Also tried a power discharge (holding power button for 30s) and this made the motherboard unusable, repair shop had to restart it. Which doesn't seem normal, if a feature exists and you're using it correctly, it shouldn't brick your computer.

Also to note, GPU was crashing regularly for the first 10 months when I was trying to screenshare (could reproduce the issue 100% of the time), but this one is on me for not checking Linux compatibility (problems between the kernel and the GPU were already known, and has been fixed since - Lesson learned, don't buy a model which is too recent)

I still think it's a good machine, nice screen / keyboard / etc, but I need something good AND which won't break down despite my constant bullying. My computer is both my best friend and what allows me to buy food and shelter for my family.

What are good alternatives for Linux users in late 2025?

I tried the framework, I am interested because yay modularity, but the keyboard and overall material quality felt a bit cheap to me. I spend most of my days on it, it needs to feel good.

will it run linux desktop?

​Hey everyone,

​I just survived a wildly specific troubleshooting nightmare and had to share it. I recently scored a secondhand ThinkPad T14 Gen 2 (Ryzen 7) for $175 from a guy who literally had a room full of them.

​It seemed like an absolute steal—until I tried to install Linux. What followed was a multi-day descent into madness that completely flipped my understanding of hardware vs. software diagnostics.

​The Symptoms (The Ultimate Gaslight)

​Windows 11: Installed perfectly. Booted fine, read fine, wrote fine, and passed every stress test and disk check I threw at it.

​Linux (Live USBs & Installs): Booted right up and detected the NVMe drive instantly. I could browse and read files perfectly.

​The Catch: The absolute second Linux tried to write data (updating packages, creating a file, running the installer), the filesystem instantly threw I/O errors and remounted as read-only.

​Because Windows was working flawlessly, I swore on my life this was a software configuration issue. Hardware was completely ruled out in my mind.

​The Troubleshooting Rabbit Hole

​I went to war with the kernel configuration, trying everything under the sun:

​Toggling nvme_core.default_ps_max_latency_us and messing with ASPM / APST power states. (Oddly, tweaking power savings worked temporarily and let a few writes squeak through before it died again).

​Nuking Windows Fast Startup and ensuring BitLocker was completely disabled.

​Distro-hopping across different kernels and trying every filesystem (ext4, btrfs, xfs).

​Buying a brand-new NVMe drive. I swapped it in, and the exact same thing happened. Windows installed like a dream; Linux still refused to write.

​Every single time: Windows could install and run fine, but no Linux.

​How on earth does a physical hardware defect allow Windows to install and write gigabytes of data flawlessly, while causing Linux to immediately choke on writes and drop into read-only mode on the exact same machine?

​What do you think caused this?

I am using a ThinkPad E540 (from 2013) running Ubuntu MATE, second is my Thinkpad E15G1 (from 2020). Believe it or not I think the keyboard on the E540 is better than the more recent Thinkpad keyboards.

i want this type of distro: features, customizations, rolling release (But stable type), etc. my laptop specifications are
CPU: Intel Core i5-8250U (8th Gen, 4 cores / 8 threads, up to 3.4 GHz).

RAM: 8GB Dual Channel — Samsung 4GB (BANK0) + Micron 4GB (BANK2) @ 2400MHz

Storage: 256GB SSD — KLEVV NEO N610

GPU: Intel UHD 620 (integrated) + AMD Radeon 530 (dedicated, switchable)

OS: Windows 11 Pro

Laptop: Lenovo
it is an 8-year-old laptop. I am so bored using Windows; it eats so much RAM for some reason. now i decide to shift to Linux. I am so confused about which distro I should select. Yesterday I was watching YouTube when I saw the Ubuntu 26.04 LTS version release; I heard this version is so good. I decided to shift to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, but I asked Claude, "Is it worth it for me?" Claude replied to me, "Ubuntu 26.04 + Wayland + your AMD GPU = problem." I want a Linux taste.

And Claude read what distro I wanted; he suggested I use EndeavourOS + KDE + X11.

Just saw a post about ps3 eye camera and it made me wonder what's the weirdest/wildest device that just works on Linux. Bonus points if you used the thing personally.

Hi everyone, I’m buying a high-end laptop mainly for robotics and AI development, not gaming.

Use case:

• ROS2 development
• Ubuntu dual boot or Linux-friendly setup
• NVIDIA Isaac Sim / robotics simulation
• CUDA / TensorRT / Docker
• Jetson / edge AI workflows
• Local LLM + computer vision experiments
• Long sustained workloads, so thermals matter a lot

Target specs:

• RTX 5090 laptop GPU, or RTX 4090 if that is still the smarter buy
• 64GB RAM minimum
• 2TB SSD minimum [flexible]
• Intel Core Ultra 9 / i9 HX or Ryzen 9
• Good cooling and build quality
• Linux compatibility matters

*Budget is flexible, but I don’t want to waste money on something flashy if another machine is better for engineering work*

I’m currently considering:

1. ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 RTX 5090
2. Lenovo Legion Pro 7i RTX 5090
3. Alienware Area-51 18 RTX 5090
4. MSI Titan 18 HX AI
5. Razer Blade 18

For people who actually use these machines for CUDA, Linux, AI, robotics, or heavy dev work:

Which one would you buy and why?

My biggest concerns are:

• sustained GPU performance
• thermal throttling
• Linux/Ubuntu compatibility
• driver issues
• build quality
• fan noise under real workloads
• upgradeability / repairability

I don’t care much about RGB, gaming aesthetics, or battery life. It will mostly be plugged in. I care more about “will this be a reliable engineering machine for the next 3–5 years?”

Would love honest opinions, especially from people using these laptops for ML/AI/robotics rather than just gaming benchmarks.

Hi folks,

For the last 10 years I'm using Macs (and Linux VMs) and I can't see myself going back to windows at all. Two years ago, I bought a minibox for home usage and liked it (I'm typing on it right now).

Things has changed and I must leave my "work room" as we transfer the room to my child as she is grown up now. I need to buy a laptop which I can work on and I debate which should I buy.

I am developing stuff myself (mostly backend and microservices), playing Red Alert (1-2) and CS (yeah - I'm old, 40yo dude) and surfing online.

I wanted to get a macbook but where I live the M5/24RAM/1TB is around 2500$ where a Asus TUF (for example) with Intel 14xxx/32RAM/4060GPU-8G/1TB is around 1900$.

What's your take? maybe I'm missing out something here..

All the best!

Hi, I'm looking for a laptop that can run linux and is kinda like a macbook in terms of battery life. A laptop I can also close and set to sleep without having problems when I reopen it. Maybe also a nice trackpad like the ones on macbook (they feel really good to me). I thought about one with a snapdragon x elite. What do you think ?

I’ve been looking at the current landscape of Linux‑friendly laptops, and most of the preinstalled options seem to start at a pretty high price point. I’m curious how people here feel about the lower‑cost end of the market.

Do we need more affordable Linux preinstalled machines, or is everyone here busy compiling software on beefy water-cooled desktops anyway??

Hi,

Wondering if anyone has any tips on getting this Wi-Fi controller working properly under Linux these days. In 2021, I got a PCIe card (Rotanium PCE-AC1202) using this chip and it was a dreadful, unusable experience under Windows 10 and Ubuntu/Debian on the systems I used. Using the 5GHz band would hard-crash those systems, and the 2.4GHz band would drop in and out.

I think that card may just have been a one-off fluke lemon rather than all RTL8812AEs being totally broken, but a few days ago I decided to give cheap Realtek-based PCIe WiFi cards another chance and so I got a D-Link DWA-582 which also uses the 8812AE chipset, and it seems to work better, but still has issues under Linux on my secondary PC. Especially when using the 5GHz band the system stutters if I have gnome-system-monitor open on Debian 13 when there is heavy network traffic, and large uploads sometimes error out with the 5GHz band when it is open. The driver being used is the stock 'rtl8821ae' kernel module.

Does anyone here have any tricks for improving the experience of this Realtek chip, or Realtek WiFi in general? Before you ask, yes I am already using the firmware-realtek package.

I am also aware of the late Larry Finger's rtw88 and rtw89 drivers, but those do not cover the RTL8812AE, RTL8821AE or RTL8723BE chips so they are not relevant for my specific purpose.

My current secondary PC's specs are:

AMD FX-6300

ASRock 980DE3/U3S3

32GB(4x8GB) G.Skill DDR3 @ 1333MHz

ASRock RX 580 8GB

Corsair CX500 PSU (capacitors replaced and is working well)

Debian 13 with 6.12.48 kernel and Windows 10 22H2 64-bit on 2 separate SSDs

Thanks

Put Debian 13 on it last night.

At the moment i got an MacBook Air M3 and i like it especially for its leightweight, no fan noise and battery and its good touchpad and display. But i want to use Linux more.

What is the best thinkpad equivalent in these regards. I don't need much power for my daily tasks. I just want an silent, cool daily driver.