I’m considering getting a laptop for Linux and want to know a few things before I do. Some important info before I start: I don’t plan on using the laptop for anything too intense, mainly writing, digital art, streaming, browsing, and maybe very mild video editing (cropping at least and shortening at most). I would also prefer the laptop to be inexpensive, preferably under 1000 USD

I mainly want to know if whether I should get a laptop by a manufacturer that specializes in Linux or a laptop that runs a different OS (exp: Windows) to install Linux on later. I’ve also scouted out quite a few distros and have a good idea of which ones I would like using

I’ve already looked at a few mainline Linux hardware producers like System76 but want to know if it’s worth it before sinking money into it

  • Brgor@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    Check out Framework if you haven’t already! https://frame.work/linux

    They’re designed to be upgraded and repaired over time so they’re super modular. You can also save some money if you’re not afraid to put it together yourself.

    • ibroughtashrubbery@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      How’s the Camera working on these? On most recent laptops it seems not to be just a camera sensor like in the good ol’ days, but a full blown i2c module, which does a lot of processing before delivering the images, and with rather obscure code that people is really struggling to build drivers for.

      • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Works fine on Linux for me, you sure you mean i2c? I think you mean v4l2 or something, i2c max bitrate is like 500kbit/s. I can check but I’m pretty sure it’s usb or something similar, it works on Google hangouts on Chrome at least, I use my fw for work.

        • ibroughtashrubbery@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Perfect, thank you! Some laptops these days have increasingly complex camera modules that make having drivers for them increasingly messy.

    • waigl@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      While I support the framework laptop, OP did also say under a thousand dollars. You cannot really get a framework laptop for that price.

      Edit: Thousand, not hundred

      • Kaloi@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        You can get a diy base framework 13 with either intel or amd for $849 w/o ram and the ssd, and just purchase those part separately for just about $1000 total.

        • Shertson@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          And if you’re replacing one, you could possibly pull the ram and SSD from it to use in the frame work.

          • Kaloi@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            The SSD will need to be an M.2 form factor, and the ram will need to be SODIMM DDR5; both of which are relatively new form factors in the grand scheme of things. The ssd from a former laptop will probably fit, but SODIMM DDR5 is maybe two years old at this point. The older intel models that still use DDR4 are out of stock at this point on the framework website.

    • Shertson@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Mine in in the mail. Got the shipping notification last night. So excited! I didn’t the past year saving up for it. I’m glad to see that everything works out of the box with Fedora.

    • themadcodger@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I got their 12th gen diy last year and it was really easy to assemble. I was pleasantly surprised at how well thought out it was.

    • PurrJPro@beehaw.orgOP
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      1 year ago

      While the laptops being so modular is really useful, the list of supported OS seem a bit narrow, although that doesn’t mean I’m not considering. Thank you!

      • Geronimo Wenja@agora.nop.chat
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        1 year ago

        Those are the officially supported distros. You can install other ones just fine. I doubt you’d find another laptop that had even just more than 1 officially supported distro.

        • PurrJPro@beehaw.orgOP
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          1 year ago

          Yeah, but I’d still like the peace of mind from knowing for sure other distros work, y’know?

          • Geronimo Wenja@agora.nop.chat
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            1 year ago

            Sure, fair enough. There are other distros supported by the community if you want to check that out too.

            You honestly won’t find better than the support for framework in the laptop space. The arch wiki entry for it is fantastic, and having multiple supported distros is almost unique.