5 Best Linux Laptops (2023): Repairable, Budget, Powerful Leave a comment

Lemur Professional just isn’t the perfect for graphics-intensive duties like gaming or video enhancing (see under for some extra highly effective rigs with devoted graphics playing cards), however for every part else, this is likely one of the nicest laptops you will get.

Dell’s XPS 13 Developer Version was one of many first big-name laptops to ship with Linux and it stays the lightest, smallest laptop computer with Linux put in. This configuration sports activities a Twelfth-Technology Intel i7-1250U processor, 32 GB of RAM (soldered), and a 1-TB SSD. It ships with Ubuntu Linux 20.04, however in my testing, it can fortunately run any distro from Fedora to Arch (Dell help applies solely to Ubuntu although). Whenever you’re on the product web page, be sure you select Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS as your working system (it defaults to Home windows).

For extra particulars on the {hardware}, see our evaluation of the Home windows model (6/10 WIRED Review). Whereas efficiency was not nice with Home windows, I’ve not discovered the identical to be true utilizing Ubuntu. The principle downside to this machine is the dearth of ports. There are two USB-C ports, certainly one of which is your charging port. There is not even a headphone jack.

If the Dell’s lack of ports leaves you wanting, that is the laptop computer for you. System76’s Pangolin (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a 15-inch, AMD-powered monster of a laptop computer with each port a sysadmin may hope for. This config ships with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, 32 GB of RAM (soldered), and a 250-GB SSD. You’ll be able to configure the Pangolin with as much as 8 TB of storage.

The battery life is sweet for the scale—it lasts all day in most use circumstances—however it’s not so good as the Dell. The keyboard, alternatively, is incredible and an actual pleasure to kind on. The one draw back is the quantity pad, which makes the trackpad off-center. The port choice is the place the Pangolin actually shines. There’s Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C port (with DisplayPort help, however not Thunderbolt), three USB-A ports, a 3.5-mm headphone/microphone combo jack, and a full-size SD card reader.

If you’d like a laptop computer you possibly can improve, Framework’s Laptop computer is the perfect Linux rig for you. There are a number of flavors out there. I examined the second launch of the 13-inch mannequin (8/10, WIRED Recommends) and beloved it. The Intel Core Thirteenth-Gen sequence chips with 32 GB of RAM, a 2-TB SSD, and whichever mixture of ports fits your wants begin for round $1,400. That may ship with no working system. When it arrives you possibly can set up Linux your self (or decide to ship it with Home windows if you could twin boot). I have not had an opportunity to check it but, however an AMD version is also available. Framework can also be taking pre-orders for a new 16-inch model. The 16-inch mannequin is offered with an AMD Ryzen 7040 Collection processor.

I examined Ubuntu, which Framework helps, and Arch Linux, and each labored nice (although Framework doesn’t formally help Arch). My solely gripe about utilizing the Framework is my gripe about nearly any Linux laptop computer: battery life might be higher.

The System76 Oryx Professional is available in both 15-inch or 17-inch fashions with Twelfth-Gen Intel processors and Nvidia graphics (both the 3070 Ti or 3080 Ti GPU). There are alternatives for a shiny, OLED 4K display screen, as much as 64 GB of RAM, and as much as 8 TB of SSD house. It is not low-cost, however the Oryx Professional is by far essentially the most highly effective laptop computer on this web page. Just like the Pangolin above, the Oryx ships with both System76’s Pop_OS! or Ubuntu Linux. In contrast to the Pangolin, the Intel chip within the Oryx Professional means it ships with Coreboot, and open supply firmware.

OK, it is corny, however there’s one thing in regards to the Lenovo X1 Carbon Linux version that makes me wish to set up Kali Linux and begin probing the espresso store Wi-Fi. Regardless of the case, this can be a slick laptop computer for these of us who suppose ThinkPads are, ahem, slick. That slickness comes at a critical worth although. For nearly double the value of our different picks, you get a Thirteenth-Gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a 256-GB SSD (a lot of that is customizable).

On the plus aspect, you do get a pleasant 2K (2,880 x 1,800), OLED, anti-glare display screen. I’ve not had an opportunity to check this newest mannequin, however I actually just like the earlier launch (8/10, WIRED Recommends,) and the brand new model is primarily a spec bump. It is often on sale for round $1,700.

One of many beauties of Linux is that it requires fewer sources and maintains help for older {hardware} far longer than Home windows or macOS. Meaning you needn’t lay our a fortune on a brand new laptop computer; you possibly can breathe life into an outdated one or seize a used laptop computer off eBay. I’ve been doing this for years, working my method by Lenovo’s X-series laptops (beginning with an X220, now an T14 Gen 1), however outdated Dell and Asus laptops are additionally nice for Linux. In case you decide to purchase used, take a look at our guide to buying used on eBay to be sure you get an excellent deal.