Hey all.

I’ve booted Linux Mint Debian Edition and Arch on to a couple old machines including my old laptops. The performance is still rather brutal because these machines are so old and their battery lives are rough. They are also bulky and uncomfortable to carry around.

So, I’ve been thinking about getting a more modern laptop and putting Linux on it but I’ve been out of the laptop market for so long now I have no idea what’s good and what’s not anymore. Any recommendations?

I think I’ve heard decent things about Chromebooks but how’s the hardware of those? Are they relatively locked down and don’t play nice with Linux? I’m just looking for a machine for daily use (browser, light coding, remote connecting to my desktop for heavier stuff)

Thanks in advance

EDIT: Thank you to everyone for responding, I did not expect so much discussion! I’ve certainly changed my mind on Chromebooks and will look into the options recommended below in the coming months. Thanks!

  • u_die_for_elmer@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    5 days ago

    I think chromebooks are pretty locked down these days. The old ones you can unlock and install Linux on the bare metal are underpowered. 4g RAM and 64g storage typically. I use one as a touch screens for home Assistant and to run Pihole.

    I would recommend a Think Pad with 4 cores and 8g RAM from eBay. Should be plenty for your use case and cheap. I have a 10 or 12 year old idea pad that I use about the same way you do and it still running great with PopOs.

    • Confetti Camouflage@pawb.socialEnglish
      0·
      5 days ago

      Chromebooks are locked down yes, but they do give you the keys. It involves unplugging the internal battery to be able to modify the hardware write protection, entering dev mode to disable the write protection, and then flashing a Coreboot port onto the firmware. Even then, a lot of basic things may or may not work once you’re booted into Linux. From experience I don’t recommend.