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Ask HN: Linux laptop on a budget?

10 points by jason_slack 9y ago

I need a Linux laptop on a budget. Doesn't need to be fancy. Perhaps supporting 8gb RAM (or more) and the ability to put in an SSD. Working Wifi and Ethernet and sleep (close the lid and wake it again later). I am doing platform agnostic c++ development. I can't afford another Macbook Pro. I have a Thinkpad X240, 8gb RAM and a 256 SSD. However Debian and Ubuntu fail to recognize the trackpad, Wifi, sleep, etc properly. Try as I might. Any recommendations?

tmaly 9y ago
I can't say much about thinkpads as the last one I owned I ran linux/bds on but it was in 1999. If you want to go $200 or less in some cases get a cheap chrome book that allows you upgrade the SSD size. Then you can create a dual boot with your version of linux.
- jason_slack 9y ago
  I had thought about this route. My issue is there are so many chromebooks to choose from. If you have thoughts on a decent one I'd be happy to listen :-)
  - tmaly 9y ago
    some of the Acer chromebooks have the option to upgrade the RAM or SSD. I would consider one of these, but you will have to search if the one you are interested has this feature.
infiniteseeker 9y ago
I am typing this on a Lenovo X220. This laptop has an i5 with 8G of RAM (going to add 8G more to get to 16) and a 250G SSD (it came with 4G of RAM and a 250G hd but I replaced the 4G stick with an 8G DDR3 stick and the hd with ssd). It is almost as good as anything on the market out there - barring retina display. I would suggest this without hesitation.
- jason_slack 9y ago
  What distro are you using? Did it work out of the box or did you have to tweak conf files to get it working?
  - infiniteseeker 9y ago
    Ubuntu, but I have tried Tumbleweed, Arch and OpenBSD on these laptops and no issues whatsoever. Works OOTB for Ubuntu. For OpenbSD, I had to dl the "non-free" firmware for Wifi but em0 (ethernet) works out of the box
    - jason_slack 9y ago
      I tried 16.04.3 and it failed and after I did get it to install nothing worked. I then tried 17.10.1 and it worked! All the hardware works even the backlit keyboard! Thank you so much for letting me know you had success!
thinkxl 9y ago
I use a Thinkpad X220 too. There's an entire community around getting your Thinkpad the way you want. One time I had to replace the wireless card and instead of going to a technician or Best Buy I asked in the IRC channel (##ibmthinkpad on Freenode); the people in there gave me instructions and the exact Amazon links for what I needed. It saved me time and money. - http://x220.mcdonnelltech.com/ubuntu/ http://x220.mcdonnelltech.com/ubuntu/ - https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/4lwc01/challenge_okay_ive_now_got_an_x220_and_want_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/4lwc01/challenge_... Edit: added some links and IRC channel.
nkkollaw 9y ago
After spending EUR 1,800 on my 10th and last Apple laptop--the new MacBook Pro which after much frustration I sold for EUR 1,000--I bought the Cube Thinker. Horrible keyboard, but 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD. Most importantly AMAZING hidpi/retina touchscreen. Same exact screen as the Surface Book: 3000x2000 (almost 4k), 3:2 so that you get 25% more vertical space. Ubuntu works great with 4.16 kernel (coming out soon, RC2 works perfectly). Even the touchscreen works. $500 on GearBest.
- stealthcat 9y ago
  How horrible is horrible
  - nkkollaw 9y ago
    Yes but the MacBook Pro was horribler.
    - nkkollaw 9y ago
      (sorry, I read "horrible is horrible"). I use it daily to program, so it's not unusable. It's definitely its worse feature, though. Keys feel bad, and sometimes get stuck and don't immediately respond (specially frustrating with the shift key). I've seen some reviews where they literally came off from the heat caused by the CPU. I got used to it and now I don't even notice it and mine didn't come off, but at the beginning it was very annoying. I just wish they put a better keyboard since the rest of the hardware is so awesome for the price...
sicelo 9y ago
It seems to me you already have a good laptop. What version of Debian/Ubuntu are you using? kernel?
- jason_slack 9y ago
  Debian 9 or Ubuntu 16.04.03
Zelmor 9y ago
T420 with Debian 9, everything works out of the box.
kanishkdudeja 9y ago
XPS 13 9360. I use it and it works flawlessly.
slipwalker 9y ago
my 2cents is look for a Dell. I have been using a FullHD Dell XPS lx502 for over 4 years now as my main system, and both Slackware or Ubuntu ( to stay compatible with my bank... ) ran fine. Easy to upgrade, replaced RAM to 16Gb, HD to SSD and wifi miniboard to 802.11ac over the years, and still running strong, although optimus video is a real pain and lately the loudspeakers are getting funny...