This helps alot actually because tbh, I don’t know what “works” good together as far as ram and cpu specs

so what i’ve been doing is finding various models through the generations and researching their cpu’s and oddly enough, nearly every one i’ve put in has had subpar ratings or rankings… idk if that really matters or not

Aha I see! thanks for the info. I think i’m going thinkpad though, just gotta decide which model. they are incredibly cheap! especially for what you get

wait a sec, kinda contradicting here. you said to avoid weird cheap brands but then you told me to buy weird cheap brands… lol sorry im confused

But I just may not be able to run the newer releases that come out and continue to come out? if the machine is a tad old? is that what I’m getting? because that’s what im trying to figure out

Then why have I had such a terrible experience with my newer Dell Xps 13 9310 experience? user error or proprietary b.s.? because I have been told that the new Dells are going the more propriety route.

Wow, I truly appreciate this response. So i’ve been using Linux for a decade and know a “fair” amount, never made it a goal to learn the ins and outs, though I am now. So I hear business laptops make great linux machines. My main question is, most of the computers within my budget that are “known” to be decent linux machines are very old. Are they capable of still keeping up with all the newest and latest versions of distros? or are you stuck on older models just because the nature of the device being older?

Yup, N series

haha yes me, no I was wondering about running the latest versions of linux on older machines. are they capable or more limited to older versions just because the age and the older hardware?

perfect, so it sorta just depends on the specs like ram and such? are their any other things like cpus that I should be looking for?

Thanks! but when it comes to linux hardware vendors like those, for me at least, it’s hard to know which ones are good and which ones are bad or unknowns. also, i did look into the lower grade star labs and there was something about the processors they used… i did a little reading and they got poor marks for being uber slow or something. i could have misinterpreted things though.

Nope, i dont even really know what they are; always thought they were purely game related and im not a gamer. is it basically like a mini pc?

good to know, thanks. arch is out of my comfort zone lol though I have ambitions to slowly work my way into it with something easy. I used manjaro years ago and loved it. seems to have a bad rep, but I think their distro is most functional and beautiful, but again, i’m no Arch expert

man, can’t afford their gear unfortunately. my plan was to get my dell xps 13 9310 fixed (bios stuck in manufacturing mode) then sell that and use whatever I make to purchase my next device. in the mean time I get to use this old old probably decade old asus machine :)

Sorry, over my head on what a binary blob is lol does it have anything to do with proprietary stuff?

thanks alot. are there certain thinkpad models to look at or will any thinkpad be ok? i think i’ve heard that after a certain model, lenovo started making changes or something and it affected the linux experience. idk i could be way wrong

Thanks for the info. I always sorta assumed all the environments programs are compatible no matter which environment you’re using within your distro. i guess my gripe is the clutter. when i wanna use say Mate, i want a pure mate experience with only Mate traits, settings, apps, programs instead of all the other environment aspects being lumped in there too. just my preference I guess

good advice, thank you! oh ok, so since im on a budget and i’ll likely be buying refurbed or used, it’ll likely be an older machine. would older computers but from the good companies mentioned still be capable of running newer versions/kernels of distros?

What about HP business grade stuff? thats what ive heard good about. Also any idea on other IBM equipment than their old thinkpads? I have no clue about nowaday IBM but am curious.

Gotcha! I browsed their site a bit. I’d have to check ebay because I cannot afford the prices on their new stuff lol. I have a question that maybe you can answer. alot of folks recommend older laptops or whatever for linux. Does age of the computer matter much? I know you can always make upgrades to the internals and such, but say I got an old thinkpad for example maybe from 2010… and it’s certified linux compatible and all that… would i be able to run the latest versions of distros or would i be limited to older kernels due to the system being old? or is all of that determined by the hardware specs?