I'm in the market for a durable laptop suitable for business use that can handle a bit of wear and tear without any hinge problems. I would like something with decent battery life that comes pre-installed with Linux, preferably Linux Mint or something similar, because I'm not very tech-savvy and I'm nervous about installing it myself. I'm considering either a 14" or 15" model. My main use will be browsing the web, watching videos, and using LibreOffice. Any recommendations for a good model or seller? I was considering the Dell Latitude line but it's quite overwhelming!
5 Answers
I picked up a refurbished Dell Latitude from Microcenter and switched from Mint to Kubuntu, eventually settling on Fedora KDE, and it's been great. I do a lot of web browsing and YouTube too, and apart from some bugs with Wayland, I've had a smooth experience!
What's your budget like? That could help narrow down some options!
I've had good luck buying refurbished laptops on Amazon. My latest one is a Lenovo T590, and it runs Ubuntu like a charm, even the fingerprint reader works! I got it for under $500 CAD with 16GB RAM. Just go for the 'excellent condition' option; you won’t regret it!
Have a look at the Lenovo T14 laptops. I've got a T14 Gen 1 running Fedora Workstation without any issues. They're pretty solid for business use!
HP ProBook or Elitebook or even the ThinkPad T14 are all solid choices. You can find some good deals on those.
Same here! I use a T14 Gen 2, and it runs Fedora 43 perfectly. The fingerprint reader works for login and sudo, which is a nice touch. I even transferred my M.2 SSD from an old X13 without a hitch. The T14 has 16GB soldered on, plus a slot for more RAM, so you can really amp it up! Just a great all-around machine.