this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2026
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[Question] What laptop to get? (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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So, I'm finally getting around to buying a Linux first laptop. I'm familiar with Macbooks, and so far liked them. I've also live stick used Fedora w/ KDE (though Gnome might fit too) and OpenSUSE Tumbleweed and liked them.

But I do want to have more freedom and privacy. My most important considerations are:

  1. The laptop is European (or at least, not from the US, unlikely to go Chinese either).
  2. Good specs for gaming (if need be I could virtualise for playing Mac games). I don't play shooter games, but do play Paradox games which iirc are more CPU heavy. Edit: the most intense user case is probably Cyberpunk 2077. I have no idea what makes a good processor - at least with SSDs and the like it's clear that 'higher number = better'. For me, battery life is important, as well screen resolution, clock speed, and graphic card and processor.
  3. Looks - I like the Macbook touch and feel. I don't want a numpad.

The four main laptops I'm considering are in no particular order:

  1. Star Labs (Starbook Horizon or Starfighter). British. Lookswise they are a great match but the specs I'm not sure. How well would they hold up to an Intel Macbook Pro from 2017?
  2. Tuxedo (Infinitybook Pro 14 or 15) Bit more well-known German brand.
  3. Slimbook (most likely the Evo). Spanish brand. Seems more customisable but again, I do not know shit with graphic cards and processors.
  4. Novacustom (PrivacyGuard V54). Dutch brand. Not a fan of the tiny ass arrow keys. 7 hours for battery life is also not much, imo.

If any of you know something better, please do tell!

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[–] AlThePilcrow@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 16 hours ago

Here's my input as someone who's used Linux on a Macbook in the past (M2 chip Macbook Air). I've tried Fedora/KDE, Arch/Hyprland, and Fedora/Sway.

The Asahi project has done incredible work porting Linux to Macs, but it is nowhere near complete. Not all hardware is compatible; the Touch ID button doesn't work and there's been Thunderbolt issues with some models.

My biggest complaint, though? ARM. Proprietary apps on Linux don't play nice with ARM. I've also heard that there are some DRM issues (i.e. with Spotify). Haven't tested that out myself, though.

If you like Fedora/KDE and really, really, really want a Mac, you could probably get by okay, since that's Asahi's flagship distro and flagship DE. Personally, I had lots of issues while trying to use a non-flagship distro (Arch), but that might just be because I'm an idiot.

Also, I do recall an issue with blurriness on certain apps while using Sway/Fedora that was related to Wayland.