System76 used to be rebranded Clevo/Sager laptops. I’m not sure if that’s still the case. You can buy them in various places, customize them, and have them put Linux (or nothing) in it. Or build your own. I paid to have mine built, but got out the screwdrivers to replace a hard drive, and it wasn’t too bad.
The build quality is worse than Mac, definitely, but you can get a really nice spec for cheap. And they’re serviceable, definitely on-par with the Lenovo and HP models that we’ve had in our house.
I bought a custom build from Xotic PC, using the “no operating system” option, and slapped Fedora on it. I’ve been Linux-only in my personal laptops since 2012, and windows-free much longer than that.
Hardware support is excellent, I’ve never had an issue. Everything just works. There’s a lot of FUD out there, and I’m skeptical of how accurate it is. My experience has been extremely low-touch, and extremely positive; it’s a tool, not a hobby, for me—I don’t tinker.
The build quality is worse than Mac, definitely, but you can get a really nice spec for cheap. And they’re serviceable, definitely on-par with the Lenovo and HP models that we’ve had in our house.
I bought a custom build from Xotic PC, using the “no operating system” option, and slapped Fedora on it. I’ve been Linux-only in my personal laptops since 2012, and windows-free much longer than that.
Hardware support is excellent, I’ve never had an issue. Everything just works. There’s a lot of FUD out there, and I’m skeptical of how accurate it is. My experience has been extremely low-touch, and extremely positive; it’s a tool, not a hobby, for me—I don’t tinker.