this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2024
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LinuxHardware

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Experience with laptops (infosec.pub)
submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/linuxhardware
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Hello folks, I am currently in the market for a new laptop and I want to hear from people who have hand-on experience with Linux laptops. I am currently looking at framework and tuxedo laptops, but I know very little about these companies and have a hard time finding anyone who have actually used one of their laptops.

I would appreciate getting in touch with anyone having direct hand-on experience with products from these companies (or another company that you feel should be considered) and let me know what you think of their products and the company itself.

I am interested in companies that support the right to repair and offer good warranties for their products and I need a laptop with modern hardware and a low weight.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I bought this model earlier this year: https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/TUXEDO-Pulse-14-Gen4
I was on this model beforehand, since 2018: https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/Linux-Hardware/Linux-Notebooks/15-16-inch/TUXEDO-Book-BC1510.tuxedo

And yeah, I do like what they offer. Mainly, it's just sane laptops:

  • matte screens
  • backlit, solid keyboards (not Thinkpad quality, but quite good)
  • no weird or annoying keyboard layouts
  • hardware specs are balanced
  • rather few gimmicks in general
  • reasonable connectivity options
  • decent build quality

Be aware, though, that they offer software, in some cases even drivers, and they primarily support installing these on Debian-based distros.
I'm using openSUSE and on my previous laptop, I did have to compile their keyboard driver myself to get the keyboard backlight to work.
On this new model, everything works out of the box, but I still don't get to use their software for controlling power profiles and such. I don't actually know what precisely I'm missing out on, but I believe most of it is available via the BIOS, so could be worse.
But yeah, if you're happy with their distro, you'll have a better experience. If you're not, probably do some research what other folks are saying.

I haven't had a need for support yet, which I guess, speaks for the build quality.
I mean, my old laptop did have some plastic bits broken out of its air vents, and the glue on its rubber feet also gave up, but I haven't yet owned a laptop where the glue didn't give up at some point, nor did I treat it terribly carefully.

I did have contact with their support once, because I chose to get a custom Super-key, and from that, they did seem quite competent.
From what I've heard from others, they were quite happy with the support, too. In particular, you get to talk to humans, who know things about Linux and computers, which is miles better than the offerings of mainstream laptop sellers.