I think I’ve read in Lemmy somewhere that the T14 notebooks should be avoided is they come with letters after the T14. I’m thinking of buying a T14s G5. It has to be new as we get tax deduction (will be at the reception of small local museum). What do people this of this notebook. I’ll end up installing Linux on it. I was thinking of going DELL as I’ve been running various latitudes over the years without major problems but looks like people are not fond of DELL + Linux. Any thoughts?

  • KianaTabion@lemmy.today
    6·
    19 hours ago

    Unfortunately, I can’t really comment about that specific device. Regardless, I’d reckon the following is worth noting:

    • ThinkPads (and to a lesser extent the Dell’s Precision/Latitude line of devices) are (generally-speaking) the best supported laptops on Linux. We can e.g. see this when software like TLP has exclusive features to ThinkPads-only.
    • Linux-specific vendors like NovaCustom, Star Labs, System76 and TUXEDO are cool. But, they have to do a lot to catch-up. Some of them don’t even have an entry within ArchWiki’s entry on laptops.
    • While not a Linux-first vendor (at least initially), Framework has been picking up a lot of steam. Definitely deserving a mention alongside the others.

    Anecdotally, I’ve moved from HP to ThinkPad and there’s a very clear difference. To name one of my many frustrations with HP, my battery died every year or so on Linux. That’s just ridiculous. By contrast, the experience on ThinkPad has been absolutely glorious. It’s clearly meant to offer a first-class Linux experience.

    • JamesBoeing737MAX@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      3·
      15 hours ago

      BTW, HP is terrible. My 250 g5’s aftermarket (AliExpress) fan is alive since 2018, but the original died in a year. The original battery just died one day (probably a dead cell) and the aftermarket ones died in the same fashion. And of course the plastic started falling apart in 2019 from just moderate wear.

      My 2018 latitude 5290, I bought used in 2023 needs just a battery replacement and maybe the thermal compound. I even dropped it many times and only needed mild bodywork (some plastic welding).