
Ask HN: Linux laptop with MacBook-like build quality - fergie
Am I just looking in the wrong places, or is it still really hard to buy a Linux laptop with MacBook-like build quality? Are you running a Linux laptop? Where did you get it?
======
hobarrera
MacBook Pro 2015. I've used ArchLinux on this with no issues. Used a 2013
MacBook Air before that, same OS (I actually used `ssh | dd` to just copy the
image, rather than reinstall anything).

The MBA needed non-kernel driver (which was a breeze to install anyway). The
MBP uses an in-kernel one, so no issue there.

It doesn't get more MacBook-like than that. :P

~~~
linkmotif
shh | dd? How does that work? Please say more.

~~~
lloeki
Boot both machines via usb†, start ssh server on one

Depending on where the ssh server is (source or target):

    
    
        dd if=/dev/sda | ssh -C 1.2.3.4 dd of=/dev/sda
        ssh -C 1.2.3.4 dd if=/dev/sda | dd of=/dev/sda
    

† or mount the source / as ro, or systemd-switchroot to a ramdisk. Just make
sure that source / is not getting writes. Or not, if you don't care.

------
rufugee
Dell 5520 ([http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-
lapt...](http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-laptop)). I
bought one for work earlier this year and liked it so much I bought a second
for home. Dual Xeons, 32GB ram, 4k display, great battery life, and a body
design which feels decidedly mac-like, yet different. In fact, I actually
prefer the tactile feel of the 5520.

The only real problems I have is the touchpad (currently tweaking synclient to
get it just right) interfering while typing occasionally, and the completely
crappy experience with the Thunderbolt docking station (it rarely goes
perfectly when docking/undocking, but even if it does, sometimes the displays
refuse to wake up while docked).

All that said, I really dig it. I've had two macbooks in the past, and can
honestly say this machine is a FAR better experience and much more cost
effective.

~~~
RUG3Y
You can disable the touchpad while typing, it's much nicer that way IMO.

------
zabana
Well, there are two contenders in this space (based on the information I've
gathered over time) and those are the Dell XPS 13, and the Thinkpad X1 Carbon.
You can also look into HP as they've been known for being quite linux
friendly. Hope this helps.

~~~
jjgreen
The Thinkpad X1 Carbon is an astonishingly good machine

------
lothiraldan
I have a X1 Carbon 5th generation with Ubuntu 17.04.

I'm very satisfied, the installation was easy, everything is working
correctly, apart the fingerprint reader but biometric is a joke so no big
loss.

The biggest problem with this machine is the fan system, it's configured at a
pretty conservative temperature and when the fan start, it does a 1-2 seconds
at almost full speed which is noisy.

The ports are just right for me, an hdmi port, two usb-3 and two usb-c which
will make my life so much better when I will buy this screen/usb-c dock:
[http://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/258B6QUEB_00/brilliance-lcd-
mon...](http://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/258B6QUEB_00/brilliance-lcd-monitor-with-
usb-c-dock). With an unique cable I will have everything I need when working
from my desk: power, video, audio, ethernet, keyboard and mouse!

~~~
velobro
"Biometric is a joke"

Speak for yourself because fingerprint sensor on my smartphone has changed the
way I use it. Don't call the whole field of tech useless because Lenovo
chooses to cheap out on their components.

~~~
jeffnappi
I believe that comment is in reference to the fact that biometrics
authentication is not as secure as folks would think. For example a printed
copy of a fingerprint is likely sufficient to bypass it.

Of course there's the balance of security and convenience.

------
nickjj
I run Linux on a slightly modified Chromebook. It seems solid to me, but I
never owned a MBP.

It has all of the things I care about:

\- 1080p IPS display (13.3" screen)

\- SSD

\- 4GB of RAM

\- Fast enough to handle real work loads (lots of browser tabs, running large
Rails apps in Docker, streaming music, etc.)

\- SD card and USB ports

The whole thing was $350 USD and it's under 3 pounds.

Details are at: [https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/transform-a-toshiba-
chromeboo...](https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/transform-a-toshiba-chromebook-
cb35-into-a-linux-development-environment-with-galliumos)

~~~
askonomnom
My mbp has 2560x1600 screen, effectively making 1080p quite bad in comparison.

~~~
azurelogic
This is an unfair comparison. macOS doesn't run at that resolution out of the
box. Your max effective resolution is 1680x1050. Even a 15" rMBP has a max
effective resolution of 1920x1200. So, 1080p is plenty competitive for dev
work. Now, if all you care about is the smoothness of HiDPI, then your point
is valid, but most of us care more about how much code we can fit on screen
than how smooth the font looks.

------
rubenbe
Dell XPS13 with a high-res screen

Works flawless under Fedora 25. Plus I even get the firmware updates presented
"through Gnome".

Build quality is very nice, although it's no full aluminium unibody

~~~
brasey
I'm running this setup, and only found out today about this feature! I was
looking into the i7 hyperthreading bug, and I'm looking forward to receiving
the BIOS update automagically.

------
kfihihc
Xiaomi's notebook. 12.5" or 13.3".

[http://www.mi.com/en/mibookair/](http://www.mi.com/en/mibookair/)

~~~
fergie
It looks promising- but does it come with Linux?

------
Majestic121
Dell Precision 5510 user here, hands down the best computer I ever had. Great
build quality, powerful, sober, beautiful and professional.

~~~
sametmax
Is that the little brother of the XPS 15 ? Cause I have an XPS 15, and it's
been a (expensive) disappointment for the last year.

~~~
NetStrikeForce
It's sort of an XPS rebranded for the business market

------
IE6
In my opinion I find that the hard truth is that (1) linux battery performance
will always be worse than windows and (2) over time linux will completely
destroy your battery.

I've found that using a thinkpad and the TLP program helps 1 by setting some
sane defaults and allowing for customization and it helps 2 by allowing the
computer to better maintain the battery.

~~~
ibotty
References?

~~~
IE6
First comment is my experience and opinion and TLP can be found at
[http://linrunner.de/en/tlp/tlp.html](http://linrunner.de/en/tlp/tlp.html)

~~~
ibotty
References for 2?

~~~
IE6
I guess you don't have to use it or trust me :) My comments are just my
opinion and are based on my personal observation.

~~~
ibotty
It contradicts my decades-long experience and I would have loved to know
whether I have just been lucky. Is there a bug report somewhere? Or just some
blog about some more data?

------
visarga
What about trackpad quality. Does any other laptop begin to compare to
MacBooks?

~~~
BOOSTERHIDROGEN
yes, is there any recent laptop that have as good as macbook.

~~~
lethly
The best non-MBP trackpad I've ever used is Dell XPS. Carbon X1 is also up
there. Apple is still leading when it comes to trackpads though

~~~
marsRoverDev
I own the 2017 XPS 13 and its trackpad is still horrendous, but not as bad as
most windows machines.

OP would be well suited to bringing their mighty mouse along with them.

------
sirfz
If you're into huge laptops, I'm running Linux (Ubuntu) on an ASUS ROG G752VS
right now, previously ran on G750 and G751 models. Build quality is solid and
the specs are no doubt high end. However, not everything works out-of-the-box
and some things have no fix as far as I know. For example with my current
G752VS, the microphone port is completely useless as well as the function keys
(only volume control Fn keys work). Other fixable issues are brightness
control (fixed using xbacklight) and headphones jack (fixed using
hdajackretask).

------
RUG3Y
I'm running a fully specc'd Dell XPS 13 with Ubuntu on it, and it's been
amazing. My only quibbles are battery life, which is acceptable but not as
good as I'd like, and the screen, which is fabulous - but I have the touch
screen (I got this option by accident) and the hidpi resolution isn't
supported by some software. It's not enough of a problem to limit my workflow
so I kept it.

I'd say it's a great laptop, just don't get the touch screen. That'd probably
help with the battery life as well.

------
csmattryder
I bought a 'shell' of a Thinkpad X220 on eBay for ~£66 ($85) and then bought
an SSD, 8GB RAM, Wifi module, 9-cell battery. All in, about £120 with some
smart shopping.

Replacement parts (such as a palm-rest from dropping it off the sofa) cost a
few quid, and that's if you manage to absolutely deck the thing.

It's happily chugging away with Debian, all components work OOTB.

Got to recommend a used Thinkpad, and advise checking out the Thinkpad
subreddit, they've got some great advice on buying - not all Thinkpads are
alike.

~~~
loudmax
Seconding this. I paid closer to $700 for my Thinkpad X230 in 2011 and it's
still going strong with Arch Linux. Not much of a gaming laptop, but it's been
very solid fox nearly six years now.

------
Bouncingsoul1
I use a tuxedo infinity since 1 1/2 years and couldn't be happier.
[https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/Linux-Hardware/Linux-
Noteboo...](https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/Linux-Hardware/Linux-
Notebooks/10-14-Zoll/TUXEDO-InfinityBook-Pro-13-matt-Full-HD-IPS-
Aluminiumgehaeuse-Intel-Core-i7-U-CPU-bis-32GB-RAM-zwei-HDD/SSD-bis-12h-Akku-
Typ-C-Thunderbolt.geek)

------
jankotek
Dell XPS 13, build quality is great, next day on-site service is unbeatable.

~~~
moocowtruck
how well does linux work on it?

~~~
timrichard
I'm running Arch and i3 on mine... Works beautifully. I seem to get good
battery life too, as I've been pretty selective about what I installed.
Powertop takes care of the rest. The trackpad perhaps isn't as nice as my
workhorse MBA, but just about everything I use regularly has some sort of Vim
mode, so my fingers are hardly ever off the keys.

------
derekp7
I'm a fan of the Thinkpads, especially for Linux. Lenovo maintains a
certification list of models that are certified under Ubuntu and RedHat. Note,
though, that not all Thinkpads have the same chassis materials. Here is a list
of the materials for various 2017 models:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/6bvlb9/2017_think...](https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/6bvlb9/2017_thinkpad_chassis_material_matrix/)

Note that the T470 line is built with magnesium, and the X1 Carbon / Yoga have
a lot of carbon fiber parts. Both make for a high quality feel.

~~~
throwaway2016a
I dislike how their website makes you pay the Microsoft tax (no way to choose
"no operating system"). Is there a way to customize it to not have to pay for
Windows?

------
the_common_man
X1 Carbon series is awesome and runs linux/gnome3 flawlessly.

------
lowrider130
For build quality I like my Razer Blade (late 2016 build), but support is not
perfect out of the box. I'm running Linux Mint 18.1. The WiFi was not
supported by the live disc, but works after install. Switching between the
NVidia and Intel graphics has been a problem that I haven't yet resolved.

The pros are a quad core i7, NVidia 1060, a better keyboard than MBP (my
opinion), 16gb RAM, option of 4K glossy or 1080p flat panel. I chose the 1080p
so I don't have glare.

~~~
clebio
I like the Razer Blades, but it is the only laptop I've ever had shutdown from
overheating. Have you had any issues with cooling?

~~~
lowrider130
I haven't had any cooling issues yet. I accidentally put it in my laptop bag
when it was running and I thought it had gone to sleep. It was exceptionally
hot when I pulled it out, but I powered it off to cool.

------
robertcarter
I don't own one but what about a purism laptop?
[https://puri.sm/](https://puri.sm/)

------
microwavecamera
I've been using Lenovo Thinkpads. Not the prettiest laptop but well built,
military spec and I've never had an issue running Linux on any Thinkpad I've
owned. Currently have a Thinkpad L430 which I got refurbished for $300 on
ebay. Used to have Debian on it, now I'm running kubuntu 17.04 with no issues.

------
tmikaeld
I have the new HP envy model, runs Ubuntu 17.04 perfectly out of the box. Even
sound and wifi works, scaling of the hidpi screen works perfectly too. Really
recommend if you want fast, thin, mac quality laptop for an affordable price.
I got mine for 745€ on the HP store for the i5, 8gb,256gb ssd.

------
kanishkdudeja
Dell XPS 13 also has great build quality.

------
wgillett
I just got a Galago Pro from system76. It's a really nice laptop with a solid
aluminum build. Not as slick as a MacBook, but has better specs and is much
more repairable as well as being a lot less expensive.

------
jhasse
Have you tried the ThinkPad T series? I'm running a T460 with Linux.

------
wfalkwallace
[https://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-
blade](https://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade)

------
anonymouz
Running Debian on a Thinkpad X1 Carbon (5th gen). Everything except
fingerprint reader works smoothly out of the box, couldn't be happier with it.

------
larrik
My current trick is to limit my search to "gaming laptops" because gamers are
picky as hell when it comes to components.

~~~
hobarrera
Gamer laptops tend to be very overpowered video-wise, and have much poorer
battery durations. Either that, or they're very big and clunky.

~~~
Finnucane
Yeah, the Clevo I got from Mythlogic about 3 years ago is like that--it's
basically a desktop machine squashed into a small package. Which means it's a
little heavier, runs hotter, not great battery life (but I rarely take it
anywhere I can't plug in, so it's not a big deal really). But it's quite solid
and fast. Don't know what of their current offerings would be more Macbook-
like.

------
haspok
Did anyone try this yet: [http://kde.slimbook.es](http://kde.slimbook.es)

------
clebio
I ran Ubuntu variants on a Samsung Book 9 (now the Ativ Book line) for about 5
years. Worked pretty well.

------
bocz
Check out System76
[https://system76.com/laptops](https://system76.com/laptops)

~~~
8draco8
They are not even close to MB quality and they are not worth it. They are also
making questionable decisions regarding supported OS. Apparently they are
going away from Ubuntu and wants to fork Ubuntu with Unity 7.

~~~
transverse
AFAIK, they intend to continue to offer Ubuntu as a choice. Their hardware is
vastly superior to the garbage that is MB.

~~~
8draco8
No, they are buildin Pop! OS
[https://system76.com/pop](https://system76.com/pop)

About the quality. If you don't believe me about S76 quality please read this
[https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/48y2db/system76_lapt...](https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/48y2db/system76_laptop_reviews/)
maybe that will change your mind. MBs are not perfect (non laptops are) bud
they are so damn close (depends on what you need). If you want solid laptop
you should really look mostly in to MB, Thinkpad series and XPS series,
depends on your requirements (wants look and HD speeds? take MB, wants upgrade
your laptop in the future? take Thinkpad or XPS)

------
miguelrochefort
Microsoft Surface Laptop

