Linux friendly laptop reccomendations

Hi all,

I am in the market for a linux friendly laptop within the following requirements and I am looking for some recommendations. I will be running linux on the hardware with a windows VM on top. (Think Virtualbox seamless mode)

(Budget is around $1000-$1500 AUD. Can maybe push up to $2000 but would prefer to stay in this range)

*Decent quad core CPU
*Mid range GPU (maybe around the 850m-860m spec range. Not planning on playing super modern games)
*8GB of ram (can do 4GB and upgrade later with an extra slot)
*SSD (I can install one to replace a standard HDD later if it does not come with the machine)
*Virtualisation support (Not needed but would be nice to have VT-d)

Distro of choice for linux is fedora right now but I don't mind switching if another distro will work better with the hardware (driver support ect.).

Check out System76 if you are looking for already built systems and laptops.

https://system76.com/

Thanks for this. Gives me another option to choose from and the fact that they pick out linux specific hardware makes it quite appealing. The only thing I feel which is missing is the choice of a mid range GPU. You either choose intel graphics or a 970-980m.

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T440p. It's a fantastic computer (except for the trackpad that will be fixed in the T450 series). I don't actually have Linux on it, but I've done the research and everything should work in it including Active Protection.

Venom is an australian brand that does multimedia / gaming laptops.
Linus did a review on their 'blackbook 15' model.

This might be a good candiadate if you're after a bit of power?

(https://www.venomcomputers.com.au/)

Cheers Tek community. This is why I love the PC platform. OPTIONS YAY!!!