Hello world,
I just recently came across the Apple M1 Max, which to be fair, looks pretty nice. I know many of you are going to get itchy skin if I keep mentioning it so other than the framework, what else do we have. What to wait for?
I’d be looking to use it as a work laptop to dock and have probably linux on it.
Recommend a laptop.
Alvast bedankt.
Dell XPS 13 and Dell XPS 15 are nice devices, too. However they always need some time before proper Linux support so you have to do your research if actually everything will work when you buy a new model.
I will only get pc’s that do not include AMD or Intel’s SPY ON YOU BACKDOOR. That leaves out a lot of prodcuts. Have you checked out the Librem 14 by Puri.sm?
What sort of work do you do? Your workload heavily influences our recommendations.
The only requirements I’ve gleaned from your post is “thunderbolt” which restricts us to about 65% of the currently manufactured laptops on the market.
that eliminates ALL LAPTOPS manufactured with Intel or AMD CPUs currently, so it’s not helpful.
Nice but, idk. need more thoughts.
I hope I can get EU North layout?
Mostly remote connection, multi-tasking, browsing, documents, rendering.
USB 4 or whatever, I’ve heard supports the Lenovo Docks. So I can run 3 screens, mouse, kb, headphones, mic.
USB 4 is thunderbolt 3.
Rendering… what? Video, CAD, games, photos, 3d models?
I think what @SgtAwesomesauce is trying to get at is do you need graphical horsepower? “Rendering” is an extremely broad term. Is a dGPU necessary or are you ok with a iGPU? This will also effect Linux compatability.
System76 is very Linux friendly but you will pay for it. The hardware specs aren’t a good value for the price but you are paying for the Linux integration. Dell is going to be the best mix of build quality/customer support/compatability. Dell Customer support is very good especially if you pay for a business plan. Apple is what it is. Framework seems to be delivering on all of their promises and there is a thread in the forum dedicated to it if you haven’t read it yet but no TB/USB4.
If TB/USB4 compatibility is important then Apple or Dell is going to be your best bet tbh.
I’m looking for a more clearly defined set of requirements. Those tasks could be completed by pretty much any laptop built in the last 8 years. OP is asking for a mind reader.
Actually from my understanding the ports on the Framework ARE TB4 capable, but not TB certified. Watched a video a little bit ago of someone hooking an external GPU up to it and it worked fine. Think there may be other people who have tested other Thunderbolt accessories with it as well, but since the CPU is Intel and they are having these ports convert to things like HDMI I really don’t see how they WOULDN’T be Thunderbolt ports.
They’re also… kind of really expensive. I was looking at the XPS line, and tbh as much as people always go on about Apple for being overpriced, they genuinely look like the best value product in the segment: either the Air for the best performance for the price, or the Pro for the best performance for any price.
This is true. They’re USB4, and are working on certification.
Now, TB4 is just TB3 with more strict requirements. x4 pcie lanes, and specific display out requirements.
Depends. With Apple everything is soldered on, at least with older models of the XPS lineup you could change RAM and SSD and sometimes the WIFI card yourself. But in general you are right, if you are looking to get a slim and performand laptop, with a good build quality and a high resolution display you are going to pay (literally).
Atleast AMD supports it. Reason I was looking at a nice Lenovo Yoga.
Photo rendering, affinity, Adobe suite, maybe some 3d modeling. Some games; CS:GO, EU4.
Heard Valve is working on that.
I was looking at AMD laptops, reason why Framework was not really favourable, as performance and battery life was supposedly amazingly better on AMD. But then it comes to that, that it is just not TB hardware and docks might not work.
32GB atleast, because of multi-tasking.
My current laptop a Lenovo T550p or something along those lines. The Wifi card is broken and I have to smash the laptop to get it back working. And the Bluetooth, well, it is what it is.
It still works amazingly well, which I thank Lenovo for to make good quality enterprise hardware. Which allows me to upgrade, if I wanted to.
Yeah, I’m excited for AMD with thunderbolt.
That’s a hard stop on Linux. If you need Adobe, you’re going to have a really bad time on Linux. They’re very linux unfriendly. People say there are FOSS alternatives, but frankly, most of em don’t measure up. You could definitely dual boot or run a linux VM though. Don’t discount that.
Honestly, it sounds like you want a mid-spec XPS 15. Are you looking for a thin and light, or are you okay with something a bit thicker/heavier? Adding the chonk will give you a lower price point for the performance level, and usually allows for more user-service.
I think battery life trades blows, but AMD does have some really high end laptops.
If you are looking for AMD and something with performance that is nor super expansive you can have a look at SCHENKER notebooks VIA 15 Pro. AMD Ryzen 8-Core, 1080p, 15inch, upto 8TB SSD and 64GB RAM.
Vega 7 in that laptop. It’s not super strong, but definitely not weak.
The software tools OP is requesting sort of pushes me towards wanting to put him on at least gtx 1050 level performance; mostly due to the 3d modeling and adobe suite.
Though, I think the last thing we need from OP is a budget. @Rogue-agent how much are you willing to spend, and you’re going to purchase in Germany, correct?
If you could put up with the gamer aesthetic, and aren’t yearning for a thin and light, I think the Lenovo Legion 5 wouldn’t be a bad shout.
I think he is swedish.
Profile said “Germania” so I made an assumption.