Ask HN: Buying Laptop Without Windows?
17 comments
I don't know where you are located, but in the US I find deals throughout the year on laptops with windows pre-installed that are cheaper than linux only laptops.
So if your goal is to save money I would look there first. The Dell outlet store is a good place to get last gen or refurbished laptops with great savings.
I've had good experiences with:
* ThinkPads
* last gen XPS 15 laptops (9520, 9530)
* Asus zephyrus M16
Having seen a coworker's System76 laptop, I have to say. I would pass on that unless you find one at an absolute great price.
Try to buy them with the lowest ram and ssd and do the upgrade yourself. For example I am running 96GB DDR5 in the M16 with no problems.
Also, I haven't gotten my hands on one, but the HP Dev One laptop was linux first and are quite inexpensive. They only had one run, but I am seeing them online used for $500.
I've also not had a chance to get my hands on a starlab laptop but I would very much like to.
https://us.starlabs.systems/
So if your goal is to save money I would look there first. The Dell outlet store is a good place to get last gen or refurbished laptops with great savings.
I've had good experiences with:
* ThinkPads
* last gen XPS 15 laptops (9520, 9530)
* Asus zephyrus M16
Having seen a coworker's System76 laptop, I have to say. I would pass on that unless you find one at an absolute great price.
Try to buy them with the lowest ram and ssd and do the upgrade yourself. For example I am running 96GB DDR5 in the M16 with no problems.
Also, I haven't gotten my hands on one, but the HP Dev One laptop was linux first and are quite inexpensive. They only had one run, but I am seeing them online used for $500.
I've also not had a chance to get my hands on a starlab laptop but I would very much like to.
https://us.starlabs.systems/
I bought a Dell laptop from the Dell Outlet store and put Linux Mint Debian Edition on it, no problem.
Buy used. I recently scored a ThinkPad X1 Carbon (G7) for cheap locally and just nuked the Windows installation and installed Linux. I use Arch, btw.
Best thing to do is to search for widely used in linux community laptop to be sure that all it's features supported by linux or at least every problem well documented on sites like archwiki, even if it has Windows pre-installed.
Buy a Chromebook that has reasonable instructions to install a 3rd party bios[1]. As a bonus, you get a keyboard without a windows key!
[1] https://mrchromebox.tech/
[1] https://mrchromebox.tech/
I like TUXEDO Computers. A lot of sellers that sell machines with linux installed are basically just reselling these
https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en
https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en
There are some HP laptops that offered FreeDOS as an alternative to Windows. This might be limited to business-line laptops as opposed to consumer-oriented laptops, and it might not be available in your country, but it’s worth investigating.
If you don’t need an x86-64 chip, then another potential option is the PineBook (I also don’t know about availability outside the US):
https://www.pine64.org/pinebook/
https://www.pine64.org/pinebook-pro/
If you don’t need an x86-64 chip, then another potential option is the PineBook (I also don’t know about availability outside the US):
https://www.pine64.org/pinebook/
https://www.pine64.org/pinebook-pro/
> There are some HP laptops that offered FreeDOS as an alternative to Windows
That's interesting, will take a look.
That's interesting, will take a look.
As an alternative to the ones you mentioned, Starlab Systems comes to mind.
General advice: If possible, buy one with a current Ryzen model. Chances are, the 64GB max is not the limit but that they can be upgraded to 2x48GB Crucial SODIMMs.
[1] https://starlabs.systems/
General advice: If possible, buy one with a current Ryzen model. Chances are, the 64GB max is not the limit but that they can be upgraded to 2x48GB Crucial SODIMMs.
[1] https://starlabs.systems/
Buy a used laptop from a year or two ago. Save tons of money and put whatever you want on it.
Windows and all the crap that comes with it is actually subsidising your laptop, and making it cheaper FOR YOU than a laptop configured without Windows.
So ... are you looking for a cheaper laptop for you, or do you just want to stick it to Microsoft even if you pay more for a machine without Windows?
Look out for Number One!
Buy yourself a Lenovo (Intel peripherals since they are well supported). Chuck away that useless set of Windows partitions, and install your preferred distro. (LinuxMint 21.3 MATE in my case)
So ... are you looking for a cheaper laptop for you, or do you just want to stick it to Microsoft even if you pay more for a machine without Windows?
Look out for Number One!
Buy yourself a Lenovo (Intel peripherals since they are well supported). Chuck away that useless set of Windows partitions, and install your preferred distro. (LinuxMint 21.3 MATE in my case)
Yeah, I was gonna say this as well. When you find that windows-free laptop be sure to compare price/specs with Windows laptops.
IME the hardware specs, and overall design/quality have a much bigger impact on price than whether it includes Windows or not.
IME the hardware specs, and overall design/quality have a much bigger impact on price than whether it includes Windows or not.
Dell refurbished. Sometimes the laptops come without an OS.
System76 used to be rebranded Clevo/Sager laptops. I’m not sure if that’s still the case. You can buy them in various places, customize them, and have them put Linux (or nothing) in it. Or build your own. I paid to have mine built, but got out the screwdrivers to replace a hard drive, and it wasn’t too bad.
The build quality is worse than Mac, definitely, but you can get a really nice spec for cheap. And they’re serviceable, definitely on-par with the Lenovo and HP models that we’ve had in our house.
I bought a custom build from Xotic PC, using the “no operating system” option, and slapped Fedora on it. I’ve been Linux-only in my personal laptops since 2012, and windows-free much longer than that.
Hardware support is excellent, I’ve never had an issue. Everything just works. There’s a lot of FUD out there, and I’m skeptical of how accurate it is. My experience has been extremely low-touch, and extremely positive; it’s a tool, not a hobby, for me—I don’t tinker.
The build quality is worse than Mac, definitely, but you can get a really nice spec for cheap. And they’re serviceable, definitely on-par with the Lenovo and HP models that we’ve had in our house.
I bought a custom build from Xotic PC, using the “no operating system” option, and slapped Fedora on it. I’ve been Linux-only in my personal laptops since 2012, and windows-free much longer than that.
Hardware support is excellent, I’ve never had an issue. Everything just works. There’s a lot of FUD out there, and I’m skeptical of how accurate it is. My experience has been extremely low-touch, and extremely positive; it’s a tool, not a hobby, for me—I don’t tinker.
laptopwithlinux.com
I've bought one, works fine, no problem at all
I've bought one, works fine, no problem at all
So far I've found these:
- Lenovo thinkpads (since they're configurable)
- System76
- Framework (not available in my country)
I also saw there was a Dell XPS developer edition but unfortunately not available where I am.
What other options are there, if any?
* obviously no macs