[jaeming]

I've used both of those laptops with Linux and had zero issues. We use Dell at work and it came with Linux installed though I did a clean install afterwards with no issues. If you are talking about just general reliability of the hardware rather than compatibility, I've personally suffered more issues from mackbooks in the past than Dell but that's just my personal experience. Maybe you just had a bad run of luck on that side?

Also, I have been wanting to try https://system76.com/ for quite a while but I can't get my work to approve one.