[codalan]

The Dell XPS laptop series (and older Latitudes) seem to be a solid hardware platform for running various Linux distros. I'm running Mint and Arch on some XPSes and Latitudes and they have been very stable. I think part of the reason Linux works so well with Dell machines OOTB was because they used to sell a line of dev-oriented computers to the public, and one of their options was to have Ubuntu pre-installed.

Running Mint on an old MSFT Surface Pro 4 has also worked out very well for me. I was pleasantly surprised when the touchscreen just worked after installation.

If I was looking for a new Intel-based laptop today, I would probably be looking at Framework or System 76. That said, I'm hoping to see more high-performance ARM platforms hit the market in the next 2-3 years, so I'm holding off for now.

[porridgeraisin]

Very much so. Re: Dell being good for linux.

Not a laptop, but I have an Optiplex 9020 All in one from 2011 or so. It's so good. Has all the ports you need, a good webcam, speakers, display, for home usage. It works flawlessly with basically every linux distro and bsd out there. Even the CD drive, memory card slot work great.

I switched out the HDD for an SSD, and installed 8gb extra ram in the empty dimm slot, for a total of 12gb.

[PennRobotics]

My main strategy is avoiding any Clevo derivatives next time around, which unfortunately applies to many of the European manufacturers. I had one before; it had constant hardware issues. I thought it was just Linux being Linux until it was too late to submit warranty tickets.