First my PC skills are limited to using Microsoft productivity software. I have never downloaded or installed an application. I’m looking for a low cost, starter laptop to learn Linux. It needs to work “right from the box”. I plan to take online classes to learn Linux. Then, I will take community college computer classes. I’ve searched the internet for suggested computers without success. Thanks!
Beginner seeking hardware and distro advice
- Thread starter DTopper
- Start date
Brickwizard
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forums,
much will depend on what you wish to pay, My suggestion is you go for a second hand laptop with a twin core processor and minimum 4gb of ram, and preferably with an SSD [but if it has a traditional plate spinner hard-drive that's fine]
My own laptop is a 2010 Dell Insperon with Intel Pentium twin core, it depends on needs and cost but I would recommend a Del Insperon or Latitude , Lenovo is another popular brand among our members.we cannot guarantee any laptop/desktop will work fully out of the box, some tweaking may be needed , but we can talk you through that,
Moving to Linux will incur a learning curve, how steep it is , will be down to you, for basic home computing it fairly shallow, for pentesting and programming it can be extremely steep,
so ask away
much will depend on what you wish to pay, My suggestion is you go for a second hand laptop with a twin core processor and minimum 4gb of ram, and preferably with an SSD [but if it has a traditional plate spinner hard-drive that's fine]
My own laptop is a 2010 Dell Insperon with Intel Pentium twin core, it depends on needs and cost but I would recommend a Del Insperon or Latitude , Lenovo is another popular brand among our members.we cannot guarantee any laptop/desktop will work fully out of the box, some tweaking may be needed , but we can talk you through that,
Moving to Linux will incur a learning curve, how steep it is , will be down to you, for basic home computing it fairly shallow, for pentesting and programming it can be extremely steep,
so ask away
You might take a l look at a refurbished/used Lenovo ThinkPad. I have not owned one but, Lenovo ThinkPads seem to be the go to laptop for a lot of folks on many Linux forums. Older = cheaper, go as new as you can afford. As far as distributions, boot a few in live mode until you find 'THE' one. You can consider the search for a distribution part of the learning curve. Personally I find Linux Mint is great and it would be very familiar to a Windows user. I am currently using Linux Mint on a couple of desktops and Pop_OS! on my Laptop.
Enjoy the journey.
Bob
Enjoy the journey.
Bob
A separate Linux computer is probably the best choice, but if you are on a tight budget, there are alternatives:
Microsoft includes Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) where you can run Linux in Windows itself. WSL is a part of Windows 10 and Windows 11. I have not tried it myself.
You can also run Linux in a virtual machine on your current computer. That is what I do. A virtual machine runs in its own window (or full screen) on your Windows or Mac (or Linux) computer and is like having a separate computer while your existing computer is still running and useable. VirtualBox is popular free virtual machine software, or you can buy a commercial product like VMware. Virtual machines offer handy features like "snapshots" that let you save the state of the virtual machine and then install software or try something out. When you're done you can revert back to the snapshot.
Either way, you can try many different distros and learn Linux along the way.
Microsoft includes Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) where you can run Linux in Windows itself. WSL is a part of Windows 10 and Windows 11. I have not tried it myself.
You can also run Linux in a virtual machine on your current computer. That is what I do. A virtual machine runs in its own window (or full screen) on your Windows or Mac (or Linux) computer and is like having a separate computer while your existing computer is still running and useable. VirtualBox is popular free virtual machine software, or you can buy a commercial product like VMware. Virtual machines offer handy features like "snapshots" that let you save the state of the virtual machine and then install software or try something out. When you're done you can revert back to the snapshot.
Either way, you can try many different distros and learn Linux along the way.
Hi! & Welcome!
Dells play nicely with Linux I've learned over the years.
Not sure if you will find a low cost laptop with Linux already installed on it.
Here's a link where Linux comes installed for you.
itsfoss.com
Good Luck!
Dells play nicely with Linux I've learned over the years.
Not sure if you will find a low cost laptop with Linux already installed on it.
Here's a link where Linux comes installed for you.
15 Places Where You Can Buy Linux Computers
Looking for Linux laptops? Here I list some online shops that sell Linux computers or specialize only in Linux systems.
itsfoss.com
Good Luck!
Condobloke
Well-Known Member
G'day DTopper, Welcome to Linux.org
Lots of suggestion, recommendations and advice.
All good.
Dell or Lenovo sounds cool...usable etc etc
be sure you have at least 4gb of ram.....and at least a twin core processor
I can tell you this. ANY problem/hindrance which you may encounter can be set right by the good people here.
You have come to the right place.
Lots of suggestion, recommendations and advice.
All good.
Dell or Lenovo sounds cool...usable etc etc
be sure you have at least 4gb of ram.....and at least a twin core processor
I can tell you this. ANY problem/hindrance which you may encounter can be set right by the good people here.
You have come to the right place.
geekomatic
New Member
Hello @DTopper,
Welcome to the Linux.org forum. You've received some good advise here. I will second the Lenovo thinkpad route. As that is what I use here. You can find an older thinkpad I have a t450 and it works well with linux. Machines with Linux preinstalled tend to be good but expensive. If possible find at thinkpad with an SSD drive and at least 4gb ram. Enjoy!
Welcome to the Linux.org forum. You've received some good advise here. I will second the Lenovo thinkpad route. As that is what I use here. You can find an older thinkpad I have a t450 and it works well with linux. Machines with Linux preinstalled tend to be good but expensive. If possible find at thinkpad with an SSD drive and at least 4gb ram. Enjoy!
I think I remember reading online last year that Lenovo started installing Fedora on their machines.
You are correct, both Lenovo and Dell offer models with Linux installed. In the case of Dell some models are offered with Linux installed outside the United States, but the same model in the United States is only offered with Windows. I have a Dell Inspiron 15 5510 which is only offered in the US with Windows but is sold in India with the choice of Windows or Ubuntu.
You should still do your research though, just because one model supports Linux does not mean all their models do.
I know the OP is looking for a 'budget' laptop, but if you can afford it and really want certainty you should consider supporting one of the manufacturers offering Linux pre-installed. Tuxedo, Linux Laptops, System76 et. al.
Bob
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Coming soon: Fedora on Lenovo laptops! - Fedora Magazine
Today, I’m excited to share some big news with you—Fedora Workstation will be available on Lenovo ThinkPad laptops! Yes, I know, many of us already run a Fedora operating system on a Lenovo system, but this is different. You’ll soon be able to get Fedora pre-installed by selecting it as you...
fedoramagazine.org
Thanks for the advice! I did some internet searches for reviews of different Linux distributions. I did not realize the number of Linux distributions that are available. Mint was recommended for beginners. I will start with Mint.
Brickwizard
Well-Known Member
There are around 500 desktop distributions and variants, if we add the specialist versions and embedded versions it comes to well over 1000,
Mint is a decent distribution, available in several variants, on older machines my preference is Mint LMDE5 [directly based on Debian]
I didn’t know there are different versions of Mint. After more research, LMDE5 looks good for my starter version to learn. I like to follow the people with experience! Community support is very desirable. Thanks for the advice.
Since you said that you are a are a beginner, I would recommend one of the main line Linux Mint versions.
Nothing against LMDE, but LMDE is not the primary focus over at Linux Mint. LMDE is a backup plan just in case Canonical does something untenable with Ubuntu. On top of that almost every package available in the Ubuntu repositories works just fine in Mint and applications that are not available normally have a Ubuntu deb available on their web site.
No matter what you decide you should join the forum over at Linux Mint, it is very active, informative and the folks there are very friendly.
Bob
Thanks for the information. I did a little research on Ubuntu “going away”, Does not seem like it will happen. Also, found Ubuntu is preferred for working with the Internet of things, which is interesting to me. So much to learn - lots of fun! Again, I appreciate the help.
I was not insinuating that Ubuntu might "go away" only that Canonical could make a change to the core of Ubuntu that makes it difficult/impossible for Mint to continue to use Ubuntu as their base, forcing Snaps for example.
These things happen from time to time with Linux, the Cinnamon desktop exists today because of decisions that the folks at Gnome made that the Mint folks did not agree with and Mate was created because of disagreements during the GTK2 - GTK3 migration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MATE_(software)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_(desktop_environment)
In the end 'we' just end up with more choices.
Regards,
Bob
Brickwizard
Well-Known Member
Nothing wrong with Mint LMDE, I ditched Mint 22 in favour of LMDE5, I found it slightly quicker, slightly less resource hungry, without the Ubuntu bloat, remember Ubuntu is based on Debian anyway. But as the saying goes, you pay your money and take your choice
Poor choice of words on my part! At my level of knowledge, changes could have posed challenges to an inexperienced user. I’m looking to avoid challenges at the start. I have much to learn. That is why I like to rely on the advice of experienced people. I will read the provided reference. And continue the journey! Thanks.I was not insinuating that Ubuntu might "go away" only that Canonical could make a change to the core of Ubuntu that makes it difficult/impossible for Mint to continue to use Ubuntu as their base, forcing Snaps for example.
These things happen from time to time with Linux, the Cinnamon desktop exists today because of decisions that the folks at Gnome made that the Mint folks did not agree with and Mate was created because of disagreements during the GTK2 - GTK3 migration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MATE_(software)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon_(desktop_environment)
In the end 'we' just end up with more choices.
Regards,
Bob
No worries, mistakes are part of the journey and how you gain experience. Any of the main-line distributions should be fine for you and you probably will not stick with the first one you try, you may come back to it later, but I bet you will not be able to resist trying something else.
Your choice will in the end be a personal preference decision, and it will be fun (mostly). I tend to stick with distributions that use the apt package manager because that's what I have the most experience with. Using flatpak more and more lately though. Some folks prefer pacman, and the sadist use Gentoo and compile everything themselves.
Best part of Linux IMO is the choice.
Bob
