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What budget gaming laptops work well with Linux? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by someguy3@lemmy.ca to c/linux_gaming@lemmy.ml

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I've seen stuff about Nvidia ~~cards~~ not working well with Linux, is that true?

If one was in the market for a new laptop anyway, would you recommend not getting nvidia and going with AMD?

I'm currently intrigued by the Lenovo LOQ line (full size numpad). Not buying anytime soon, just scoping out good brands and ideas.

*Primary role is laptop productivity, secondary role is maybe patient gaming, so I'm ok with budget gaming. Going Linux is not guaranteed, but maybe in the future because windows keeps getting more nuts. So I'm looking for info to make sure Linux is possible.

*I want this to last a long time, 10 years should be easy.

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[–] simple@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

AMD does tend to have better support but Nvidia GPUs work fine nowadays. Pretty much any laptop you buy should work fine out of the box, so just get something that has decent specs.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I generally recommend looking for something with Intel Wi-Fi, and it's not just because Intel Wi-Fi works better on Linux, but because companies that include Intel Wi-Fi generally seem to have better hardware across the board.

[–] nik282000@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

/cries in Debian

[–] 0mega@social.c-r-t.tk 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

/me runs Debian on his gaming laptop

[–] nik282000@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

So do I, it just hurts sometimes.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Another guy says that long term Nvidia is a problem with Linux. That support is dropped after some years. Thoughts?

[–] simple@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Some years? Maybe if you have a 10+ year old GPU. They're supported for a really long time. The GTX 10xx series are still fully supported despite releasing in 2016 for example.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Here's his exact comment:

When you buy Nvidia for Linux, you’re buying obsolescence. It will work fine for a while and then they’ll hard-drop driver support at a certain kernel version. Your 3d acceleration will last as long as you can run an LTS kernel compatible with it. You may have moved on by then, but I currently have 3 Nvidia laptops that have between limited and zero 3D support in Linux. If I cared to run Windows or MacOS, 3D would still work. MacOS would also be outdated, though. In the future, I’m going AMD only.

I am looking to keep laptops for a long long time.

[–] simple@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm not sure what GPUs he has but they must be very old. You don't have to worry about this unless you really care about keeping your laptop for around 10 years or more.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well I do. Is 10 years a hard line?

[–] simple@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not really, but it's a rough estimate. If you want something to be supported for a much longer time then an AMD gpu is probably s good idea since their drivers are open source.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Any brands you recommend?

[–] simple@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Lenovo and ASUS are pretty good. Avoid some of the lower end gaming laptops, they usually have heating issues. Avoid MSI and Dell, I've heard nothing but complaints. In general just do research before buying the laptop and you'll be fine.

[–] radioactiveradio@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Can confirm, I have an mx 130 from like 2017. Still works like it used to. Garbage. But it's the weak GPU not a driver issue. There are driver issues but dropping support isn't one of em.