Buy preowned/used business laptops. $2500 is insane, spend less. You can find used laptops with the specs you suggested for less than $500, and they'll likely last you 10+ years.
this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2025
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Thank you, that's a great idea! Do you have any suggestions for where to look? EBay wasn't my friend, but I also wasn't specifying business.
refurb.io
I know some that ship Canada wide. Uniway Computers is where I've bought a bunch of my last few laptops.
I'd buy an off-lease ThinkPad. There's plenty liquidators that sell machines that were upgraded from one corp or another.
How does one go about finding these liquidators?
Lots of times they'll put stuff up through auction houses like here.
Just pop in you city, or the closest large city, then liquidation auction into the search engine of choice. Should get a few hits for even moderately sized cities.
It's a bit of an addiction, combing through lot listings, trying to find the decent bits and hoping to not get out bid at the last second.
Many advertise on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji. Small computer stores here and there. If you're in the GTA, an example is Computation Ltd near Jane and Bloor. There are many others, that's just one I know of and purchased from.
My first thought was framework, they're a transparent and small business and super linux-friendly. However, I just found that
Headquarters Address: 447 Sutter St, PMB 135, San Francisco, CA, 94108-4618, United States Trademark: Framework®, Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
https://frame.work/ca/en/contact-us
Edit: I found a wiki page listing laptop brands, and there are several non-US brands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laptop_brands_and_manufacturers
I like Pop!OS, but fine to migrate
I think you don't need to migrate if you find a laptop that works great in Ubuntu/Fedora/etc. IHMO most linux-related issues are caused by drivers, especially NVIDIA and WiFi. If the kernel is updated, then different distros should behave similarly.
Thank you. I'd opted out of framework a while ago, because the 13 is a bit too small, and I've heard the 16 has some fitting issues, which, if I got a new laptop every couple years, I'd be down to support them, but that's not me.
And agreed about popOS, I actually landed on it because it just worked with my nvidia GPU, but if there was some partnerships or whatnot, I wouldn't die with a new distro.
It looks like Eurocom are still around, what do you know?!
They are an integrator/repackager, similar to System 76 in many ways, and seem to have models equivalent to the Pangolin.
Also, FWIW, wiki page with various brands and manufacturers.
Thank you! Not sure how my DDG-fu missed Eurocom and that wiki page 😮💨.
I'll take a look!
I've purchased several off-lease laptops from Forest City Surplus (fcsurplus.ca) and have been very happy with them. They have a nice selection and I could never tell that they were refurbished.
LG is South Korean and they operate warehouses in Canada, so I assume they import directly (though not sure), and their Gram laptops are very good. They're designed as ultrabooks, not gaming beasts, but they can still play some low spec games, and a 17" gram weighs less than a 13" macbook air, is more robust and durable (milspec'd), and has a full numpad to boot. I've been happy with mine for about 4.5 years now, running Windows, but most threads I've found seem to suggest people have no issue using Linux on it.
Good to know. I recently picked up an LG TV after my Samsung died (it made it 17+ years, so can't complain.) I've been happy with the TV, so will look into their laptops, too.
What about Framework? I don't need a laptop and I want one 🤣
Well, they're American, and this is the "buy Canadian" group, so that's one reason.
That said, I also really like the idea of Framework, and spent a -lot- of time reading reviews and comments because it was one I was seriously considering, too.
General consensus is that the 13" framework is great, but that screen is too small for my use case (I do some graphics work). The 16" is....OK. More of a proof of concept than a fully finished laptop. As someone who buys once every 10 years, I'd rather not sink $3000 - $5000 on something I'll be frustrated with for 9.5 years.
(Edited to fix typo)
Once you start looking, you’ll find plenty of resellers, esp in USA. Get one before turn madness resumes!