I was about to pull the trigger and buy a System 76 Pangolin when the trade BS started. As far as I can tell, there are no Canadian manufacturers (or repackagers like System 76), so I’m looking for suggestions. My preference would be Canadian, but happy to consider anything non-US.
I prefer to buy hardware that can last - my phone is nearly 10 years old, and my tower PC is almost 20, with various upgrades over time. I know that laptops aren’t as good for upgrades, but some sturdiness, and non-soldered RAM would be appreciated.
I’m looking for a 15"/16" laptop that plays well with Linux (I like Pop!OS, but fine to migrate) it would be primarily for office stuff, but with decent enough iGPU that I can do basic graphic work, and play some indy games. I’d like something that generally doesn’t sound like a helicopter when I use it. 1-2Tb SDD, and 32 GB RAM. ~$2500 CAD is my max.
I looked at Lenovo, but they’re getting expensive, and I’m not sure whether they go through the US prior to hitting Canada or not.
Thanks in advance!
I’d buy an off-lease ThinkPad. There’s plenty liquidators that sell machines that were upgraded from one corp or another.
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.
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.
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.
I know some that ship Canada wide. Uniway Computers is where I’ve bought a bunch of my last few laptops.
Once you start looking, you’ll find plenty of resellers, esp in USA. Get one before turn madness resumes!
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!
