So… how to find the best traveling Laptop? The Problem is the Quadrilemma of Price – Weight – Battery – Speed
For a while now I am looking for a good Laptop. Not too expensive, not too high end, very light, very portable, not too fancy, and an okay battery life. But it really isn’t that easy. When searching you find specific laptops, but aftermarket ones are preferable. Right now it’s obviously a unique situation. When you’re reading this, it might be much different, but right now there’s possibly a Hardware Price Bubble (other posts will follow, I love the topic. No really, I do!). So one answer could be to just wait. Fortunately I have a decent Laptop. It worked in the last few years as well, after all. But it’s always a bit difficult to handle. Not to mention carrying it around all the time. It’s also just slightly too good that I’m somewhat worried about losing or breaking it one day while I’m traveling. However, it’s slightly too heavy, too bulky, the battery isn’t good and it gets quite hot. So on that note, the obvious answer would be an Arm Laptop (Explanation Post Following. For now know that it uses a different Processor Type that Smartphones also use). There is Support for Linux (Not using Arch btw), and they’re up and coming. They’re good for Battery life and heat (that’s why your phone stays cool and can go for a day or two). And they’re quite powerful as well. The Problem: Software-compatibility. I admittedly don’t know exactly what would and wouldn’t work, because I haven’t had one yet. But I can imagine that it can be quite a headache – especially since I’m already on Linux too. Windows Software on Linux on Arm? Good one. So that also renders most games out of the question. Fortunately I don’t really play games, so that isn’t an issue. And it’s not like this stuff is running on “normal” Processors either. Now that I wrote this, I kind of talked myself into an arm Laptop. Problem here: They’re quite new, and therefore there aren’t too many budget options (yet). Another problem which I just realized: apparently they’re not compatible with Linux whatsoever yet. And it’s been like this for years at this point. The most prominent processors as of writing are Snapdragon X processors. And even they barely run even on arm specific Distros, in the sense that a lot of things simply won’t work, such as suspend, sound, wi-fi drivers(minor issue right?). And since it’s mostly hit or miss if it will even install and work in the first place, I scrapped the idea for now
So let’s explore the alternative. An x86 based Laptop Processor (traditional Computer Processors made by Intel and AMD). They’ve gotten much better in terms of battery life over the years, but still are drawing quite a lot of power. However, the biggest limitation and requirement would be to have a full AMD setup. It just plays much much better with Linux compatibility, because the drivers are much more open source. Because if you’re dealing with an Nvidia Graphics card, things like launching games via Lutris will be hard. Oh you wanna play a game on your nice rtx and intel hyper ultra x 12+? Good luck. Try out everything, hope that something works, and even if it does, than probably not exactly in the way you’d like (scuffed resolution, colors, sound, lags etc.)
The whole gaming on Linux thing hinges on Steam/ProtonDB…and these are designed to run on AMD systems. So an AMD Processor it is. As for Portability, Weight and Powerdraw, the only option is to rely on integrated Graphics. Luckily these got very good in the past years, as far as I know.
So with this decision in mind, let’s explore the options: 2 in 1 Laptop-Tablets usually come with Snapdragon processors. Ideal devices, but sadly not compatible. Plan b) Any remotely recent Laptop that comes with an Amd CPU. Why Recent? Because the battery should be okay then, the Processors are more power efficient, and generally did things get lighter and more power efficient in the recent years, with Apple, of all companies, putting up a lot of competition and pressuring other Laptop manufacturers to improve in these fields. The Obvious and one of the few viable options seems to be a Framework Laptop. Light, power efficient, Linux first and obviously repariable and upgradabale. This gives the possibility to get an Amd Framework now, and one day when support allows it, upgrade it to an Arm Processor. Sell the Amd one, and done. In Europe there are not many in the aftermarket. But if you’re a bit patient you can catch quite a good deal.
The unsatisfying verdict
With the current situation regarding prices, the non compatibility of Arm and Linux, and the non-need for a Laptop *right now*, the answer is…none!
But to give you something, consider this: If you’re running Windows, switch to Linux. just kidding… or am I? For real though, if you’re somehow running Windows, you’d be well adviced with a Snapdragon X Elite Laptop or 2-in-1. For Apple guys, any used somewhat recent Macbook, M4 Processor and their variants are quite impressive. And for Linux users… Just any used Laptop with an Amd Cpu and integrated Graphics, ideally a Framework. (Honorable mentions: Tuxedo, System76)
I for my part will hold out. My Laptop is fine. Buying a new Laptop feels like a solution in need of a problem.
This is not the most polished blog post. I just started writing and want to publish it to finally have published something on here. Ideally, once i get a feel for it, I’ll be publishing many more things in the future.
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