I want to get my partner a replacement for an aging chromebook. I was thinking it would be easiest to just grab another super budget chromebook and call it a day. But the more I read about google and chrome, the less I want to do with them.
So my goal is to snag a cheap ($300ish?) laptop that I can slap Linux on (probably mint, but I’m open to suggestions).
The main caveat is the size- needs to be small. Current chromebook is 11.5” I think. I’d like to keep it under 13”. The main use (95% will be web browsing/streaming/email/bullshit) but I’d like it to have enough juice to play Minecraft on my local server.
I’ve looked around a bit, but my god there is a lot of options. I’d love it if there was just a recommendation that was proven to work. I’m busy enough tinkering with all the other tech, and I’d like to just set this one up and forget it.
Dell inspiron 15, unfortunately. Going for about $300 the last time I checked, add in another stick of RAM and an SSD, perfect linux machine right there.
Chromebooks are honestly the best option for budget linux laptops, you can easily install linux onto many chromebooks.
Ten years ago, when those ubiquitous Acer chromebooks were cheap as dirt, I would have agreed with you . I had a couple.
But my last three laptops have been Mint running on refurbished ThinkPads from ebay. I’ve not had any problems.
Agreed. Grab a T490S off eBay with an i5, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD for $225 and you’re all set.
Take a look at Minifree Ltd. For less than USD $500, you can get a decent ThinkPad with Libreboot and your choice of Linux distro (KDE Debian is installed by default).
How about a Thinkpad X230?
As of next month, I’ve been using Chromebooks for 10 years however I also came to the same conclusion re: Google/ChromeOS over the summer.
Initially, I bought a Windows laptop but the keyboard layout (specifically the function keys) felt absolutely foreign, even after I wiped it and installed Debian. In retrospect, my theory is that a $500 Chromebook has worse internals but a much better keyboard/trackpad than a Windows equivalent, and that the keyboard layout is more user-friendly in a browser-first world. Eventually, I went back to my Chromebook but with a twist.
I’m biased, but since you seem like you know your way around Linux and tinkering, one suggestion that hasn’t been mentioned is that you buy a new Chromebook and turn it into a Chrultrabook (aka a Chromebook w/ ChromeOS completely wiped & replaced w/ Linux).
I’ve been running one of the last few months and it’s been an overall pleasant experience. Perhaps most important for me is that the tutorial includes keyd to reprogram the keyboard shortcuts to mirror the Chromebook layout. The community is growing and responsive, especially on the Linux side.
Thanks for the resources. I think this could be the way forward. I’ll do some research first, as I need something super stable, since I won’t be the final user. So if it breaks, I’m on the hook.
Do you have any suggestions on possible candidate Chromebooks?
I just did some digging on Best Buy and Amazon for sales, but mostly came across larger models or models that were MediaTek/Snapdragon (the chrultrabook team almost exclusively works on intel devices).
I’d say your best bet is to go to the supported devices list, and
Ctrl + Ffor ‘13’ or ‘11’ to highlight the smaller-sized chromebooks and then check to see what’s available, or to jump in the Discord and pose the question to those in the linux channelNice. That’s the move. I am finding it more and more difficult to find smaller laptops/chromebooks these days. If I want a big screen, I’ll sit down at my desktop!
Thanks again for the resources
I just did something similar last week. My criteria were 1) small form factor like a Chromebook, 2) not actually a Chromebook, 3) could swap out or install an m.2 SSD.
I ended up getting a harddrive-less old Latitude 3190 for 30$ off eBay, put a 256gb SSD in (had it lying around + that’s the max capacity supported I think), and ended up installing fedora KDE. It’s not perfect but for the price it’s amazing
Dang, that’s a nice deal. I think I want something with a bit more juice, as I would like to play Minecraft from time to time. I’m leaning towards used thinkpad
