We hope this guide will help you buy the best laptop for Ubuntu. Make sure to closely work with our recommendations so you don’t end up buying a laptop that is incompatible with this operating system.
Best Laptop for Ubuntu – Here we are with some of the best laptops for running Ubuntu O. Surely there are hundreds of more such laptops available in the market, but these are verified perfectly making sure it meets all your needs and perfectly reasonable as well.
If you have any queries regarding the specifications and working of the above-listed laptop, we would be more than glad to help you out in selecting one. For more information on these laptops, you can visit their official websites to find all the technical details and more about the manufacturers.
Table of Contents
OVERVIEW
Make sure you stick to the list above as all the laptops are the best among the ones you will look for in the market. We totally understand your need and the reason for your going through all the details carefully. So make sure you choose wisely.
Last updated: April 9, 2021 11:45 am
ROUND UP
1.Acer Predator Helios
Features
- 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H 6-Core Processor (Up to 5.0 GHz) with Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
- Overclockable NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with 6 GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM
- 15.6" Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen LED-backlit IPS display (144Hz Refresh Rate, 3ms Overdrive Response Time, 300nit Brightness & 72% NTSC)
- 16 GB DDR4 2933MHz Dual-Channel Memory, 512GB NVMe SSD (2 x M.2 slots; 1 slot open for easy upgrades) & 1 - Available Hard Drive Bay
- 4-Zone RGB Backlit Keyboard | Wireless: Killer Double Shot Pro Wireless-AX 1650i 802. 11ax Wi-Fi 6; LAN: Killer Ethernet E2600 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN; DTS X: Ultra-Audio; 4th Gen All-Metal AeroBlade 3D Fan
- Connectivity technology: Bluetooth
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2.Dell XPS
Features
- 13.4" FHD+ (1920 x 1200) InfinityEdge Touch Anti-Reflective 500-Nit Display
- 11th Generation, Intel Core i7-1185G7 Processor (12MB Cache, up to 4.8 GHz)
- 16GB 4267MHz LPDDR4x Memory Onboard, 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
- Intel Iris Xe Graphics with shared graphics memory
- Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2 x 2) and Bluetooth 5.1
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3.HP 14″
Features
- 14" HD (1366 x 768) Micro-edge TouchScreen display. With virtually no bezel encircling the display, an ultra-wide viewing experience provides for seamless multi-monitor set-ups. AMD 3000 Series processor. Basic dual-core processor boosts multitasking capabilities for reliable Internet browsing, e-mail and everyday productivity.
- 4GB system memory for advanced multitasking. Substantial high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run your games and photo- and video-editing applications, as well as multiple programs and browser tabs all at once.
- 64GB eMMC flash memory. This ultracompact memory system is ideal for mobile devices and applications, providing enhanced storage capabilities, streamlined data management, quick boot-up times and support for high-definition video playback.
- Wi-Fi 5 (2x2) & Bluetooth 5.0. With a Wi-Fi 5 (2x2) (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) WLAN adapter and Bluetooth 5.0, all your connections are rock solid. HP True Vision HD Camera. Video chat with vibrant clarity, even in low light. Dual array microphones. With two microphones and advanced noise reduction software, you'll always sound crystal clear when you video chat or record.
- Windows 10 Home in S mode. You may switch to regular windows 10: Press "Start button" bottom left of the screen; Select "Settings" icon above "power" icon; Select Update & Security and Activation, then Go to Store; Select "Get" option under "Switch out of S mode"; Hit Install. (If you also see an "Upgrade your edition of Windows" section, be careful not to click the "Go to the Store" link that appears there.) Include 64GB Micro SD Memory Card with Adapter.
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4.GPD Micro PC
Features
- GPD MicroPC has a Strong Performance with Ultra Low Power Consumption: Intel N4100 processor, four cores, four threads, and thermal design of 10W;Graphics: lntel HD Graphics 200,Up to 700Mhz;
- GPD MicroPC is Compatible for IT fields and more with its rugged exterior: Network communication, electric power, exploration, mining, archaeology, education training, manufacturing, service chain, call center, business services, public institution, government military and many more;
- RAM/ROM: 8GB LPDDR4 RAM/128GB super capacity M.2 SSD for fast read and write speed (read:576MB/s, write: 465MB/s), replaceable, and infinite capacity expansion; Battery: 2 × 3100mAh, In series
- RJ45 interface for wired network access, and wireless Wi-Fi 2.4G/5G dual bands and compatible with BT 4.2 for dual-channel max. transfer rate of 433Mbps;Built-in one RS-232 serial interface, widely used in industrial control and automation;Three USB 3.0 interfaces to maximize extended USB devices;One full-featured Type C charging interface for audio, video and data transmission;One microSDXC slot for manual backup or migration of data in a network-free environment;
- Screen: 6 Inches Gorilla Glass 4, Sharp full-fit dazzling screen.(Not Touch Screen).OS:Windows 10 Pro Or Ubuntu MATE 18.10.Weigh Only 440 grams,Easy to Take In Your Pocket On the GO!!
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5.Fusion5
Features
- TERRIFIC DOWNLOAD AND UPLOAD SPEEDS - A90B+ Pro Windows Laptop PC features 5 GHz WIFI which means the download and upload speeds are atleast 2x faster than traditional laptops. Furthermore, our A90B+ pro is designed such that it can handle complex tasks with ease. A90B+ pro (v2) is 135% faster than our T90B+ pro (v1) according to bench mark tests.
- SUPPORTS HDD UPTO 1TB - Your new Lapbook comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB of on-board eMMC storage with the option to expand the memory up to 256GB with a Micro SD card (tf-card) or Insert a HDD (upto 1TB) and increase the internal storage immediately.
- SUPER LIGHT AND FLEXIBLE - Fusion5 A90B+ Pro New notebook laptop is light and easy to carry around weighing just 1246 grams. Do more with Windows 10 Professional. Laptop is backed by Windows 10 Professional edition.
- AMAZING VIEWER EXPERIENCE - This Fusion5 Laptop PC come with an Amazing 14.1" 1920*1080 Full HD IPS display meaning you can now compute on the move in stunning Full HD and High resolution for the Ultimate portable Windows notebook laptop experience
- 12 MONTHS USA WARRANTY AND SERVICE CENTRE ASSISTANCE - Fusion5 is honouring warranties since 2010. We have the upmost confidence in our product range of Laptops and Notebooks - so much so that we offer a full 12 month USA warranty period, applicable to our Service Centre.
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6.HP Chromebook
Features
- Google Play Store: The millions of Android apps you know and love on your phone and tablet can now run on your Chrome device without compromising their speed, simplicity or security
- Sleek, responsive design: Keep going comfortably with the backlit keyboard and multi-touch touchpad that supports four finger gestures set in a sleek design for moving from room to room or on the road
- Binge watch while you work: Equipped with an Intel(R) processor, 14" display, stereo speakers tuned by audio experts at B&O and a long battery life to get more done while having fun
- Environmentally conscious: Low halogen, mercury-free display backlights, arsenic-free display glass in this Energy Star(R) certified, EPEAT(R) Silver registered Chromebook
- Dual-core Intel(R) processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) N4000, Dual-Core, 1.1 GHz base frequency, up to 2.6 GHz burst frequency
- Display: 14.0-inch diagonal HD SVA anti-glare micro-edge WLED-backlit display (1366 x 768); 82% screen to body ratio
- Memory & storage: 4 GB LPDDR4-2400 SDRAM (not upgradable) and 32 GB eMMC
- Battery life: Up to 13 hours and 30 minutes (mixed usage); 0 to 50% charge in 45 minutes with HP Fast Charge
- Thin, light & portable: 12.82 in (W) x 8.60 in (D) x 0.70 in (H); 3.24 lb
- Operating system and warranty: Chrome and 1-year limited hardware warranty with 24-hour, 7 days a week web support when shipped from and sold by Amazon.com and not a third party seller
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7.ASUS Chromebook
Features
- Rugged body meets Mil-STD 810G durability and has spill resistant keyboard for the perfect Chromebook for the classroom or any accident prone environment.
- 11.6 inch HD 1366 x 768 touchscreen with anti-glare for a larger screen size and a better viewing experience with 360 degree hinge.
- Has a rubber safety grip to help drops from happening, and a durable 3D-textured finish to help with scratches and fingerprints.
- Powered by the Intel Gemini Lake Dual-Core Celeron N4000 Processor, up to 2.6 GHz for fast and snappy performance.
- 4GB LPDDR4 RAM; 32GB eMMC storage and 2x USB Type-C (Gen 1), 1 x Type-A (Gen 1) ports and micro SD card port. (*USB Transfer speed may vary. Learn more at ASUS website)
- HD + 5M Pixel dual Camera (720p video recording)
- With the Google Play Store, you can access a rich library of apps, games, music, movies, TV, books, magazines, and more, all from your Chromebook.
- Chromebooks come with built-in storage for offline access to your most important files and a 12-month Google One trial that gives you additional storage across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos.
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8.Lenovo Business
Features
- Stunning 15.6-inch resolution 1366x768 HD touchscreen for high-quality images and fine detail. Energy-efficient LED backlight. Intel HD Graphics 620 On-processor graphics with shared video memory provide everyday image quality for Internet use, basic photo editing and casual gaming. Weighs 4.83 lbs. and measures 1" thin
- Powerful 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U mobile processor Smart quad-core, four-way processing performance for HD-quality computing.
- Impressive 12GB DDR4 system memory for multitasking Adequate high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run multiple applications and browser tabs all at once. 1TB hard drive for serviceable file storage space Holds your growing collection of digital photos, music and videos.
- Bluetooth 4.0 interface syncs with compatible devices1 USB 3.0 port maximizes the latest high-speed devices, HDMI output expands your viewing options Built-in media reader for simple photo transfer
- Windows 10 Operating System. 2 x 1.5W Speakers with Dolby Audio.
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9.ASUS ZenBook
Features
- 13.3 inch wide-view full-HD NanoEdge bezel display
- Intel Core i5-8265u processor (6M Cache, upto 3.9 GHz)
- Fast storage and memory featuring 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD and 8GB LPDDR3 RAM
- Extensive connectivity with HDMI, USB type C, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11AC) and Micro SD card reader (USB transfer speed may vary. Learn more at Asus website)
- Sleek and lightweight 2.5 pounds aluminum body for comfortable portability
- Windows 10 home pre-installed
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10.Acer Chromebook
Features
- Chromebook runs on Chrome OS - an operating system by Google that is built for the way we live today. It comes with built-in virus protection, updates automatically*, boots up in seconds and continues to stay fast over time. (*Internet connection is required).
- All the Google apps you know and love come standard on every Chromebook, which means you can edit, download, and convert Microsoft Office files in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.
- Get access to more than 2 million Android apps from Google Play to learn and do more.
- Chromebooks come with built-in storage for offline access to your most important files and an additional 100GB of Google Drive space to ensure that all of your files are backed up automatically.
- CB315-3HT-C296 comes with 15. 6” Full HD Touch IPS Display, Intel Celeron N4000, 4GB LPDDR4 Memory, 32GB eMMC, Google Chrome and Up to 12. 5-hours Battery Life.
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Best Laptop for Ubuntu – BUYER’S GUIDE
back to menu ↑Value for Money
Some manufacturers offer their laptops with pre-installed Linux operating systems. In turn, this reduces the price, since you won’t bear the additional cost of Windows or macOS and the costly proprietary software like MS Office. Besides, there is free alternative open-source software like LibreOffice for Linux, which offers the same features as MS Office.
Almost all Linux distros, including Ubuntu, are free. While the installation process for Ubuntu is straightforward, other distros like Arch Linux have many nitty-gritty configuration options. As a beginner, start off with distributions like Ubuntu, Linux Mint if you want a Windows-like environment, or Elementary Os as an alternative to macOS.
back to menu ↑Hardware
Granted that Linux distros like Ubuntu are reasonably flexible, the computer you install it in needs to meet some standard specifications. Make sure the laptop meets all the hardware requirements to run Ubuntu smoothly. All the laptops in this review go above and beyond the recommended prerequisites.
At the time of writing, the notable recommended minimum system requirements for the latest Ubuntu (17.04 LTS) are; 2 GHz dual-core processor, 25 GB free hard-drive space, and 4 GB RAM.
LTS stands for Long term support, which means the flavor of Linux is maintained for many years (sometimes up to 10 years) with security updates, even after a new version comes around.
back to menu ↑Size/Form Factor
If you are looking for a portable laptop, then a smaller screen might be the way to go. Smaller laptops like the Asus Zenbook 13 has a 13.3-inch screen, is light, slim and offers decent battery life. These factors make it ideal if you’re a regular traveler.
A larger screen gives you more real estate to work with, especially when using screen-reliant Linux distributions. You won’t have to scroll too much to see everything. It is comfortable to look at, and the higher the resolution the better.
back to menu ↑CPU
The central processing unit (CPU) executes every command, from simple tasks like browsing to harder ones like gaming. The more powerful the processor, the more expensive the laptop will be as it performs better.
You need a sturdy CPU in order to fluidly run Ubuntu. For this reason, we recommend you go with a laptop at least Intel Core i5. If you are on the lower side of the budget, you can settle for an Intel Core i3.
RAM
RAM (random access memory) allows you to work with more data at the same time. Operating systems like Windows and macOS take up a lot of RAM while running their unsurmountable background processes.
Fortunately, Linux distros like Ubuntu are quite lean, meaning it can perform better with the same RAM as that in alternate OSes. 4 GB RAM is a good baseline for most modern computers.
back to menu ↑Storage
Storage is an important consideration when using Ubuntu since you will be downloading a lot of Linux distributions to work with. You can probably get away with a standard hard disk drive. However, if you are willing to invest, we recommend you go with an SSD that is much faster.
back to menu ↑Compatibility
Unfortunately, some hardware isn’t compatible with Linux. An example of this is Nvidia graphics cards, which contain proprietary drivers, giving the user a hard time configuring them on Linux. All the laptops in this guide have either integrated or AMD graphics cards, which are natively supported on Ubuntu.
Lucky for you, Linux is quite malleable, with a massive community behind. You can check on the Ubuntu forum for solutions in case you encounter any compatibility issues. In most cases, you can troubleshoot the issues with certain features or hardware on your laptop.
back to menu ↑Additional features
Laptops nowadays come with many constituents such as touchscreen functionality, fingerprint readers for enhanced security, and much more. While such features may work out of the box on pre-installed software, that’s not always the case when you choose to alter your operating system.
You may have to get additional driver software, which is incompatible with some OSes. Fortunately, Ubuntu natively supports many of the earlier mentioned features. You may have to painstakingly download and install additional drivers to get the novel features to work in other distros.
back to menu ↑Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will installing Linux affect my laptop’s warranty?
A: This all depends on the manufacturer and circumstances. Unfortunately, sometimes it does. Some manufacturers provide explicit warnings about this on their paperwork, so make sure to check beforehand.
Q: Can I install Linux on an older laptop?
A: In most cases, you can install Linux on an older computer. Most laptops will have no problems running a Distro. The only thing you need to be wary of is hardware compatibility. You may have to do some slight tweaking to get the Distro to run properly. It’s important to remember that there are many different Distros out there. Chances are, you can find one to work with a slightly older laptop.
Q: Can I create my own Linux Distro?
A: You can create your own Distro through the use of a compiler, though it’s not recommended. Compilers take the source codes of software and create your own unique Distro. The process takes a lot of time and requires advanced computer knowledge to complete.
Q: Can Linux be installed on Apple computers?
A: Linux can be installed on Apple computers with the right Distro. Of course, you’ll need to check hardware compatibility beforehand, as many Apple computers contain unique features not found on traditional PC laptops.
Q: Is Linux difficult to learn?
A: This all depends on the particular Distro you choose. Most Distros come with their own unique graphical interface that imitates a traditional desktop. They’re designed to be user-friendly, especially to those migrating from a conventional operating system. Most of the features will feel familiar, allowing you to learn Linux relatively quickly.
Q: Is Linux compatible with popular software titles?
A: Not all games and programs you used on your traditional operating system are going to work on Linux. Some developers offer a Linux version of their titles. If they don’t you may need to find a way to work around compatibility issues. Luckily, there are many free Linux programs that emulate the Windows platform, allowing you to play games.
WRAP UP
Unlike Windows and MacOS that comes pre-installed in majority of the laptops, Ubuntu OS has to be installed externally. As you’ll be installing it manually, it is imperative to find a good laptop that can run Ubuntu and other flavors without any compatibility problems.
We interviewed 21 data science professionals, 17 machine learning experts, 22 developers/programmers, and a few Linux enthusiasts to make this list. We did this to ensure that none of our recommendations provide a great experience and have less compatibility issues or other glitches.
To have a work-life balance, a lot of people consider using VMs on Windows/MacOS based laptops and run Ubuntu from it, however, we don’t recommend it if you are going to use both the operating systems regularly.
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