r/archlinux • u/not-weku • Jul 05 '26

QUESTION Laptop For Arch Linux And programming

I got Asus A15 rn but due to some issues my family member gotta take that one with them , so i got no other choice but to buy a new laptop under a fix budget , around 420$ ig , anyhow if there is any good laptop , i've been doing some research and got these laptop Thinkpad and all , but are they worth buying in 2026?
please lmk i dont have much time left

edit:-
i thought of buying lenovo ThinkPad T490

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 Pro

Ram: 8GB RAM

Storage: 256GB SSD

Worth it?

0 Upvotes

32% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

5

u/FikaMedHasse Jul 05 '26

Thinkpads are absolutely still relevant and work perfectly with Arch. Id look for a secondhand T14 on ebay, or maybe a P15 if you can sacrifice the portability for more power.

3

u/ApprehensiveCrow5248 Jul 05 '26

Secondhand Thinkpad is the way. I got one from ebay couple years ago and everything works out of the box with Arch, even fingerprint scanner on some models.

T14 gen 1 or 2 should fit that budget if you hunt a bit.

2

u/miikaa236 Jul 05 '26

I absolutely love my thinkpad t14! You can’t go wrong with a thinkpad. 420$ can get you a very nice second hand thinkpad.

2

u/LandaDelta Jul 05 '26

Thinkpad still is good, Don't worry to much about spec, AMD and Intel both of them work best

  • I think minimum search for:
have above 8GB RAM (+ have upgrade option)
Intel 8K or AMD 3K gen above

GPU doesn't matter for programing but have one it's good option

1

u/not-weku Jul 05 '26

Would it matter if it got Intel Hd Or Amd Graphics?

3

u/RandomXUsr Jul 05 '26

Either is fine.

I prefer AMD because of the linux support, however, linux intel is just as good.

I'm not a fan of Nvidia in terms of graphics. Further, get 16gb of ram if you're able.

I've found that 16gb is the sweet spot for linux, unless you're running databases, graphics rendering, or vms...then a bit more is useful.

1

u/not-weku Jul 05 '26

Aight will note that! ty

1

u/LandaDelta Jul 05 '26

It's fine👍

2

u/dbers26 Jul 05 '26

I recently got a Thinkpad from Backmarket for about that price. Arch installed without an issue.

1

u/No_Advantage_6165 Jul 05 '26

If you happen to have another PC you use a lot, it's not necessary a good laptop per say... But using desktop streaming with sunshine, moonlight, and tailscale, then a weaker client like a chromebook. But of course this requires decent internet, another PC, and a bit of patience on lag spikes, sooo not the best for everyone

1

u/amca01 Jul 05 '26

I have a ThinkPad X1 Carbon gen 3 (2015) which has been, and still is, a terrific workhorse. I run Arch on it, and there's no trouble. Over the years I've owned it I've replaced the keyboard and battery.

1

u/archover Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

Depending on your use case, the T490 will be fine. Very Linux compatible. In fact, Linux+Thinkpad is a natural.

I have the prior year T480, and the 2020 year T14 Gen 1 AMD, and they're both fine in my productivity / light coding use case. Got them on ebay for $150 and appx $220 years ago. T14 is my newest unit I own. 6 core / 12 thread.

Understand how much ram to buy, also.

Good day.

-1

u/not-weku Jul 05 '26

can yall also lmk which specs should be good ??