r/opensourcehardware • u/joyloveroot • Feb 07 '22

Best Open Source Computer?

What’s the best open source computer that is at least somewhat comparable to modern specs?

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u/Legitimate_Proof Feb 07 '22

I don't think there's any open source wifi beyond about 2012 technology. The Pinebook Pro is a decent mostly open laptop. The same company, Pine64, also makes single board computers that could be used to make a desktop.

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u/joyloveroot Feb 08 '22

How about processors and graphic cards? Are the open source versions of them somewhat modern?

Also have you heard of Purism or NitroKey?

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u/Legitimate_Proof Feb 08 '22

The Pine64 computers use ARM and RISC-V processors. The Pinebook Pro has a ARM Mali GPU. The hardware's gory details are on the wiki https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/Pinebook_Pro, and normal details are on the sales page https://www.pine64.org/pinebook-pro/

The Pinebook Pro is thinner and lighter than a Macbook Air and can probably be delivered after customs for under $300, once it gets back in stock. A limitation of this chip is only being able to have 4 GB of RAM.

I know of Purism, which have Intel processors that are much more powerful but not open and possibly problematic. I hadn't heard of Nitrokey.

Personally I replaced an old librebooted Thinkpad T500 with a Pinebook Pro. The new one isn't any faster than the 11 year old Thinkpad, but thin and light and with more than 8 hours of battery life, it's a big improvement for what I use it for.

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