What type of computer would Linux run better on?

[Commander]

So after some thought and looking through the web I was wondering what type of computer would run Linux the best?

As in would a Mac computer using duel-boot operate Linux better then a home built or store bought computer that was previously running Windows.

The reason I am guessing is because mac's are Unix based and booth Linux and OSX are Unix based. So would the hardware in Mac computer be more optimized for Linux?

[Mark77]

From Linux's perspective, the 'hardware' in a Mac is very similar to that of a "PC".  There's no inherent optimizations that can be performed to optimize it for one operating system or another.

 

Since Macs are heavily used by software developers, and are relatively standardized, they make excellent hosts for Linux platforms.  Albeit you will pay a very large premium for the Apple "brand". 

 

Providing you do some research and keep your expectations fairly reasonable, there's no reason that you can't, without a lot of trouble, build a Linux PC out of PC hardware for quite a bit less than the equivalent Mac offering.  With probably more potential upside in terms of upgrades and overclocking if that's ever your desire. 

[Commander]

Yea I was just wondering because I already have a Mac Mini with Osx and EFI booted to windows 10 ( Basically skipping the boot camp process.) and thought about adding Linux to it.

[Hamako]

ThinkPads are optimized for Linux and run exceptionally well with almost any Distro. In fact, ThinkPads are THE Linux laptop. (mostly because many developers use ThinkPads for Linux)

 

If you want to experience a similar symbiosis as macOS + Apple Hardware, then Fedora on a ThinkPads is the closest you can get.

 

The Lenovo Outlet currently has some nice T450s machines. You might want to check those out. Make sure to get one with a FHD display. Don't get the T450.

[handymanshandle]

Really any computer than can support 32 or 64 bit or is PowerPC based can run Linux though when you get into like ARM, it seems a little less likely to find a download or torrent for an ARM based CPU.

 

Spec for spec a Mac and similar desktop PC will perform identically to one another in Linux.

[jabolotai]

Linux has been ported to heaps of architectures. https://www.debian.org/ports/ although the more exotic architectures probably won't have all the binaries available for it compared to amd64.

Sometimes you run into issues with drivers for bespoke hardware (wifi used to be pretty fiddly), but these days it's pretty good.

If you want it perfectly smooth, do your research on what component chipsets are already compatible/supported before you buy. There are lots of Linux system retailers if you want some starting points - https://linuxpreloaded.com/

[kz6fittycent]

If you're willing to pay for it, System76 provides great Linux optimized machines. I bought my wife the Kudu and she loves it. It's a butter smooth experience. 

 

They make gaming rigs, too. 

 

Again, you'll pay a premium but they did all the hard work and provide any specific firmware, driver, etc necessary as part of the package. 

 

 

[flowalex]

The biggest thing for me when choosing a computer for running Linux is the network card since most of the other hardware should work with it, but the network card can have better or worse support for Linux.  Eg Intel NICs have great support, but I have heard that Broadcom are a lot harder to get working

[Sintezza]

Linux technically could run on any system.

The only pain in the ass currently with the 4.4LTS kernel, is the support for AMD proprietary gpu drivers.

 

If you are looking for a laptop or system for Linux.

I could highly recommend to look either for a system with Nvidia graphics card or Intels graphics.

There are AMD pro drivers that you could get to "work" on the 4.7 Kernel for certain AMD graphics cards,

but sometimes its a bit of a pain in the ass.

 

[Dat Guy]

On 14.8.2016 at 10:01 AM, Hamako said:

ThinkPads are optimized for Linux

No, they are not. I got mine with Linux and it works much faster now that I deleted it.

[electromage]

It's been a long time since ThinkPads were widely considered as good Linux computers. I feel like they've been losing their "specialness" since Lenovo bought them. They dropped the ThinkLight, they've introduced a new changing port (rectangular coax??), they've been feeling cheaper, reducing available customizations (which they were very good for), etc.

 

In general most computers will run Linux these days, especially if you use one that is well-supported, like Ubuntu. The most common problems are with the odd WiFi chipset or bus device. There are ways around this such as running proprietary drivers in a wrapper, or swapping the card with one that has open-source support.

 

System76 sells laptops with Ubuntu pre-installed and supports  them (though I don't have first-hand experience). Dell also sells a couple of XPS laptops with Ubuntu. I have a non-developer edition, and also run Ubuntu on it, but I wanted a different set of specs than they offered at the time.