Toot

Written by gjm on 2025-01-18 at 21:06

I need a new laptop and I'm fed up of Microsoft. I have two questions that I expect some people reading this know something about the answer to.

1. (Because I might run Linux on whatever I get.) What's the state of Linux-on-laptops these days? Can I buy a new laptop from a reputable vendor and expect that recent Linux versions will Just Work on it? Or is it still recommended to get a ThinkPad model that's at least a few years old? Are traditional problem areas (wifi? battery life? handoff between integrated and discrete GPU? suspend?) still problematic? Are there specific things I should avoid?

2. (Because I might get a Mac, and Macs can make quite a lot of memory available to the GPU.) Is it currently possible to do anything genuinely useful with LLMs small enough to run within (say) 20GB? 40GB? If so, what, and how well?

In both cases, reports from actual experience are particularly welcome, but "I know someone who did X and here's how it went" is fine too...

Many thanks in advance!

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