I was about to pull the trigger and buy a System 76 Pangolin when the trade BS started. As far as I can tell, there are no Canadian manufacturers (or repackagers like System 76), so I’m looking for suggestions. My preference would be Canadian, but happy to consider anything non-US.

I prefer to buy hardware that can last - my phone is nearly 10 years old, and my tower PC is almost 20, with various upgrades over time. I know that laptops aren’t as good for upgrades, but some sturdiness, and non-soldered RAM would be appreciated.

I’m looking for a 15"/16" laptop that plays well with Linux (I like Pop!OS, but fine to migrate) it would be primarily for office stuff, but with decent enough iGPU that I can do basic graphic work, and play some indy games. I’d like something that generally doesn’t sound like a helicopter when I use it. 1-2Tb SDD, and 32 GB RAM. ~$2500 CAD is my max.

I looked at Lenovo, but they’re getting expensive, and I’m not sure whether they go through the US prior to hitting Canada or not.

Thanks in advance!

  • zhenbo_endle@lemmy.ca
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    14 hours ago

    My first thought was framework, they’re a transparent and small business and super linux-friendly. However, I just found that

    Headquarters Address: 447 Sutter St, PMB 135, San Francisco, CA, 94108-4618, United States Trademark: Framework®, Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

    https://frame.work/ca/en/contact-us

    Edit: I found a wiki page listing laptop brands, and there are several non-US brands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laptop_brands_and_manufacturers

    I like Pop!OS, but fine to migrate

    I think you don’t need to migrate if you find a laptop that works great in Ubuntu/Fedora/etc. IHMO most linux-related issues are caused by drivers, especially NVIDIA and WiFi. If the kernel is updated, then different distros should behave similarly.

    • LycanGalen@lemmy.worldOP
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      13 hours ago

      Thank you. I’d opted out of framework a while ago, because the 13 is a bit too small, and I’ve heard the 16 has some fitting issues, which, if I got a new laptop every couple years, I’d be down to support them, but that’s not me.

      And agreed about popOS, I actually landed on it because it just worked with my nvidia GPU, but if there was some partnerships or whatnot, I wouldn’t die with a new distro.