Well I undeleted my message, but basically I would avoid “preconfigured” Linux laptops, as they are mostly Clevo laptops with questionable quality and a huge markup.

Installing it yourself is very easy.

Framework is the exception, they make good stuff; albeit not the fastest stuff out there.

And I’d seriously look at the base Asus Z13 if you want a 13” and can afford it. Its display is sick, is so fast you won’t need to replace it for a long time, the internal hardware/cooling is crazy, and it has great Linux community around it.

What about budget?

If that’s of little concern, I'd lean towards any of the AMD “AI Max” laptops. The HP G1a (14”) and Asus Z13 (13”) are about $2K in their base configs, perhaps less on discount.

I heard what you said about not needing AI, but frankly, the hardware of those particular two laptops blows anything else away, hence they're going to last much longer. The displays and build quality are excellent, too. Additionally:

• All the Zephyrus laptops (like my G14) work well with Linux, and in fact have their own little internet community submitting patches for them. Looks up asus-linux; I think some of those folks run PopOS.

• All-AMD, in general, means no headaches on Linux.

• With overkill hardware, you can throttle the heck out of them so they sip power while staying fast. I learned this with my G14, which can run fanless with CPU boost disabled.

But like I said, these are very expensive laptops. On more of a budget, I’d look at a Framework 13 first (though they really need to update it), and otherwise see what Notebookcheck.com recommends in your budget.