Linux Laptop Advice

Linux Support
1

Hi all,

I am getting a new (well, refurbed) laptop, and would like to make the switch to linux. However, some of the software I use only works on windows, so I will probably have to dual boot - is there any advice on this?

As an alternative, is it possible to run linux from an external SSD and have all normal functionality, if so can anyone recommend a good external drive for the purpose?

Also, are there any specs or requirements I should look out for when picking the laptop?

Secondly, what would be a good distro to start with? I am looking for something that is fast and secure with decent privacy and VPN options built in, and have a simple, Wondows 7-esque interface.

Thanks for the advice, I feel like my switch over to linux is long over due, I’ve been planning it for ages!

A

2

Well Linux Mint, Ubuntu or maybe Debian is good. KDE Plasma is a nice de. If possible you should run GNU/Linux with internal SSD/HDD because external storage is slow. I think you should buy a laptop or desktop with at least 8GB of RAM. And upgrade it to 16GB RAM when you got more money.

3

Thanks, I am thinking of a Lenovo ThinkPad T450, Core i5-5300U, 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD, and for the external SSD a Netac ZSLIM 250GB. Do you think that would do the job?

4

Well i think it’s old. There’s 11th or 12th gen Intel CPUs now. And what’s the GPU of this laptop? But it has nice specs i think

5

I think it’s just the internal Intel GPU, which should be fun for what I want (video streaming, very occasional and small film edits). I don’t mind it being a bit old, as I don’t really want to spend a lot of money on the laptop.

Thanks

6

Then you can buy it.