this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024
67 points (100.0% liked)

Linux

1261 readers
82 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Hi, want to buy some used hardware to run with Linux (Gnome DE ON Mint, Debian OR ElementaryOS). Mainly Office use, transcoding, but also for casual gaming Half-life 2 and maybe some more modern games.

Are Thinkpads with integrated GPUs sufficient for that? Any nice alternatives which are sturdy and can be upgraded?

TIA!

EDIT: thank you for all the helpful input. Will check AMD options!

top 14 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 10 points 4 months ago

Stay away from the Thinkpad T580 with the Geforce MX150. It's horribly throttled and can't even run Quake 3 properly although it should actually be capable of running Doom 2016.

Might be the same with the T480.

[–] data1701d@startrek.website 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I've been enjoying my Thinkpad E16 that I got brand new from Best Buy. https://startrek.website/post/13283869

[–] data1701d@startrek.website 4 points 4 months ago

I don't know about other games, but it wasn't too terrible playing Civ 6.

[–] finley@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago

Depends on the specs and the games. Possibly/probably.

[–] wallmenis@lemmy.one 3 points 4 months ago

I can reliably play wii on an x230. I am pretty sure you can go ahead and play unless it is ps2 or xbox og or anything newer (wii/gamecube excluded)

[–] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Modern games are not going to run well. Look for a Thinkpad with a Thunderbolt 3 port (make sure it actually has 4 PCIe lanes, some only have 2) and use an eGPU. Retro games will run fine on integrated graphics though.

[–] ratzki@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 4 months ago

Will do, thanks!

[–] jcarax 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I'd say if you get a Ryzen, yeah. I have a P14s gen4 AMD that I use for my primary machine, and game on successfully. But I also have an old T14s gen1 AMD that work let me keep when I got refreshed. Right now I have Windows on it, to play some games that don't work well in Proton, but it works fine in Linux as well.

If you can swing it, the T14s gen3 with a Ryzen 7 6850u was a truly excellent machine, it's what I have for work right now. But we won't see it coming off lease for another couple years, so it's a bit early for good prices on the used market.

[–] nerdovic@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

How's battery life on your T14s G1? Currently looking into getting one myself, and hope for at least 8 hours on battery on Linux (no gaming, just light dev stuff with web browsing)

[–] jcarax 1 points 4 months ago

Honestly, I never really use it untethered enough to give you a good answer. But I can say that notebookcheck's battery tests are pretty good, and they test enough laptops to compare well across a large number of models and generations.

[–] bloodfart@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 months ago

Yes it’s fine stay away from the discrete gpus there’s not adequate cooling for their extended use.

[–] noddy 2 points 4 months ago

For old not very demanding games by todays standard, yes. As long as you get something new enough to have proper support for Vulkan API (such that DXVK would work). As others have mentioned, AMD have better iGPUs than intel, so definitely look out for that.

[–] kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 months ago

I use a T440p and it works amazing for lightweight gaming (tested so far: Fallout NV, BTD6, Minecraft, and Enter the Gungeon)

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemdro.id 2 points 4 months ago

generally a thinkpad should be fine, but you'll want a 1.7ghz+ cpu, aswell as a dx8.1 video card for half life 2