Lenovo X280 O/S

[Willia]

Looking for suggestions on what would be the best Linux O/S to run on this laptop. I've read mixed reviews of Ubuntu running on it. I'm leaning towards Fedora at the moment. Before I actually install any software, just looking to see if anyone more experienced can give a suggestion. I have little experience here, still learning the trade haha. Open to any other O/S as well such as Arch, Gentoo, or RedHat 7 etc.

Laptop specs: 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8650U Processor with vPro (1.90GHz, up to 4.20GHz with Turbo Boost, 8MB Cache)● 12.5" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS anti-glare multi-touch● 16 GB DDR4 2400MHz● 128 GB Solid State Drive, M.2 SATA● Intel Dual Band 8265 Wireless AC (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 4.1 with vPro● WWAN● Fibocom L850-GL 4G LTE-A Cat9

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

[wizardfromoz]

Hi @Willia and welcome to linux.org

Lenovos can be a little irksome with some Linux, but it is as much a matter of computer manufacturers tailoring their efforts towards a certain OS, which can provide impediments.

I don't know that Ubuntu is more of a problem than other Linux, but another of our Members, Stan (@atanere ) is more knowledgeable than I on Lenovos. He will swing by.

Your specs given (Ta - pron. "tar", Aussie for thanks) are enough to run any Linux known, and see it get up and fly.

How many free USB ports?

I have to go for my evening, but make friends with distrowatch.com for ideas, and their page hit rankings show hundreds of Linux, top 100 are likely best-supported, and many of them I have tried, including across the Families you have mentioned.

I have installed over 100 Linux, and typically run 60 - 80. So I won't give you a hard sell on just one, but will likely have an opinion or two

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz ... that's DownUnder, Mate

 

[atanere]

Hi @Willia, and welcome! I've got an older Lenovo Yoga, but yours sounds like it is a quite new model (I didn't Google for more as your specs list is pretty complete). I assume that you have Windows 10, and we'll want to know if you want to keep that and dual-boot or whether you will erase Windows and go Linux only.

But the advice we give for new users is just about always the same: you must try a few distros out yourself. The trial is to determine what feels good to you in operation, but also to determine which distros can best handle your hardware out of the box. Very new models can have troubles if the Linux folks haven't caught up with suitable drivers yet... this is especially with video/graphics, sound, and wireless internet.

The two easiest ways to try out Linux are 1) Install VirtualBox in Windows and then install as many different Linux distros as you want to test out in "virtual machines"... and 2) Burn the distros you want to try (one-at-a-time) on to a DVD if you have a drive, or on to a USB flash drive. You can boot and run the DVD/USB in "live mode" to test it and when you reboot you're back in Windows. Both of these methods are harmless to your Windows install.

As far as which distros.... everyone has different opinions about that, but the trial period lets you figure out what you like. Ubuntu is good, though I would suggest the MATE version rather than their standard (Gnome 3 Shell). I heavily favor Linux Mint 19 in Cinnamon and MATE versions. If Fedora interests you... go for it too. All of these mentioned will, I think, work with your BIOS/UEFI settings as they are probably set for Windows (meaning the computer is in UEFI mode and Secure Boot is enabled). Some other distros may require you to disable Secure Boot, or switch to Legacy Mode instead of UEFI, or both.

One thing with my Lenovo is the "Novo button".... do you have one of those? This is a tiny little button that is hard to press, usually on the side of the laptop, and it is needed to access the BIOS settings or to access the BIOS Boot Menu (the Boot Menu is needed to get a Linux USB to boot up, unless you make permanent changes in BIOS for boot order).

OK, gotta run for now.

Cheers