Like I've definitely bought a normal laptop before and re-partitioned the drive to do dual boot. But I'm really hating on Microsoft and Gates now, and I'd just really like to not give them a cent if possible.
I see some websites listed when I Google "laptops without Windows", but the selection ain't great and the selection often doesn't have great video cards. Has anyone had any luck with this? Thanks.
gaming
laptopI will forever consider this an oxymoron
Idk anything about them but this company makes laptops incl ones with good graphics cards that come with Linux https://system76.com/laptops
They are the same hardware as Clevo laptops but system76 is slowly replacing the firmware of all the chips embedded on the motherboard with free software. You could buy a Clevo and flash all the firmware, but it would be a serious effort.
Ah, good. I just contacted a guy who selled a lot of laptops and I told him "yo could you sell me one totally clean of windows?" and he said "yeah it'll even be cheaper for you", and I said "thank you", and then I drank some iced tea .
Oh I'll try that then. When I go to normal shops, they're all like "Ya that's not really doable". I can try other ones.
This was a dude who only selled tech and repaired computers, not a supermarket chain nor anything like that.
Right. Anything sold in a box is essentially going to come as-is (with Windows preinstalled and the Microsoft Tax already collected). The only way to avoid this is to get something custom ordered, or picking from the handful of devices provided by large companies like Dell with a "no OS" or Linux option (Usually these are business machines targeted towards companies with site licenses though, not gaming PCs). There are also boutique Linux laptops offered by companies like System76, but these tend to be more expensive than the mass-produced shit.
Until we seize the means of production, those laptop factories will be slapping Windows in everything and passing the cost onto you, whether you use it or not. Same with smartphones for that matter.
Hell, even if you want to use Windows, it's much nicer to install it yourself (maybe even five finger discount) than deal with removing all the shovelware and free trial bullshit the manufacturers put on them. Windows has gotten better about autodetecting hardware and hunting down obscure laptop drivers isn't as much of a chore as it used to be.
I think the move is to buy a fairly recent laptop used. I picked up a Thinkpad recently with no visible wear in the same year the model was released, for a fairly significant discount. Runs great with Linux and I gave zero bux to Microsoft.
I'm really liking my system76 laptop for gaming. Still had to put in a second drive for windows for games that don't work with proton but it's been great for most games I play!
