Mast0b1t
Ron Gilbert (GrumpyGamer)I've gotten too used to the silent Mac Laptops. Struggling to find an equally silent laptop I can use for Linux (and buy in NZ). Why does Apple have to make awesome hardware and also be a horrible company. Distros that work on Mac hardware are too experimental right now, don't recommend them. I know all about them. You're wasting the limited amount of typing you have in this life.
Phil Nelson@grumpygamer Framework?
Murenius@Murenius @philnelson I can't get them in NZ. One of my requirements.
Fernando@grumpygamer @Murenius @philnelson even with a forward shipping company? It can be a bit expensive but that's how I got mine originally
Edit: just adding that the Framework 13 can be noisy under load and the battery life is nowhere close to Macbooks
Adam@grumpygamer My Framework 13 is virtually silent (it does have a fan but you have to strain to hear it, and even then it’s only when I’m really pushing it).
Great philosophy too about it being completely modular and replaceable, it might be the last complete (new) laptop I ever buy.
It’s just a shame the company themselves have supported some dubious views in the recent past.
tante@grumpygamer I use a ThinkPad t14s gen6 which stays silent most of the time (unless I am spinning up all cores for something).
simendsjo@tante @grumpygamer my amd T14 spins the fans quite often, but my Intel X1 Carbon is very quiet.
Mynameisallen@tante @grumpygamer are you able to use Linux on this yet? Other than Ubuntu?
@Allentomes @grumpygamer yes. I do run Ubuntu but other distributions also run fine
DrYak@grumpygamer well, in this specific case they manage to "make awesome hardware" because they are a "horrible company" which has hogged most of the output of the latest and bestest process at TSMC.
These advantage are going to disappear now that, thanks to the AI bubble, TSMC will sell the exclusivity to their upcoming latest process to even bigger (and even horriblier) companies with even more (investors') money to burn.
Pierre-Luc Gagné@grumpygamer I upgraded to a M5 MacBook Pro from my M1 Air and I knew that it would be heavier and louder, but I didn’t expect to dread the sound it makes. I’m looking forward to changing back to an Air in 7 years.
Fuchsiii~~~@grumpygamer I recommend giving the current best Notebook reviewer on YT a visit (https://www.youtube.com/@JustJoshTech/videos). The newest chips from intel are supposed to be rly close, nothing on linux support yet thou.
Kevin Karhan 
@fuchsiii @grumpygamer yeah, #JJT sadly doesn't really go beyond the out of box experience…
- Which is understandable to a degree but on basically all the devices his crew tests there are NVMe slots so they could just pop one in and benchmark it without fiddling with #WinShit!
@kkarhan @grumpygamer I meant the Linux support of Intel Panther Lake. x86 is just now slooowly starting to catch up to Apple Silicon and for ok Linux support you need to wait at least a year (plus use a very up-to date Distro like Arch or Fedora)
@fuchsiii #WhatsMissing are #fanless #Laptops with decent power in the <10W envelope with decent screens.
- Pretty shure @grumpygamer would be fibe with some modern embedded/industrial/ULV chip as long as it stays quiet, has enough oower under the hood, and doesn't come.with an insultingly high price tag.
@kkarhan @grumpygamer seeing that his use case is for sure compiling C/C++ all day absolutely not
@fuchsiii @grumpygamer unless his workflow would basically use an external machine (i.e. Server), tho obviously a THICC Workstation with enough thermal mass to simply suck up bursty loads like that would be easier to maintain than two.
- Obviously New Zealand is kinda shafted as location cuz it's "off course" from main trade routes and a small market.
@kkarhan @grumpygamer Josh is actually starting to test Linux even if only for "works" or "does not work" excluding performance and such, but that is a lot more than your typical review outlet will do so...
@fuchsiii @grumpygamer yeah, most just do the "Out of Box Experience" and that's it.
@kkarhan @grumpygamer Most don't do Linux at all. If you are a Linux channel you 100% don't have the reach for common brands to send you review units, and if you're not a Linux channel why bother? Just Josh is already an outlier for bothering to install Linux and say what worked and what didn’t.
@fuchsiii @grumpygamer and that's really sad.
- Espechally since the next big channel, #LTT, really didn't bother since @emilyyoung left…
@kkarhan @grumpygamer @emilyyoung they didnt rly bother before ether... linux was always religated as a topic to “look at this server that costs as much as a sports car" or “look at this wierd thing that makes you look like hackerman™, isn't that funny!" videos
@fuchsiii @grumpygamer ti a degree, you are right.
I still like @emilyyoung 's scripts.
I wish she could release her #SSD benchmark she wrote for the "Fattydove Racing SSD"…
PedroMJ@grumpygamer How about Dell XPS 13?
If the CPU strategy in the BIOS is set to to silent, it does not make any noise at all.
The only problem I found in the one I use is that the keyboard is not very good, but this can be fixed in new units.
If the CPU strategy in the BIOS is set to to silent, it does not make any noise at all.
The only problem I found in the one I use is that the keyboard is not very good, but this can be fixed in new units.
ckrch@grumpygamer It's a bit like trying to buy a phone. The only ones that are not ridiculously large are iphones, and that's one proprietary hole that I very much refuse to dig myself into.
*sigh*
Ric@grumpygamer I've had my current laptop for a few years now, and honestly I don't think I've ever heard it whir a fan. Asus UX563F. It's my daily, always ran Linux on it, and it only gets rebooted about once every two months.
I've had some noisy Acers, HPs, and custom builds, and we have a couple of different generation MS Surfaces that occasionally try to take flight. But this Asus has been an impressive workhorse.
ワンプ八九八@grumpygamer there are notebooks in 2026 that are not silent?
I can't remember ever owning a notebook that was not silent. Does "available in NZ" you can buy it in a store there? So worldwide shipping doesn't count?
I can't remember ever owning a notebook that was not silent. Does "available in NZ" you can buy it in a store there? So worldwide shipping doesn't count?
@vamp898 There are plenty of laptops with big fans. Mostly for GPUs Worldwide shipping is good, but surprisingly few will do it to NZ.
@grumpygamer I checked 3 Makers where i know and trust they make very good Notebooks which have inaudible fans.
Of course, NZ is on the negative shipping list on all three of them. And i thought its hard to get proper Hardware in Japan.
I mean i could just buy one and forward it to you, but if there is every something going wrong, it will be service hell.
starlabs.systems seems to ship there but other than that, you're probably limited to Lenovo and Dell.
I personally migrated to Portable Mini PC, those tiny cubes with a portable 15" (Touch) screens and run them from portable mobile batteries.
Sounds inconvenient at first but saved my life several times in situations, where a notebook would have been cumbersome. Being able to place (or hang) the screen at different positions as they keyboard proved to be insanely flexible.
You can replace every part of it individually and it acts as an full blown desktop at home too and you can use all parts individually. At home, when i use the bid screen, my wife uses the small one for YouTube (or i use it as a second screen) and stuff like that. She uses the mobile battery for the vacuum too :D
Maybe that could be an option for you, but maybe not. I tried to collect some impressions here^^ https://nextcloud.ikaros.space/apps/photos/public/n8jjREZrZ4UtAFNplAQwmycU7VK5Tsr8
Of course, NZ is on the negative shipping list on all three of them. And i thought its hard to get proper Hardware in Japan.
I mean i could just buy one and forward it to you, but if there is every something going wrong, it will be service hell.
starlabs.systems seems to ship there but other than that, you're probably limited to Lenovo and Dell.
I personally migrated to Portable Mini PC, those tiny cubes with a portable 15" (Touch) screens and run them from portable mobile batteries.
Sounds inconvenient at first but saved my life several times in situations, where a notebook would have been cumbersome. Being able to place (or hang) the screen at different positions as they keyboard proved to be insanely flexible.
You can replace every part of it individually and it acts as an full blown desktop at home too and you can use all parts individually. At home, when i use the bid screen, my wife uses the small one for YouTube (or i use it as a second screen) and stuff like that. She uses the mobile battery for the vacuum too :D
Maybe that could be an option for you, but maybe not. I tried to collect some impressions here^^ https://nextcloud.ikaros.space/apps/photos/public/n8jjREZrZ4UtAFNplAQwmycU7VK5Tsr8
@vamp898 It's hard to get anyone to ship to NZ, I am stuck with whaat local retailers have.
@grumpygamer That is something i hate to admit but Apple, thanks to their religious cult following them, do have the advantage to be available almost everywhere. Notebooks, Smartphones, as soon NASA starts running their Moon Base, pretty sure there will be an Apple Store there soon too
@vamp898 If I could I'd buy a nice M1 or M2 and install Linux. That is still a ways away from being solid.
Amber@grumpygamer not saying you should do this because its kind of a headache to set up, but linux on my used surface pro runs dead silent and works beautifully. Installing the custom kernel was a little tough though.
Sekei@grumpygamer not sure if you have checked on that already, but Asahi Linux runs on M1/2 chips. Although I think there were some functions they couldnt quite implement yet.
gcala@grumpygamer For Christmas I bought an Asus Vivobook S14 OLED with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU. The only real downside is that the 32 GB RAM is soldered, so it can't be upgraded. The performance is quite respectable even with power save mode enabled, and the fans — except during gaming or local AI tasks — are never heard
dusoft@grumpygamer NovaCustom V54 is pretty quiet. Don't know if they ship to NZ.
Schicke Schicke Schweine@grumpygamer I have an x1 carbon. Not totally silent, but rock solid Linux machine. I'm happy
tizilogic@grumpygamer If package forwarders are an option for you, there is Tuxedo Computers which make fine laptops. Bought my first one almost 1.5 years ago and unless I push it really hard, it remains silent.
They will even refund any VAT paid from them to the package forwarder.
It obviously is a hassle and far from ideal, just thought I'd share
Daniel Barber@grumpygamer You could try Asahi Linux on your M1 Mac https://asahilinux.org
Blackthorn@grumpygamer in NZ some places give you a free laptop if you buy an USB stick. Not sure how silent it is though. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PywO1W9SPHQ
When you mix up the free thing
stepplNot sure how quiet they are compared to 🍎. At least the folks would do DHL World Wide shipping :
A friend is quite happy with one of their laptops.
Jon Koops 🇪🇺@grumpygamer I have been hearing a lot of good things about the HP ZBook Ultra G1a on Linux.