Recommend me a top of the line laptop spec for Linux (PopOS)

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Windows 8.1 will be unsupported next year, and I'm moving away from Microsoft trash. My Sony Vaio is beat to hell.

I'm looking at the Dell Precision laptops, I like the looks of Lenovo P17's.(but question security, backdoors being a China company)

I'm looking hard at the Dell precisions.(Xenon with ECC memory) But as you can see the Prices go crazy high. So what top of the line specs does Linux really need.

This is a primary home computer that will run all my software. Maybe one Virtual machine running. Privacy and Security is a top priority.
 
Typically Linux doesn't need top of the line specs at all. If there's some particular application you're running that demands high performance, you might spec the machine high for that, but the OS itself is light and doesn't need a high-powered machine.

I run Linux on just about every machine in my home: Mint on a laptop and two desktops, and Debian on five servers. When I need a laptop, I buy a used Dell Latitude off-lease for a couple of benjies and save a ton over buying new hardware. It's one of the benefits of getting away from the Microsoft ecosystem.
 
First, worried about your computer but what about your router?

Second, your worried about security, wanting work station specs to run Linux, but are still running Windows 8.1?!!
 
The Dell XPS-13 runs Linux well. Dell will even ship one to you with Ubuntu installed.
Lenovo Thinkpads also run Linux well, but you have to install it yourself.
I've owned each of the above. Installing Ubuntu was plug and play, everything (WiFi, Bluetooth, graphics, etc.) worked, no hassles. Just make sure you also install TLP, essential for good battery life. It's in the default Ubuntu repos.
When it comes to laptops Ubuntu is a good choice because it has recent kernels and some of the most up-to-date repos. I prefer Xubuntu because it uses the XFCE desktop which is not a resource hog like some of the other desktops are.
 
A Mac? It's BSD-based (Unix, not Linux). They're going away from Intel.
 
Something with an Intel wireless card and without a discrete graphics card. Otherwise, switchable graphics/optimus will be a PITA and you will have horrible battery life. It's not that switchable graphics/optimus doesn't work in Linux, it's that it doesn't work reliably.
 
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Pop!_OS is developed by a company that SELLS machines pre-loaded with it. They used to sell machines loaded with Ubuntu before developing their own Ubuntu-based distro.


So what top of the line specs does Linux really need.
Need? "Linux" can mean a LOT of things; from lightweight 2D-graphics distros that'll run on 15-year-old systems to the latest, heavy-handed 3D whiz-bang desktops like Gnome or KDE. The "need" is what you want, what you have and what'll run on it.

Keep in mind that Pop!_OS is based on Ubuntu's LTS releases and as such may not have the very, very, very latest kernel (the actual "Linux" part) and therefore might not support the very, very, very latest hardware. A new Ubuntu LTS is set to release later this month and the commensurate Pop!_OS release likely a month or so after that.

This is a primary home computer that will run all my software. Maybe one Virtual machine running. Privacy and Security is a top priority.
Any Linux-based OS will provide plenty of Privacy and Security. If you really want to test your definition of "top priority" then try TAILS. But other than a measure that extreme you will find that your system balances privacy & security with convenience & useability exactly as you configure it to. The defaults from Ubuntu (and therefore Pop!_OS) are likely to be just fine and entirely sane; but with the freedom of a Linux-based OS you are free and encouraged to learn more about how you can set this up to be exactly what you want it to be.
 
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Something with an Intel wireless card and without a discrete graphics card. Otherwise, switchable graphics/optimus will be a PITA and you will have horrible battery life. It's not that switchable graphics/optimus doesn't work in Linux, it's that it doesn't work reliably.
This. Check out a Ryzen 6850U. 8 cores 16 threads, DDR5 6400 support, efficiency better than Intel and excellent integrated graphics. Ryzen and Radeon iGPU are very well supported in Linux.
 
I have several 10 year old laptops I wiped, dropped in the max ram they could handle and a SSD drive and installed Ubuntu. They all work great - lightning fast for home use. Depending on what your doing you really don't need to spend much money at all. I would just upgrade what you have, and once you figure out what you need to run maybe buy something new(er).
 
System76 is where I'd go if Linux were my top priority.

Probably as turn-key and rock solid of a Linux system as you can get.

A friend outfitted a bioinformatic research lab not too terribly long ago entirely with workstations from System76 and was very, very happy with the end result.
 
Something with an Intel wireless card and without a discrete graphics card. Otherwise, switchable graphics/optimus will be a PITA and you will have horrible battery life. It's not that switchable graphics/optimus doesn't work in Linux, it's that it doesn't work reliably.
I concur, could be a big deal.
On top of that, not all Precision laptops are desirable for a user who never works with CAD software. I had horrible experience with the thermals and hinges on 55xx series, and I was very satisfied with some Latitude models. I would research thoroughly. Workstation without a dock is not meant to work long hours regardless of make.
 
Windows 8.1 will be unsupported next year, and I'm moving away from Microsoft trash. My Sony Vaio is beat to hell.

I'm looking at the Dell Precision laptops, I like the looks of Lenovo P17's.(but question security, backdoors being a China company)

I'm looking hard at the Dell precisions.(Xenon with ECC memory) But as you can see the Prices go crazy high. So what top of the line specs does Linux really need.

This is a primary home computer that will run all my software. Maybe one Virtual machine running. Privacy and Security is a top priority.
System 76 or thinkpenguin.
 
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