this post was submitted on 19 May 2025
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Does the surcharge for "2025 hardware" make sense in my case compared to older hardware? (My case: quiet fans) (feddit.org)
submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by feddinand@feddit.org to c/linuxhardware@programming.dev
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Hey!

TL;DR: "Newer CPUs -> more power -> more fan noise?" Or does it make sense to buy newest generation CPUs if I really care about quiet fans?

As an Apple user for over a decade I also haven't really looked at hardware for years so I hope this is not a dumb question.

I'm looking at laptops (preferably AMD, I guess?) right now, and I'm wondering if the extra price for this years hardware (for example the Ryzen AI CPUs or Intels Lunar Lake) is worth it, when my main "want" is quiet fans?

I mean, of course I care about battery and actual processing power, but as I use my laptop for work and private stuff, the fan noise is more important to me than the other two.

Reason: I work with patients in a very quiet environment, so it's annoying when the notebook's fans get extremely loud and then quiet again at irregular intervals.

I know nothing will ever be as quiet as my M1 Macbook Air, but I'm not expecting that.

In my work use, I'm mostly typing. Sometime I might be showing my patients a video or use the notebook to record certain exercises, so I don't think that's heavy use.

My private use is mostly Browser, Streaming, text processing. (I try to stick to the Steam Deck when it comes to gaming)

If you do have a laptop recommendation I'm happy to hear it, of course, but I'm probably going to stick to the tried and tested Dell / HP / Thinkpad recommendations that you see on every Reddit thread. (I sadly had a not-so-good experience with Tuxedo, although I would have loved to support a company like that.)

Thanks!

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[–] aqua_cat@pawb.social 2 points 5 days ago

for a laptop as you said thinkpad is not a bad idea, but old good ones are not that famous for their quiet fans, and new ones are not as repairable or popular. Dell xps and HP Gram are only mainstream laptops that are thin, powerfull, made well, tho still not upgradable which is a shame. If you think you want something upgradable and have money I would suggest Framework 13, but between HP, Dell and Lenovo there ain't many other Thin and Light's made today. Also I would suggest going for a i5 or Ryzen 5 instead the best if noise and battery is of importance since you don't lose that much anyway. And if you want the battery life and noise like on apple macs you can also search up Sbapdragon Elite laptops, though the support is still hit and miss on Linux. Microsoft surface is also not that bad, but be alerted that depending on which model you have different components might not work (like camera or fingerprint sensor).

[–] Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee 1 points 5 days ago

Check out Star Labs. I got their most recent Starbook and it's good 👍 Their pricing is good too IMO.