There are few Linux laptops on the market and usually higher-end ones, so some people may decide to buy a Windows or FreeDOS laptop and install Ubuntu or another Linux distribution themselves. In theory, this is supposed to work, but when installed Ubuntu 18.04 on an Acer Ryzen 7 laptop a couple of years ago, it took me several hours of work to get this working despite it being pre-loaded with Linpus Linux operating system.
So more choice is always welcome, and TUXEDO Computers has now added a mid-range Linux laptop to their offerings with TUXEDO Aura 15 powered by a 15W AMD Ryzen 7 4700U octa-core processor and shipping with Ubuntu 20.04, openSUSE 15.2, or TUXEDO_OS 20.04 based on Ubuntu plus Budgie Desktop.
TUXEDO Aura 15 specifications:
- SoC – AMD Ryzen 7 4700U octa-core processor @ 2.0 to 4.1 GHz (Turbo) with 8 MB L3-Cache, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 Graphics; 15 W TDP
- System Memory – 2x DDR4 SO-DIMM sockets up to 3200 MHz
- Storage – 1x SATA III or PCIe / NVMe M.2 SSD, MicroSD card socket
- Display – 15.6-inch IPS display with 1920×1080 resolution, LED backlight
- Video Output
- 1x HDMI 2.0 port up to 4k UHD @ 60Hz with HDCP support
- DisplayPort via USB-C port
- Audio
- High Definition Audio code
- 3.5mm audio jack with headphone & microphone
- Stereo speakers (2x 2W), and integrated microphone
- Connectivity
- Gigabit Ethernet via Realtek RTL8168/8111 10/100/1000 Mbit transceiver
- Optional 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax WiFi 6 up to 300 Mbps (2.4 GHz) and 2.4 Gbps (5 GHz) & Bluetooth 5.1 via Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 M.2 2230 card
- Optional Huawei ME936 M.2 module + SIM card slot for
- 4G LTE/HSDPA+
- GNSS – GPS Standalone, A-GPS, GPS XTRA, Glonass
- USB
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port with DisplayPort Alt. mode, USB PD support
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port, 2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports
- User Input
- Full-sized multi-color backlit keyboard with TUX Super key; various keyboard layouts available
- 120x72mm clickpad with integrated buttons and multi-gesture- & scroll-function
- Webcam – 1MP camera with microphone
- Misc – Kensington lock, temperature-controlled PWM cooling fan
- Battery – Replaceable 49 Wh, 4-cell Lithium-Ion battery good for about 15 hours at mi display brightness in idle mode, 9 hours at medium brightness with WiFi for office work
- Power Supply – 65 Watts power supply via DC jack; USB-C charging also supported
- Dimensions – 360 x 239 x 19.9 mm (Aluminum, resin)
- Weight – 1.65 kg including. battery Alternatively, the device can also be charged via USB-C, USB-C power supply is not included.
Pricing starts at 748 Euros including 16% VAT, equivalent to around $757 without VAT, when removing M.2 SSD storage, and selecting 8GB Kingston DDR4 memory. There’s a markup compared to the somewhat similar Acer Swift 3 SF314 14-inch laptop selling for $655with 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, but TUXEDO Aura 15 is much more customizable, as you can select the Linux OS, M.2 cards (WiFi 6, 4G LTE+GPS, NVMe SSD), memory and storage capacity at the time of order, as well as a choice of 24 different keyboard layouts that cover most European languages.
Via Liliputing and 9to5linux
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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This laptop is actually the Chinese built Tongfang PF5NU1G. This base model (as well as the 14 inches one) is sold in different configurations by various resellers. See here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AMDLaptops/comments/hzlcjo/all_of_the_vendors_that_are_offering_the_tongfang/
There are few reviews in English, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNWd80dny6Q (showing Windows only)
or this other:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AMDLaptops/comments/hunyv6/my_mechrevo_code01_tongfang_pf5nu1g_review/ (with more info about Linux support).
Not a bad laptop apparently (battery life seems impressive), but not flawless either.
Bought 4 months ago. It keeps freezing. Customer service is almost not existent. They replied after weeks a were just able to suggest some software upgrades, which did not solve the problem,