Best Linux PC of 2022: desktop PCs with Linux pre-installed (2023)

Having turned 30 last year, Linux (opens in new tab) is now ubiquitous in large cloud datacenters and a key part of corporate IT stacks. Even Microsoft developed its Linux subsystem for Windows (opens in new tab) because of Linux's popularity among programmers. However, most programmers or enthusiasts would say that running Linux on bare metal is the best option.

The hardware compatibility of Linux has increased to a point where most, if not all, popular varieties and distros can be installed on any PC with a 64-bit Intel or AMD processor. Even though basic 2D video graphics drivers work well on most systems, there is always the odd piece of hardware that requires special attention. Sound support was Linux's Achilles heel decades ago, but today you are more likely to encounter problems with faster-than-gigabit wired networking (2.5G, 5G, and 10Gbps Ethernet), 3D GPU drivers, or WiFi-6 which may require fiddling with drivers or manual steps to work properly, particularly if your Linux distro (opens in new tab) of choice is not a "rolling release".

To install or not to install? The preload advantage

The first option is to build your own PC (opens in new tab), or buy a PC preloaded with Windows, wipe the OS, then flip a coin to choose a Linux distribution, cross your fingers, and hope for the best, but good results are not guaranteed. The best way to buy a Linux-compatible PC is to buy one that comes with the software already installed or that has already been tested for Linux compatibility. When this occurs, Linux becomes as smooth as using a PC with Windows.

Every passing year Dell's Linux support has increased rapidly: it now has a support page titled "Linux on Dell desktops and laptops" that states boldly: "Dell has no interest in stopping you from installing Linux on any of its systems". Yet, despite the fact that the firm sells both workstations (opens in new tab) and laptops (opens in new tab) preloaded with Linux it's the Linux laptops that are easier to find at online retailers. When it comes to Linux-preloaded desktops, chances are you'll need to go directly to Dell to find them.

It is important to buy a Linux preload version instead of installing Linux on top of a Windows machine if you want to keep its warranty and support. The company states in its support page that "if you purchase a computer and replace its operating system, then your warranty may require you to reinstall Windows if anything goes wrong"

The Precision 5820 Tower Workstation (opens in new tab) comes preloaded with the latest LTS (Long-Term Support) flavor of Ubuntu -version 20.04-. With its quad-core, 3.90 GHz Xeon W-2223 processor, ECC error-correcting memory, and fast PCIe SSD, this PC provides an excellent value for the money. In addition to that, there is plenty of room for upgrading and internal expansion. Since Ubuntu LTS is maintained for 10 years, and official support for the preloaded version expires in the year 2030, this machine will serve you well for many years to come.

In Dell's online store, going to the configuration tab and picking Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows 10 or 11 saves you some money: $111 USD when we tried it on this system at the time of writing. Basic configuration includes a very basic discrete graphics card with only 2GB of VRAM, but you can choose between many options of AMD and Nvidia graphics cards up to an AMD Radeon W6800 with 32 GB of memory or an Nvidia RTX A6000 that triples the price of the machine.

At Dell's ordering page you can choose from dual AMD or dual Nvidia graphics card configurations, although not all combinations of graphics cards are supported by Ubuntu. You will receive a warning once you choose a graphics card configuration that is unsupported by Linux in the configurator.

Storage in this base system consists of a fast 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD, but you can go up to 68TB if you fill all six 2.5" or five 3.5" drive bays and front access storage and PCIe M.2/U.2 NVMe SSDs.

Make sure you add an additional network card -Gigabit Ethernet and 10GbE dual-port NIC are both available- or dual-band Wi-Fi (an additional $40) to your configuration, as the base system includes only the integrated NIC.

Earlier this year Minisforum won the hearts and minds of Linux users by announcing a version of its popular EliteMini UM700 system preloaded with Linux. To avoid any confusion with the Windows loaded version the firm is referring to it on YouTube as “Manjaro UM700 (opens in new tab)”.

In addition to the ease of having a Linux system working perfectly seconds after pressing the power button, you get it cheaper by not paying for a Windows license: it costs $70 less. Another perk of this version is that its wired networking has been updated to 2.5Gbps Ethernet.

It uses Manjaro (opens in new tab) which is a popular European Linux distribution focusing on user-friendliness and accessibility. It uses the Arch Linux distro as a base and Pacman as its package manager. Pre-installed apps include the Firefox and Vivaldi Browsers, Okular PDF, the VLC media player, the Open Office fork LibreOffice, Steam, Skype, and Crossover One which allows users to run popular Windows applications.

Since Manjaro is a "rolling release" distro, it means your system will always run the latest versions of the kernel and applications and you won't have to "upgrade" to a newer version of Manjaro down the line as happens with distros that use a “point release” development model like Ubuntu.

On the hardware side, this powerful mini PC (opens in new tab) is square and smaller than a mouse pad, so it works well at home for office workers, students, and creative professionals. It looks elegant and discrete on your desk, yet you can hide it from sight if necessary thanks to its mounting plate. Moreover, its small size makes it easy to transport: unplug the cables and place the computer with its power adapter in a backpack to carry it everywhere you go.

AMD's quad-core Ryzen 7 CPU paired with its PCI bus SSD makes Linux run smoothly. You can easily remove the top cover of the computer without a screwdriver if you want to upgrade the memory or storage. Standard SO-DIMMs are used just like in laptops, and a 2.5-inch bay is provided for an internal SSD or hard drive.

On the front of the device are a USB-C port and two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a power button. There are also more USB ports on the back, as well as HDMI and DisplayPort for connecting monitors, making it a great option for those who want a multi-monitor Linux system with up to three displays. It provides excellent connectivity with its dual band Wi-Fi and wired 2.5 gigabit Ethernet port.

The company formerly known as Hewlett Packard and now HP released the first version of its Unix operating system "HP-UX" 40 years ago. Unix usage peaked and then was replaced by Windows and Linux. During the rise of Linux, HP was one of the first printer vendors to implement native Linux printer drivers and made them open source, with the influential HPLIP (HP Linux Imaging and Printing) open source drivers project, still alive to this day.

Additionally, HP also manufactures thin clients that run on Linux. It makes sense to expect a pioneer in Unix and Linux to be a major player in preloaded Linux systems. But not quite. The Linux support by HP can be described as lukewarm, or "depends on whom you ask". Yes, most HP servers and workstations are certified by one or more Linux vendors.

Moreover, HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) has most of its enterprise servers certified for the most popular enterprise Linux distributions, SUSE, RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Oracle Linux and Ubuntu server, but these choices can be expensive. If you are a small business owner looking for a desktop workstation at Amazon.com, Newegg or B&H, just to name a few popular online vendors, you will end up empty handed and will only be able to choose Windows preloaded options.

Introducing "Z by HP", which has its own product managers, brand ambassadors, and Twitter account. According to HP, it aims to serve "Professional creators and power users" by delivering a "curated, personalized solution". Part of this solution are HP systems that come preloaded with Ubuntu Linux. The firm even has a FAQ file (opens in new tab) about its Ubuntu preload.

It starts by saying that "Ubuntu 20.04 will be preinstalled, ready to boot when the unit is powered up". Fine, so you want to order it, what is the SKU? "The Ubuntu preinstall is a separate SKU from Linux-ready preinstall and is not dependent upon Linux-ready preinstall". There is no mention of the SKU in the FAQ. Confused yet? So were we. But perseverance pays off. This is how we discovered the Z2 G8 at HP's US shop (opens in new tab), where Ubuntu appears as an option under Windows 11 as soon as you click "Buy and Configure."

With Ubuntu, the price is discounted by $215 USD, making this system an absolute steal. Don't choose "Linux ready", because that is another thing. According to HP's online FAQ, "Linux Ready" does not equal a preinstall of Ubuntu, and if you choose that option you get a system without a real OS. While the FAQ claims "Linux ready" is the "lowest possible cost" option, it's the same cost as choosing the Ubuntu Linux 20.04 option. Therefore, please select "Ubuntu Linux", not "Linux ready".

In conclusion, we think HP needs to improve the way its customers could purchase Linux-preloaded machines, without so much obfuscation, and with better retail distribution. Getting back on topic, Z by HP offers data scientists a Ubuntu installation with full GPU support, and a ton of developer tools and pre-installed libraries which makes this Z2 G8 an extraordinary option, if you can get one.

The HP Z2 G8 (opens in new tab) is a stylish mid-tower, single-CPU entry level workstation. Depending on your choice, you can find a six-core Core i5 or an eight-core Xeon-W. During HP's order process, you can choose from GPUs, memory -ECC for Xeons - up to 128GB of RAM in four DIMM slots, and storage options. For your information, we list on this guide the configuration most widely available at web retailers (one that ships with Windows)

There are three M.2 slots on the mainboard, one of which is occupied by the system's SSD. Besides the installed video card, there are three other available PCI slots. You can also add a 5.25-inch optical drive and a removable 2.5-inch drive in addition to the two 3.5-inch SATA bays.

Easily remove the side panel by flicking a lever, and its Flex-IO panel allows you to add additional ports such as HDMI and VGA to the system with little interface modules. If purchased directly from HP, these can be added to the system configuration, or they can be purchased later from other online retailers like Newegg and CDW; just search for "Flex IO".

It has two DisplayPort 1.4 ports attached to the integrated video, plus any additional video outputs your video card provides -usually several DisplayPort ports. There are six USB-A ports on the back, split among USB Gen 2, 5Gbps Gen 1, and legacy USB 2.0. Audio input and output are also available, as well as RJ45 Ethernet.

HP's Data Science Software Stack includes the latest versions of Python and R, along with preloaded environments such as Anaconda, PyCharm, Visual Studio and GIT, in addition to Data Science-specific packages such as TensorFlow, XGBoost, Keras and PyTorch. Rapids data science library, docker containers, and Nvidia drivers are also included.

Even if most data scientists and students would be able to manually install these apps, having them pre-installed along with Linux provides a big advantage for number crunchers and statisticians, as well as Linux programmers and data science students in general.

This writer believes it could easily sell thousands more at retail alongside its counterparts preloaded with Windows. Failing that, it would be nice to have a way of converting a Windows preloaded system into the Ubuntu preload version while retaining support and warranty. In any case, HP needs to improve its distribution because this is a killer Linux PC.

By mid 2020, Linus Torvalds made unintentional headlines when he switched from an Intel to an AMD Threadripper CPU (opens in new tab) as his personal development system, after fifteen years of only using Intel processors. He stated at the time that test builds of the Linux kernel were now three times faster than before.

The Lenovo ThinkStation P620 (opens in new tab) is a compact workstation that will let your software builds be as fast as Linus’ own. A little smaller than a typical ATX enclosure it sports a flexible, expandable design that will keep you productive for years to come. AMD's Threadripper CPU with sixteen cores, is incredibly well suited for kernel developers and programmers who compile large code bases as build systems provide parallelization to fill up all the available cores. Regardless of your compiler, programming language or IDE used, the more CPU cores, the faster things go, especially when running several things at once.

The Thinkstation P620 exhibits Lenovo's attention to detail with its front handle that makes it easy to plug cables or perform system maintenance, and all the way to the faultless interior that allows you to replace or add cards without the use of a screwdriver.

Its 16-core CPU runs at a speed of 3.90 GHz and may go up to 4.30 GHz. Another version of the Lenovo P620 comes with a 12-core 3945WX CPU. With its eight memory channels, the processor can support up to 512 GB of system memory, spread over eight DIMMs of 64 GB.

Lenovo surprised Linux advocates by late 2020 when it announced the availability of an Ubuntu 20.04 preload option for a number of laptops and desktop systems, with the ThinkStation P620 at the bottom of the list.

For a small price difference, you can also add storage to your purchase, such as a 2TB PCIe M.2 SSD. It can hold up to five SATA HDDs, which is quite a bit if you fill it with 10TB drives.

Lenovo's online store offers four different configurations, the cheapest with 256GB of SSD storage and a basic Quadro P620 graphics card with 2GB of VRAM. The more expensive P620 configuration (part number 30E1S0FG00) updates the Ryzen Pro to a 16-core version and increases the video card to a NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 with eight gigabytes of RAM. The default SSD storage jumps to 1TB in that configuration. Your development environment and your IDE will influence your decision on which model to use.

There is nothing to dislike about this system, is there? There are lead times. A parts shortage across the industry has affected Lenovo, and your custom-built system can take weeks to arrive.

Get to know System76 (opens in new tab) if you haven't already. The company was founded by Carl Richell and Erik Fetzer who began selling computers with Linux preinstalled in 2003. Located in Denver, Colorado, the company creates Linux systems with a unique style and attention to detail that cater to the needs and desires of Linux users.

System76 is unique in making its designs open source. All specifications and drawings can be downloaded from GitHub. Standard parts are inside, but they developed their own Linux-friendly IO board, which controls, among other things, the speed of the cooling fans.

Thelios are a family of machines with many different sizes, and they all have the same look. In between the base Thelio desktop and the Thelio Major, you will find the Thelio Mira (opens in new tab). Due to its wood aesthetics, the Thelios can be mistaken for a speaker if viewed from the side.

With Pop!_OS (opens in new tab), the company offers its own Linux distribution that is based on Ubuntu with a modified Gnome GUI. Nevertheless, they do not force feed it to their customers, you can choose a standard Ubuntu installation if you like. Recently, the company introduced its own mechanical keyboard, dubbed "Launch" and available for purchase through the company's website. While some Thelia Mira PCs are available at third party resellers, the firm's idea is that you buy direct so you can tune it to your needs.

Directly from their Colorado factory, System76 custom-builds your system and ships it via UPS. For $99, Canadian customers can purchase warranty shipping coverage, which covers all shipping back and forth for service. Customers in the USA are able to pay an additional $9 and receive a shipping label to donate their old computers to be responsibly recycled.

This firm's online configurator is on par with heavyweights like Dell or Lenovo. There, the tailor-like design begins by selecting the system model, then the CPU brand: AMD or Intel. AMD costs $150 more than Intel. The system then lets you pick the color and style of your case to match your desk or room furniture: you can choose between walnut brown, birch, dark matter, martian red, and neptune blue. Afterwards, you can add RAM, storage, and GPUs. The final step involves accessories and warranty.

The Intel edition comes with an ASUS ROG STRIX Z590-A motherboard. The AMD Ryzen system comes with AMD's ROG Strix X570-E. The Intel edition's Z590-A is an Asus gaming motherboard with three M.2 slots for SSDs and four PCIe 4.0 slots (3 x16, 1 x4). The CPU in our selected system is a powerful Intel Core i9-11900K with eight cores, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and a nVidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPU. The storage is provided by PCI Gen.4 SSDs, and we selected a system with 1TB of storage. Buying direct lets you add additional drives as needed.

Thanks to its WiFi 6 and Intel 2.5 Gb Ethernet, connectivity is paramount. It features two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and a USB Type-C port, along with HDMI 2.0 and Displayport 1.4 outputs connected to the mainboard's built-in video. Visit the company's Tech Specs sub-site (opens in new tab) to delight yourself with tech specs sans PDF.

Lifetime support as well as free shipping (US) for repairs during the warranty period are included by the manufacturer. The Mira comes with a one year manufacturer warranty, and extra protection costs $149 for one year and $249 for two. There's also a lively System76 subreddit to discuss the firm's systems.

There are desktops with Linux preloaded and laptops with Linux preloaded, but what happens when you prefer an All-in-One computer (opens in new tab)? In that case, you should head to Belgium. Better yet, point your browser to ManjaroComputer.eu.

This Belgium-based company offers the Manjaro AIO (opens in new tab) with a 23.8" Full-HD display and a slim bezel but no touch screen. It contains an Intel quad-core i3-10100, nothing spectacular, but it's better than a Celeron. Memory is adequate at 8GB, though you can customize it to 16GB, while storage is provided by a 240GB SSD. Surprisingly this is not a proprietary system inside but they managed to fit an Asus H310-T mini-ITX motherboard.

In addition to its SD memory card reader, this system offers a built-in Gigabit Ethernet port (intel NIC) and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi. It supports Bluetooth 5.0 for speakers, keyboards, and pointing devices, as well as 3.5mm jacks for headphones and microphones. Additionally, it offers two USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports.

The Amnesic Incognito Live System, or Tails, is an anonymous and security-focused Debian-based Linux distribution. Kodachi (opens in new tab) is another Debian-based distro with an even more extreme security attitude: it changes your MAC Address right away and all network traffic goes through the TOR (opens in new tab) (The Onion Routing) network along with VPN (opens in new tab) support and DNS (opens in new tab) encryption. Kodachi also changes your MAC Address regularly to make third party tracking difficult.

The firm accepts orders from all countries and delivers worldwide within one to two weeks. It claims to send out products in stock within three days. The keyboard layout can be chosen from a menu on the order page, and is available in USA-intl, English, UK, Belgian, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish. Non-EU customers do not pay VAT tax, and the web cart prices are discounted by 21% when entering a non-EU shipping address.

There is always someone else willing to step up to the plate and pre-load Linux when PC manufacturers fail to do so. This is the case with ME2 (opens in new tab), a computer reseller from Oregon that offers customizable computer configurations and ships worldwide. The Dell OptiPlex 3080 (opens in new tab) is professionally upgraded by the company, which offers a one-year warranty with it.

The MT3080 features an Intel i5-11500 CPU with six cores and eight gigabytes of RAM. Its mainboard has Intel UHD 750 Graphics 750, and its configuration is completed by a 1TB hard drive. The achilles heel of this system is booting from a hard drive because SSDs are commonplace now, and booting from a hard drive is not fast. The quality Dell hardware it's based on makes it a good choice for a base system given its very affordable price.

It has four USB ports in the front and four in the back, along with HDMI and DisplayPort video outputs, and Gigabit Ethernet. It is available at Walmart for retail.

How we chose the best Linux PCs

We looked at the market offerings for Linux preloaded desktops, which aren’t that many, to be honest with you. Then we sorted our list of systems based on hardware specs, and picked usage scenarios where they would fit better. Some categories were obvious: for instance the best for data science category. It was driven by HP’s own Ubuntu Linux software stack that caters to the needs of the staticians and number crunchers; no system can come close to that level of flexibility.

The mini PC category was driven by Minisforum’s new Manjaro offering. The best overall and best for developers categories were a contested race, as business level workstations is a market where Linux has had good compatibility historically. System76 steals the race for the best for power users category by basically inventing a new concept PC, together with their own aesthetics and its own Linux distro.

We've also rounded up the best Linux distros (opens in new tab) and the best Linux laptops (opens in new tab)

Fernando Cassia is a freelance Tech Writer living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has also written for Mike Magee's The Inquirer, Theo Valich’s BSN, TechEye, and other online publications. When he's not chasing Phishers, he's procrastinating on Twitter. Find him at @fcassia