If you’re looking for the best laptops that dual boot Windows and Linux, here’s a comprehensive laptop buying guide, including the 10 best laptops of 2023, with a perfect rating of 4.8 stars out of 5 on Amazon and a 96% satisfaction score.
Table of Contents
List Of Best Laptops Dual Boot Windows Linux
- Acer Aspire 5 Slim
- Dell XPS 15 7590 Laptop
- Newest HP 14
- ASUS VivoBook 15
- Lenovo ThinkPad E15
- ASUS ZenBook 13 Ultra-Slim
- OEM Lenovo ThinkPad T490s
- Dell XPS 13 7390
- Acer Chromebook Spin 311
- Flagship Acer Swift 1
Best Laptop Dual Boot Windows Linux 2023
If you use both Windows and Linux, knowing which laptops offer the best combination of Linux and Windows compatibility can be important. Here are the 10 best laptops in 2023 that dual-boot both Windows and Linux.
1-Acer Aspire 5 Slim (best laptop to dual boot Linux and Windows 10)
- 15.6″ Full HD IPS Display Screen
- Intel Core i5-10210U (10th Gen) GPU
- 8GB DDR4 Ram
- PCIe NVMe SSD 256GB
- 802.11ax Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
- Fingerprint Reader
- Backlit KB
- 12 hours of battery life
- Weight: 5.69 lbs
- UHD Graphics from Intel GPU
The Acer Aspire 5 is an excellent laptop for anyone who needs a mid-range notebook for dual-booting Linux and Windows. The Acer Aspire 5 has a 15.6″ Full HD IPS Display, a 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10210U processor with speeds up to 4.2Ghz, 8GB of DDR4 onboard memory, a 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD, and a backlit keyboard. It also has Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (802.11ax Wireless LAN standard), a fingerprint reader, and up to 12 hours of battery life on a full charge.
You can use the Acer Aspire 5 as your primary computer or bring it with you anywhere as your secondary computer. You can carry it around at work or school, and you can also use it for gaming and other entertainment purposes if you choose to use it that way.
The Acer Aspire 5 is an awesome laptop for Linux enthusiasts who want to enjoy the best of both worlds-Linux and Windows!
2-Dell XPS 15 7590 Laptop (best laptop for linux and windows dual boot)
- 15.6″ 4K UHD (3840×2160) Touch Display
- Processor Intel Core i7-9750H
- 4GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GTX 1650 GPU
- 512GB SSD Storage
- 16GB RAM
- Windows 10 Professional OS
- 8-hour battery life
- 4 pound weight
Dell has been a leading name in laptops for years, and the XPS line is their top-tier series. They’re fast, have great screens, good battery life, and can be upgraded to have lots of storage space.
This particular model is powerful, with an Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM. If you need to run some particularly RAM-heavy tasks on Ubuntu, you’ll probably want more than 16GB of RAM anyway (it’s possible to upgrade this machine to 64GB).
The screen is 15.6″ (4K UHD, 3840×2160), which makes it ideal for working with images or video on Windows or Linux. There’s also a GTX 1650 graphics card if you need that power.
The Dell XPS 15 7590 laptop runs Windows 10 PRO and has 512GB of SSD storage as standard, but the drive is user-replaceable if you need more. You can also take advantage of Dell’s BIOS-level Virtualization for dual booting with Ubuntu or other distros.
When using this laptop for basic tasks, you should be able to get about 8 hours of battery life out of it.
3-Newest HP 14 (best Windows laptop to dual boot Linux)
- AMD Athlon Silver 3050U with a clock speed of up to 3.2 GHz
- DDR4 RAM (8GB)
- 128GB SSD Storage
- HDMI – WiFi
- In S, Windows 10 OS
- Battery life of up to 6 hours
- 3.24 lbs in weight
- Radeon Graphics AMD Radeon Graphics
This is the newest HP 14-inch laptop to come out with a dual boot system. You get a full HD touchscreen display, AMD Ryzen 3, and a variety of other features that will make this the perfect laptop for you.
You can use the HP laptop as a Chromebook with the Google Play Store by default. If you are looking for something more powerful, you can also use Windows 10 Pro.
The screen has an impressive narrow bezel design, which makes it look sleek and stylish. The battery life can last up to 6 hours and it weighs just 3.24 pounds, making it one of the lightest laptops on this list.
The processor is an AMD Athlon Silver 3050U Dual-Core Processor with turbo speeds up to 3.2GHz. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage, so there is plenty of memory to store all your files, games, and apps.
It has a backlit keyboard so you can see what you’re typing in low light environments and a fingerprint reader so no one else can access your computer without your permission when you step away from your desk.
The graphics card is an AMD Radeon graphics card that delivers smooth performance for streaming videos or playing games without lag time or choppy images on screen, even when using multiple applications at once.
4-ASUS VivoBook 15 (best new laptops for dual booting Linux and Windows)
- 15.6″ FHD Display Screen
- CPU Intel i3-1005G1
- 8GB RAM
- 128GB SSD
- Backlit Keyboard
- Fingerprint
- Windows 10 Home in S Mode OS
- UHD Graphics from Intel GPU
- 3.75 pound weight
The ASUS VivoBook 15 Thin and Light Laptop is a slim and compact Windows 10 laptop that packs enough power to get you through the day. It’s powered by an Intel Core i3 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which should be enough for most users.
It sports a 15.6-inch Full HD display, has a fingerprint reader, and even comes with a backlit keyboard. All of this hardware is packed into an ultra-thin chassis that weighs just 3.75 pounds and measures about 0.7 inches thick, making it highly portable.
If you want to keep things simple and don’t need all of the extra features that come with Windows 10 Home, this laptop also ships with Windows 10 in S mode, which means you won’t have access to Microsoft Store apps but will still be able to use programmes like Office.
5-Lenovo ThinkPad E15 (best laptop 2023 dual boot Windows and Linux)
- 1.5.6″ FHD Full HD (1920×1080) Display Screen
- CPU Intel 10th Quad Core i5-10210U
- DDR4 RAM capacity of 16GB
- Storage Capacity: 512GB PCIe SSD
- Type-C
- HDMI
- Windows 10 Professional + HDMI Cable
- The integrated Intel UHD 620 GPU
- Up to 11 hours of battery life
- 2.71 pounds in weight
The Lenovo ThinkPad E15 is a solid choice for a business laptop, especially if you need to run both Windows and Linux. The laptop has a good selection of ports, including USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A and Type-C. It also has an HDMI port and a microSD card slot.
The 15-inch model we reviewed had a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and an integrated Intel UHD 620 graphics card. The laptop ran Linux well, although the fans did kick on frequently while running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. It also ran Windows 10 without any problems.
The only issue we had was the placement of the webcam. It’s at the bottom of the screen, which means that you’re looking down at your face during video calls. It’s not a deal breaker, but it feels like an odd design choice for a business laptop.
6-ASUS ZenBook 13 Ultra-Slim (best laptop to dual boot Linux and Windows)
- 13.3 “Full HD WideView Display Screen
- Intel Core i5-8265U 8th Gen CPU
- 8GB LPDDR3 Ram
- PCIe SSD 512GB Storage
- Backlit KB
- Fingerprint
- Windows 10 OS
- The integrated Intel HD 620 GPU
- Up to 14 hours of battery life
- Weight, 2.5 pounds
The ASUS ZenBook 13 Ultra-Slim Laptop is the best laptop for people who want to dual boot Windows and Linux. It has features that are perfect for running multiple OSes, like a fast processor, plenty of RAM, and a spacious SSD. The battery life is also great, and it has an elegant design.
With an 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB solid state drive, the ASUS ZenBook 13 Ultra-Slim Laptop is one of the most powerful ones on this list. It’s great for multitasking and running virtual machines with multiple operating systems installed.
The ASUS ZenBook 13 Ultra-Slim Laptop comes with Windows 10 pre-installed, but it’s easy to replace it with Linux. As long as you have a USB drive handy, you can install it in just minutes by following this guide.
It also has plenty of ports, so you can connect all your favourite devices, like external hard drives, printers, and more.
7-OEM Lenovo ThinkPad T490s (best laptop for dual boot)
- 14″ WQHD 2560×1440 Display Screen
- CPU Intel Quad Core i7-8565U
- 8GB RAM
- NVMe Storage Capacity of 256GB
- Fingerprint
- W10 Home OS
- 2.81 pounds in weight
- Intel UHD Graphics 620 GPU
The ThinkPad T line is Lenovo’s midrange computer series, sitting below the premium X and X1-line of laptops but above the budget E-line. The ThinkPad T490s is the 14-inch version of this “middle child” line. The T490s has a 14-inch display, which is about the right size for a dual-boot Windows and Linux laptop.
The display is a non-touch screen with IPS technology, making it likely to have good viewing angles and colour reproduction. It runs at a 2560×1440 resolution with a 300 nit maximum brightness. This is also a matte-finished screen, so you shouldn’t have to worry about glare while you work outdoors or near a window.
It runs on an Intel Core i7 processor with 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage. It also comes with Intel UHD Graphics 620, which may not be enough for heavy gaming but should be fine for most software needs.
8-Dell XPS 13 7390 (best laptops for dual booting Linux)
- 13.3″ Full HD IPS Touchscreen Display
- Intel Quad-Core i5-10210U CPU
- 8GB DDR4 Ram
- 1TB SSD Storage
- Backlit KB
- Win 10 OS
- Battery life of up to 19 hours
- UHD Graphics from Intel GPU
- 2.7 pound weight
The Dell XPS 13 laptop has been a fan favourite for a while now, and its 2019 refresh is no exception. It’s still a sleek, understated machine with an attractive price tag and is powerful enough to handle whatever you throw at it.
The Dell XPS 13 comes in two different variants. The first is the basic version, with a 13.3-inch Full HD display, an Intel Core i3-10110U processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. This gives the laptop enough power to handle browsing the web, watching video content, and working on Word documents or spreadsheets.
In addition to the basic functionality of the Dell XPS 13, 2019, there are five more variants available for those who need a little more grunt out of their machines.
These higher-end versions come with Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, 8GB of RAM, and either a 256GB or 512GB SSD. All of these options also feature an upgraded 13.3-inch Ultra HD Infinity Edge touch display that has razor-thin bezels around it for an even sleeker look.
9-Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (best new laptop for Linux)
- Celeron N4020 from Intel CPU
- 11.6″ HD Touch Screen Display
- 4GB LPDDR4 Ram
- 32GB eMMC SSD Storage
- Wi-Fi 5 Gigabit
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Google Chrome
- 10-hour battery life
- 0.01 ounces in weight
- Mediatek GPU
The Chromebook Spin 311 is a convertible laptop that offers great value for the money. It’s powered by an Intel Celeron N4020 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of eMMC storage. It also comes with a Mediatek graphics card.
In terms of design, it has a 360-degree hinge, which allows you to use the laptop in different modes (tent, tablet, traditional laptop).
For connectivity, you get two USB-Cs and one USB 3.1 port, in addition to a microSD card slot.
It has a 11.6-inch touchscreen, which is smaller than most laptops out there but on par with what you’d expect from a budget machine.
The Chromebook Spin 311 is ideal for light computing tasks like browsing the web or streaming videos on Netflix and YouTube.
10-Flagship Acer Swift 1 (dual-boot laptops)
- 14″ FHD IPS Display Screen
- The Intel Celeron N4020 CPU
- 4GB RAM
- eMMC storage capacity of 128GB
- GPU Intel UHD Graphics 600
- Fingerprint
- USB-C
- Windows 10 and an HDMI cable
- Battery life of up to 15 hours
The Acer Swift 1 (SF114-32) is a good Windows-Linux dual-boot laptop with good specifications. It has a 14-inch full HD IPS display powered by an Intel Celeron N4020 CPU and 4GB of RAM. The internal storage is a 128GB eMMC SSD, which provides good performance and speed.
It comes with Windows 10 Home pre-installed, which you can use to install Ubuntu Linux, or you can use the option to create a dual boot system where both OSes can be installed on the same computer.
The Acer Swift 1 (SF114-32) has a distinct design and colour that make it appear beautiful and appealing. According to the company, you cancan get up to 15 hours of battery life from this laptop.
Continue Reading:
- Top 10 Best Laptops for Realtors 2021
- 10 Best Chromebooks Under 250 In 2023
- The 11 Best Laptops for Tuning Cars in 2023
How To Decide The Best Laptops For Dual Booting Windows And Linux?
When building a laptop for Linux, it is important to consider the different components, including CPU, memory, storage, display, and ports. There are many combinations that can be used in a laptop for dual booting both Windows and Linux. Therefore, I decided to write a useful guide that will help you decide which is the best laptop for dual booting Windows and Linux.
Screen Size and Resolution
I have listed this first because it is the most important point in my opinion. A large screen size and good resolution are much more important for Linux than for Windows. The reason being, to run Linux, you need a terminal window for running commands. This is the key difference between Linux and Windows. While you can use a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to do most tasks on Linux, sometimes you will need to run commands to install software or fix problems.
When using Linux, there will be times when you need to run multiple terminal windows at once, and a larger screen makes this easier. I recommend getting a laptop with at least a 13-inch screen and 1920 x 1080 resolution.
Linux Hardware Compatibility
You might think that your brand-new Windows 10 laptop will work perfectly with Linux, but there’s no guarantee. You see, some manufacturers don’t write drivers for Linux, or even provide specifications for their hardware. This means that Linux developers may have to reverse engineer components to get them working — and that doesn’t always go smoothly.
Laptops designed with Linux preinstalled tend to be better supported, because there’s less guesswork involved in making it work right. That said, you shouldn’t assume that all laptops work well with every Linux distribution. Some distributions are better at supporting newer hardware than others. For example, Ubuntu generally supports more hardware out of the box than Fedora does.
Dimensions and Weight
The size and weight of a laptop are important, especially when you’re working in other parts of the house. But it’s also important to be aware that some laptops can get heavy, even if they’re on the small side.
If your budget allows for it and you have a heavy workload to keep up with, a larger screen might be worth the extra pounds. However, if you only use your laptop for basic tasks like email or web browsing, a smaller screen might be all you need in terms of portability.
Battery
One of the most important things to look for when choosing a laptop is its battery life. The most common battery life you will see in laptops is around 5 hours.
SSD or HDD storage
The age-old question of SSD vs. HDD storage is always one of the most crucial and perplexing decisions to make when buying a new laptop.
SSDs have a more significant price tag but offer many advantages, including better battery life and faster speeds. If you’re only using your laptop for lightweight tasks like writing and browsing the web, then an HDD will suffice. However, if you expect to be doing any heavy lifting (video editing, gaming), then you’ll want an SSD with at least 256GB of storage space.
System Memory (RAM)
System memory is the main factor that affects your laptop’s performance. The higher your RAM, the more programmes you can run at once. Even if you’re not running a large number of programs, having more RAM will increase the responsiveness of your system. The general rule of thumb is that at least 4GB of RAM should be present in any laptop bought today.
The CPU and graphics chip
The first thing you’re going to want to consider is the CPU and graphics chip combination. There’s an assortment of CPUs from Intel and AMD that would be sufficient for a dual-boot setup, but they are not all created equal.
It’s been our experience that laptops with Nvidia graphics chips tend to have better Linux support than those with AMD chips. We’ve also found that many of the lower-end Intel processors work well with Linux. The low-end usually means Celeron or Pentium processors. If you want a higher-end processor, such as a Core i7, your best bet is to go with an Intel processor rather than an AMD one.
The Verdict: Best Laptops to Dual Boot Windows and Linux in 2023
With this roundup, we have covered the very best laptops for running a dual Windows and Linux setup, allowing you to enjoy all the benefits of both operating systems without compromise. You can install Windows programmes or play games on your laptop with no worries, while also enjoying all the benefits of Linux on the side.