Is the ThinkPad T480 still the best choice for Qubes OS, or is there a newer model?

General Discussion
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Hey everyone,

I’m looking to buy a ThinkPad specifically for Qubes OS, and everywhere I look, people still recommend the T480. It seems like it’s been the go-to recommendation for years because of its excellent compatibility.

I’m wondering if that’s still true in 2026, or if there’s a newer ThinkPad that’s just as well supported.

For those of you running Qubes, what are you using these days? Is the T480 still the safest bet, or have models like the T14, X13, or P Series become just as reliable?

I’m also curious what the newest ThinkPad is that can run Qubes with little to no hardware tweaking. I don’t mind doing the normal installation, but I’d rather avoid spending hours troubleshooting audio, Wi Fi, graphics, suspend, or other hardware issues after installing it.

If you were buying a ThinkPad for Qubes OS today, which model would you choose? I’m hoping to get the newest ThinkPad possible while still having an experience that’s as close to install it and use it as possible.

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences and recommendations. Thanks!

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Go down the Qubes HCL and look for Thinkpads that have several all-green reports. Ideally, reports on Qubes 4.3. All those are generally fine to use.

People like the T480 because you can put HEADS BIOS on it. If you don’t need that, you can use any other well-supported laptop.

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Just to add:

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If you’re not looking strictly for Thinkpads and just good laptops (tho if it’s the former I’d be interested in hearing why), check out laptops from NovaCustom and Nitrokey.