The developers of the KDE suite of open source software and Spanish PC maker Slimbook have been collaborating on a line of Linux laptops since 2017. Now the latest version is here, and it’s a Linux laptop with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor, KDE Neon software, and a starting price of €1000 (about $1025).
Actually, it’s two laptops, because the 4th-gen KDE Slimbook is available with a choice of 14 or 15.6 inch displays.
Both models feature the same basic specs, including magnesium-aluminum chassis, a full HD display, AMD’s 8-core, 16-thread chip with Radeon Vega 8 graphics, support for up to 64GB of user-upgradeable RAM, up to 4TB of user-replaceable solid state storage, and a selection of ports that includes full-sized HDMI and Ethernet jacks, plus four USB ports including one USB 3.1 Type-C port that can be used for charging, data, our video output.
The key differences between the 14 and 15.6 inch models (aside from the larger display) is that the smaller version has a starting weight of just 2.3 pounds, but also has just a 47 Wh battery that Slimbook says provides up to 7 hours of run time, while the 15.6 inch model has a 92.6 Wh battery for up to 12 hours of run time.
Here’s a run down of key specs for the new KDE Slimbook:
| KDE Slimbook (4th-gen) specs | ||
| Display | 14 inches 1920 x 1080 pixels IPS LCD 60 Hz 100% sRGB color gamut | 15.6 inch 1920 x 1080 pixels IPS LCD 60 Hz 100% sRGB color gamut |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5700U 8-cores /Â 16 threads 1.98 GHz base / 4.3 GHz max 1.9 GHz AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics | |
| RAM | Up to 64GB DDR4-3200 Dual channel 2 x SODIMM slots | |
| Storage | Up to 4TB 2 x PCIe NVMe SSD slots (M.2 sockets) | |
| Ports | 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C (video and power delivery supported) 2 x USB 3.1 Type-A 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x Gigabit Ethernet | |
| Wireless | Intel AX200 WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 | |
| Battery | 47 Wh Up to 7 hours | 92.6 Wh Up to 12 hours |
| Webcam | HD webcam IR camera | |
| Audio | 2 x 2W speakers 2 x microphones | |
| Dimensions | 320.2 x 214.5 x 16.8mm 12.61″ x 8.44″ x 0.66″ | 356.4 x 233.7 x 16.8mm 14.03″ x 9.2″ x 0.66″ |
| Weight | 1.05 kg 2.31 pounds | 1.55 kg 3.42 pounds |
| Starting Price | €1000 | €1,005 |
Starting prices include 8GB of RAM and a 250GB SSD, but you can pay extra for more of each (or add your own after you receive the notebook).
The laptop ships with KDE Neon pre-installed. That’s a GNU/Linux distribution based on Ubuntu LTS which features the KDE Plasma desktop environment suite of apps. While there’s nothing stopping you from replacing that operating system with a different distro (or even Windows), I imagine one of the main reasons to buy a KDE Slimbook is because of the software that comes pre-installed.
via @kdecommunity
I love that it supports dual nvme m.2 sockets… this was a must for me when I bought a desktop motherboard.