this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2025
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My budget is something like 2k €, maybe more if it worth to save some more money for.
Oh, and one more thing. There's a sizable linux community specifically built around Asus ROG laptops. Look up 'linux rog' and you will find associated gitlabs and a Discord specifically built up around them. It's still a fantastic resource for my 2020 G14.
The Z13 is especially good for linux, as it has discrete-gpu-class performance on the IGP, so you don't have to fuss with a dual GPU setup on linux (which can be a tremendous headache, especially with Nvidia cards).
As for a distro, I adore CachyOS for ML stuff, and its well suited for gaming. But its really down to your personal experience and taste.
Ah, crap, you're in Europe.
So basically the only laptop worth anything for AI is one with the new Strix Halo AMD chips, and the closest to what you want is the Asus Z13: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-ROG-Flow-Z13-GZ302EA-Convertible-Review-AMD-s-Strix-Halo-GPU-is-neck-and-neck-with-the-RTX-4070-Laptop.963266.0.html
https://shop.asus.com/us/rog/90nr0jy1-m00670-rog-flow-z13-2025.html?config=90NR0JY1-M00670
Specifically the 128GB version if you can save up, or at least the 64GB version. While most laptops are useless for ML, this one utterly blows my desktop out of the water: it's like an of magnitude better than the Frameowrk 13 at that.
Even more importantly, LLM devs are targeting the Strix Halo chips, so they will be well supported. You can spin up a vllm, exllama or llama.cpp-rocm image on them right now, whereas you will struggle to get things up and running on most laptops older IGPs.
Coincidentally, you won't find anything 13" that can game better either. Its a surface-like tablet too, and franky its cooling is way better than a Framework 13. It's perfect!
...Problem is, I don't know if you can even get it in Europe. But historically, I know Asus laptops tend to be proportionally more expensive than they are in the US for some reason, so even if you can, I'm afraid the 64GB/128GB versions would be cost prohibitive.
I only found asus rog z13 flow with 32GB here sadly.
I considered this one (https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-v3) earlier but 16GB is not good at all.
I heard of a new competitor to the z13 flow, but cant remember the name.
There is a 14" HP laptop with the same chip:
https://www.ultrabookreview.com/70442-amd-strix-halo-laptops/
And a handheld, heh: https://gpdstore.net/gpd-handheld-gaming-pcs/gpd-win-5/
There may be more.
TBH, it may be prudent to wait a month or two for more “AI Max” chips to show up in laptops. It’s pretty new; Asus is just super early with it like they usually are.
Okay, i think you convinced me to wait a few months and see what will pop up on the market with this new chipset.
Yep.
FYI, rumors suggest the AI Max/Strix Halo successor won't be coming out till H2 2027, aka nearly 2028 (as Strix Halo techically launched in January this year, but as you can see takes time to actually make it into laptops):
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Detailed-AMD-Medusa-Halo-and-Medusa-Halo-Mini-APUs-leak-claims-up-to-26-Zen-6-cores-and-next-gen-RDNA-5-iGPUs.1093912.0.html
Anyway, what I'm saying is it won't go obsolete anytime soon, and it will be quite strong for many years to come if you get one.
I have the minisforum v3 with 32GB RAM and I am super happy with it. Seems to be unavailable in their store but you might want to check amazon etc. The device has really good price to performamce and it held up well so far.