Quiet dual‑boot Linux laptop advice?

[djoos]

Hi all,

I’m looking for a new laptop that I’ll use mainly for Linux with Windows 11 on the side for occasional stuff. I don’t game, no 3D, nothing heavy. Just some light photo editing, and now and then a small video edit. The rest is the usual: multitasking, browser, Office, a bit of development, some VM’s and text LLM work.

This laptop will replace my desktops and run with an external screen. I work almost always at home, so silence matters more than weight.

I’m trying to figure out what hardware actually makes sense for my use. Things like dual NVMe, dGPU or not, Coreboot, and what kind of CPU is worth it? Also curious whether a commercial brand or a Linux‑focused machine.

Any advice on CPU, storage, iGPU/dGPU, firmware and thermals is welcome.

Thanks!