What may be the world's first Linux laptop (at least in a very long time) has arrived on the market as Tuxedo Computers' Sirius 16 Gen 1 (via Phoronix). It's an all-AMD device featuring the Ryzen 7 7840HS (Phoenix) and the RX 7600M XT and can be configured with tons of RAM and storage. It's got the specs to impress (not unlike its 14-inch non-gaming sibling), but its viability for gaming hinges on Linux's readiness for gaming.
Hardware-wise, Tuxedo is taking a very balanced approach with the Sirius 16. 16-inch laptops aren't tiny, but at just 2.2 cm thick, they're not nearly as chunky as higher-end devices. Being equipped with an RX 7600M XT will also limit its performance, but it's by no means a slow GPU, and it's the same graphics card getting tapped for some of the latest eGPUs. Not everyone wants a massive gaming laptop, and the 7600M XT is a good fit for a 16-inch player like the Sirius 16.
But perhaps the most essential reason Tuxedo went entirely with AMD hardware was Linux. Thanks to the Steam Deck, AMD's GPUs likely have the best support of all three gaming GPU vendors. The famous handheld gaming PC has done a significant amount of work in paving the way for Linux gaming, and it's powered by an AMD APU using the RDNA 2 architecture, one version behind the RDNA 3 architecture in the 7600M XT.
If an AMD GPU was already the obvious choice, pairing it with a Ryzen APU is natural. This also opens up the Sirius 16 to a more straightforward graphics driver situation, as the APU's integrated graphics can be relied on for non-gaming usage thanks to the MUX switch that allows laptops to swap between discrete and integrated graphics seamlessly. The spec sheet also mentions a "hybrid graphics mode," but it's unclear if that means the Radeon 780M iGPU can be used with the 7600M XT.
The Sirius 16 can also be equipped with up to 96GB of DDR5 memory clocked at 5,600 MHz, which is nice as an option, though completely overkill. With two M.2 slots for 2280-sized SSDs, it's also possible to equip the Sirius 16 with tons of storage. Tuxedo offers both Samsung's 990 Pro 4TB and Crucial's P3 Plus 4TB for 8TB of storage out of the factory.
The Sirius 16 comes with Tuxedo OS (an offshoot of Ubuntu) by default, but Tuxedo offers Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and Ubuntu Budgie. The laptop will be in stock starting December 8, and the stock configuration with 16GB of RAM and 500GB of storage costs 1,699 euros (around $1,860.32). Thankfully, you don't need to be in Europe to get your hands on the Sirius 16, as Tuxedo ships internationally to many countries.
