Chuwi Minibook X: the netbook we deserve

Netbooks are dead, but the Chuwi Minibook X scratches the same itch. The Minibook X is a 10.5″ x86_64 sub-ultrabook with 16GB RAM, a 512GB NVMe drive, and only one majorly annyoing Linux quirk. I needed a knock-around laptop, so I bought myself a Minibook for my birthday last year. The more I tote it around, the more fun I’m having with this ridiculous little computer. Quick specs Much like the netbooks of yore, the Minibook is a budget machine. But it’s 2026, so even budget machines pack more oomph than I need from a utility laptop. - CPU 4-core/4-thread 3.6GHz Intel N150 Twin Lake - 16 GB RAM – LPDDR5-6400 – soldered 😿 - 512GB NVMe – upgradable - 10.51” IPS 2K 16:10 screen - 28.88Wh Li-Ion battery - Weight: 911g - Ports: 2×USB-C (1×PD charging) - Cost: $350 One oddity is that the Minibook comes bundled with a 12V/2A USB-C charger. I chucked the charger; I worried I’d fry some 5V SoC someday. The Minibook works fine with a PD charger. I’d assume the 12V charger was a cost-saving choice, but it also creates some weird possibilities for DC/off-grid setups. Linux and weirdness: sideways panels and kernel parameters The fediverse told me that Minibook runs Linux “boringly well,” which was almost true. I tried Debian, then jumped to NixOS for kicks. What works: - Camera/Microphone/Speakers - Touchscreen - Sleep/Suspend - Hibernate - Keyboard backlight - USB-C HDMI - Bluetooth (non-free blobs – Intel) - Wi-Fi 6 (non-free blobs – Intel) But on first boot, the screen orientation is 270° clockwise: The Chuwi’s screen is a panel from a cheap tablet; the screen rotation issue is a hardware problem (the screen is mounted sideways). To fix the screen’s rotation, I had to tweak screen orientation at every software layer. Fixing this problem was a journey: - Bootloader – Switched from systemd-boot togrub , carrying some unmerged GRUB rotation patches on top. - Initrd – Tell the Intel display driver about the panel orientation via a kernel parameter, and force the Intel driver to load in the initramfs. On NixOS: boot.kernelParams = ["video=DSI-1:panel_orientation=right_side_up"]; andboot.initrd.kernelModules = ["i915"]; (see Kernel docs for modedb default video mode support) - Desktop environment – For X11, good ole xrandr --output DSI-1 --rotate right . Wayland picked this up from the DRM connector. This one was easy. - Framebuffer – Ensure all TTYs have the proper orientation by adding fbcon=rotate:1 to kernel parametersboot.kernelParams = ["fbcon=rotate:1"]; (see Kernel docs for framebuffer console boot options) Behold, the final result in all its glory: Size, weight, and build This computer is mind-bogglingly small. The build is sturdy and totable; it’ll hold up to a backpack jostling. The laptop’s case is MacBook-esque: aluminum and good-looking. The MacBook Air’s dimensions dwarf the Chuwi’s, but the two laptops are about the same thickness. A notebook that weighs more than a kilo is simply not a good thing The Minibook weighs in just shy of a kilo at 912 grams. Perf, thermals, and power tl;dr: you get what you pay for. But battery life and cooling are better than I’d have guessed. The Minibook X was never going to compile the Linux kernel in record time. But the performance matches the specs, it stays cool, and it has enough battery life to run a movie marathon. Numbers: - Geekbench6 (a fun side-quest to get running on NixOS), better than I expected. - Single-core: 1295 - Multi-core: 3332 - Wi-Fi 6 speed: 424 Mbps, more than enough to stream a 4K movie. - Power - Idle: 3.8W - During benchmark: ~15W Battery: When I left the 1995 classic film “Hackers” looping in VLC, the battery lasted about 6 hours. Heat: Running stress-ng for 10 minutes, the hottest part of the laptop chassis remained below 90°F (32°C): What I dislike There’s so much to dislike about this laptop: - Screen is terrible – 2K? 50Hz refresh rate? Why!? - Keyboard is terrible – it only registers keystrokes when you hit the exact center of each key. - Touchpad is terrible – It’s a diving board-style, without physical buttons. - Sound is meh – I can hear the tinny laptop speaker fine, but it’s underwhelming. I’ve never tried tweaking it in Pipewire, though; it’s possible it could be better. But “terrible” is in comparison to the nicest modern laptops in existence. Everything I listed here works fine. I’m honestly blown away when I tune my expectations to the sub-$400 laptop range. Verdict In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs wrote, “new ideas require old buildings”: cheap spaces let people try risky ideas. The Chuwi Minibook X is an old building. I can brick the Minibook and have a normal Monday on my serious work laptop. Nothing has to work, which makes it perfect to try out new Linux desktop stuff: - NixOS – I’ve been using Debian for 15 years+, figured I’d try joining the NixOS cult for a while. - RiverWM – I’m on a quest to find the Wayland version of XMonad; River is pretty close. - KDE Plasma – I’ve used a tiling window manager for over a decade. What’s it like to use a desktop that Just Works™? - Steam – Never been much into games, but I decided to give Steam a try since, well, why not? Cheap, weird computers like the Chuwi make it safe to play. And playing with computers is still fun.