Thanks in advance!
Lowest cost option is find something used that works, or from CDW outlet or the occassional crazy deal. Many chromebooks can run windows if you use a 3rd party bios. The keyboard layout is a bit sparse, which means no windows key. Check Mr.Chromebox for models his script supports and you'll get a minimal machine that boots UEFI capable OSes, you might need a keyboard driver depending on specifics.
If you want the most processing power for the $, get a basic desktop with integrated graphics. Ryzen 5600G or something Alder Lake with DDR4-3600 or so (DDR5 might be faster, but right now it's pretty close and DDR4 is much less expensive). Alder Lake boards are either DDR4 or DDR5 but not both, shop carefully. Desktop chips are going to be significatly faster than laptop chips, because they can use way more power.
Alternatively, check to see if their Chromebooks support Linux.
In the US you might also want to consider ThinkPad X13. With some discounts, it can be a good alternative if you prefer a standard architecture. In the EU sadly ThinkPad is sold via a third party reseller which has an atrocious customer service.
For around $600, depending on current deals, you can get a Surface Laptop Go which has a nice screen and just works on Linux. Avoid the baseline model if you can as it has an eMMC HD which is quite slow.
What makes you say that? Apple has never been friendly to Linux, and the M1 having zero support porting Linux by Apple continues this trend. What's more disturbing is that NVIDIA is friendlier.
I still prefer open architectures, but the situation is better than with previous Macs, Chromebooks and even some PCs.
The majority of the hardware is not supported, and Apple has not provided any specs. Just having an unlocked bootloader is not Linux friendly.
> Apple isn't supporting Asahi as such
That isn't Linux friendly, that's Linux indifferent.
Most shocking is the battery life:performance ratio coming from a maxed out 2017 MacBook Air. I really liked (and still like) that computer, but there's no comparison in terms of performance. If I run the 2017 machine pretty hard, it'll die after 3.5 hours or so. The new model lasts about twice as long, but out-performs the old one by a wide margin.
The only downside with the M1 I got is the lack of RAM. Even so, 8GB has been surprisingly sufficient for a lot of tasks. Most people would be just fine with this machine.
Otherwise, Wirecutter might be a good starting point: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-laptops-for-...
But do your due diligence with anything Wirecutter recommends and get "second opinions."
Also, check out Reddit and Hot Deals on Slickdeals.net.
Once you've selected a few promising ones you can check the reviews online.
On a side note, make sure you're not upgrading just for the sake of upgrading, most dev work has very low computing requirements. You could also buy second-hand and get something great for hundreds of dollar less than new. You can also buy new for considerably less than 1000$, especially in the U.S where prices are cheap. The laptop I bought back in college was 300$ and good enough to do any dev work I wanted (that's about the lower bound of what you can find brand new though).
Try Asus TUF series.
I can vouch for them.
I'm a professional dev and I learned on a Chromebook that I installed Linux on. You can get away with much less computing power if you use Linux.
I don't know any devs who use windows except those specifically developing for the windows ecosystem.
Integrated graphics though