Thinkpads are not monolithic amongst models. That is, they are very customisable when ordering, so two Thinkpad P53s (say) will not necessarily be identical.
I usually restrict my choices when ordering a Thinkpad to Intel and Intel peripherals as much as possible. As Intel hardware has the most support in Linux.
I find also that I have used Mint Mate almost exclusively for the last 10 or more years.
Between those two factors, it means I have had practically no configuration problems to speak of.
(I subscribe to the old policy of: Application software choices determine the choice of Operating System. The choice of Operating System determines the choice of hardware. SO NOT VICE-VERSA - don't buy the hardware first then try to work out what you're going to run on it.)
