KDE appears to be on a roll. I know they use to be known as a heavy DE for Linux, but apparently Plasma 5.8, and now 5.9 are extremely stable and able to run on slightly older hardware. Don’t get me wrong, a decent graphics card, even if it’s older, will help, but worth a look.
Beyond the KDE desktop, however, KDE is now selling an ultra book that looks like a real contender. Spec it out to the top, and it’s still gonna be just a bit cheaper than a comparable MacBook Pro.