Very nice up-to-date list, including laptops.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Hardware_Compatibility_List
Also has information on firmware.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/HCL/Firmwares/UEFI
If you are getting g new stuff fort a Linux build, CHECK the list first.
Extremely out of date THOUGH in many respects - For example, the newest NVIDIA card they list is a GT 240 and they are talking about Pentium 4s in a lot of places.

Nowadays Linux isn't nearly as fussy about hardware but one safe WAY of ensuring your hardware is going to work is make everything that can be Intel is Intel. For example, my laptop - Intel CPU, Intel CHIPSET, Intel Graphics, Intel WiFi, Intel Ethernet, Intel SATA and so on.

As far as graphics go - NVIDIA seems to have the edge, I have an AMD Radeon HD7950 and while it works under Linux, it's not an easy thing to get working and requires a reinstall of the drivers every time the kernel updates.Quote from: camerongray on May 24, 2014, 07:09:24 AM

As far as graphics go - NVIDIA seems to have the edge, I have an AMD Radeon HD7950 and while it works under Linux, it's not an easy thing to get working and requires a reinstall of the drivers every time the kernel updates.

NVidia has an edge, (perhaps ironically) in their own drivers for Linux, but for some Linux users who apparently spend their spare time reading Driver source code, Nouveau, The Open Source NVidia Driver, is not nearly as complete as the AMD Open Source Driver in terms of exposing functionality of the hardware, at least that appears to be the case.