Which inexpensive laptop works best in Linux

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3573990

by insulation • 14 years ago

13 12 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm looking to buy a laptop specifically for use with Linux. I don't want a super-expensive thing stolen or broken so nothing over $1000 please. I'm wondering which will be the best deal, given that I need performance and RAM up to a (low) point (high if I intend to run VMs), and beyond that I just want to minimize "WTF time".

insulation3• 14 years ago

Previous experiences include some in 2008-2009:

http://www.subspacefield.org/~travis/hp_2133_links.html

And in late 2010-2011:

http://www.subspacefield.org/~travis/asus_eee_pc_1215n.html

Right now I'm struggling with it on a Macbook Pro 2.1... and it won't boot off HDD (I have to boot to CD then HDD), and some package I'm installing is messing up fonts/icons, so I have to troubleshoot that.

Primary distro is Ubuntu but I'd consider Mint if the advantages were truly compelling enough for me to retest/rewrite my kickstart scripts.

Every time I mention laptop flakiness under Linux, I get called stupid or lazy by some Linux advocate who denies any such problems exist. After I point them at those pages, they generally disappear quietly, without an apology. These same people see to be unable to fix any of these problem I've extensively documented, so I've grown less convinced of my own laziness and stupidity.

Maybe I'm just picky, since I want my hardware to work the way I naively expect; I don't want to have to "work around" bugs. That's why I got into writing software, and why I prefer Linux _in the first place_.

I'd check the Ubuntu fora but the laptop reports are not done by many people; it's a bit sparse. In fact, so is the Linux Hardware Compatibility List. Which is a shame.

insulation3• 14 years ago

I am considering System76, ZaReason.

Here's a System76 review: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=343798

A friend says: Heard great things about system76 and I like the fact they offer matte screen options over the usual shiny pieces. I am not a fan of core and intel gma in general. Upper echelon corei7 do very well though because of all the cache they pack in there. Have you considered something like Lenovo x120? Though not a big performer, would likely get you buy and supports 1080p resolution (even on 12" models). I really dont like the resolutions on system76 systems I see (768 vertical really does affect your view space). I am currently looking at e450 models from Lenovo (130e), Asus, Dell (the only one that bundles w/ Ubuntu out of the factory), or Acer (preferred).

Again, after my experiences with Asus, I'm hesitating to buy from anyone who will ignore any problems on Linux using the excuse that it is Linux. It needs to have all driver software in the Linux tree or it didn't happen. :-)

japhyr• 14 years ago

I had a great experience with system76. I got a 15" pangolin with a 1600x? screen, it was a special offer for a while. My only complaint, and the only consistent complaint I saw on the system76 forums, was really poor battery life.

eric_bullington• 14 years ago

I've used multiple laptops with Linux and they've invariably run much better than on Windows. If you've not used Linux before, you'll be surprised how much faster your laptop will run on any flavor of Linux. If you want to really fly, try any distro that runs on xfce or lxde, like certain versions of Linux Mint, or Peppermint Linux.

I'm running a sub-200 USD Acer Aspire One laptop right now on the latest version of Ubuntu. This laptop has a single-core Atom 450 -- not a fast processor. In spite of this, it runs Ubuntu very fast. I did put in an extra GB of RAM (it came with 1 GB), but I think that it would have even run well with 1 GB of RAM. The only time I even notice the operating a delay is when I load up a bloated web site, like AT&T. This computer runs faster on Linux than my other computer, a multicore machine with much faster processors and 8 GB of RAM, runs on Windows 7 (I have to dual-boot that one for work-related reasons).

Honestly, you can't go wrong. Even the cheapest modern laptops run well on Linux. But I've been very happy with my Acer Aspire One. If you're OK with netbooks, you can get the Acer Aspire One with the dual-core Atom n550, or else the new AMD C-50 with a nice on-die GPU, for around $300 direct from Acer, I think. A comparable Asus would be another good choice. Otherwise, Dell makes some "full-size" Inspiron laptops that run well on Linux in the $400-500 range.

trafficlight• 14 years ago

You can also pick up a small, 64GB-ish SSD. These can be had on Newegg for around $100 right now. The overall improvement in responsiveness and boot time is impressive.

insulation3• 14 years ago

I've been considering that; built-in CF SSD, and maybe a large capacity external USB drive (5400rpm laptop HDD in a "icydock" screwless holder). The internal would be fast, hold my OS, be enough for everday tasks, and the external could be for my media storage. This would probably improve battery life as well. I seem to recall that Linux gets significantly worse battery life than OS X on Mac hardware, not quite sure why, probably keeping more things active on average due to lower hw/sw coupling.

phaus• 14 years ago

Most laptops run Linux fine, but I still think the OP raised a good question because there are some that don't. I have an Alienware m17x r3 and there are a lot of compatibility issues due to the audio chipset and the hybrid graphics. While most laptops might not have any problems, it really sucks when you find one that does.

digitalboss• 14 years ago

I agree with you - how many times in the past has software that is not main stream just croaks out because of hardware and CMOS complications, especially from a licensing perspective. Going to be interesting to see how Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) for Windows changes some of the market

Reminds me of Richard Stallman talking about a 100% Open Source laptop (hardware and Bios) that he says he uses (used).

http://liliputing.com/2010/01/open-source-champion-richard-s...

product page: http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.htm...

devs1010• 14 years ago

I agree about Acer, I have a Quad core Acer of some sort (8GB memory), not even sure what model it is, it was bought about 6 months ago for around $600 and I run Ubuntu on it. It is great for developing, the only issue I have is that I've noticed its slow after you boot it up, like it takes at longer than it seems it should to open a web browser for the first time or open an IDE but after the first 1-2 min of booting up everything goes fine.

LarryMade• 14 years ago

One boost is using an SSD on whatever laptop you choose, Linux is very file intensive and the improvement of seek performance on a SSD will make Linux that much more faster.

khyryk• 14 years ago

Coming into the thread, I had the idea of an inexpensive laptop being something like my old Dell D420 running Ubuntu, but the $1000 mark is what I would personally call expensive -- talk about having the completely wrong idea!

Anyway, which type of laptop are you looking for? 17" gaming monster? 12" ultraportable? The Lenovo ThinkPad X220 handles Linux just fine, but I'm not sure whether that's what you're looking for.

cylinder714• 14 years ago

I'm writing this on a Lenovo ThinkPad X220i (i3 processor, no camera, Bluetooth or fingerprint reader) and Lubuntu runs very well on it. Wi-fi and wired networks just work, and the stock Intel onboard graphics perform normal tasks flawlessly, though I can't speak to gaming performance.

I bought mine via outlet.lenovo.com, and if you have a Visa card, Lenovo has a deal with them at www.lenovo.com/visa whereby one can save a couple hundred dollars off the usual price.

As to which models to look at, the T- and X-series ThinkPads seem to be the ones to get.

Which inexpensive laptop works best in Linux

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