Linux compatible laptop

So I'm looking for a mid level laptop that would work well with ubuntu or linux distros in general without much hassle. Preferably a 14-15'' machine, figure $600 top end price.

Thanks.

 

Essentially all systems are Linux Compatible. Though if you want a system that is definitely going to work is system76, though some are out of your budget. It's essentially a hit and miss with driver compatibility. If it works, that's great, if not, bad luck.

Linux would work wonderful on most, if not all, Thinkpads and Latitudes.

 

Umm, that's a pretty vague list of requirements. Please have at least a look at the laptop search form [1] and see if you can give us any more information! Even if it all turns out to be negotiable, it would make things easier.
Currently there might be an interesting offer in the US Lenovo outlet store [2], but you could get a Dell Inspiron 15R for almost the same price [3] which might suit you better. And there is an almost infinite number of other laptops to chose from.

General tips:
Stay away from NVIDIAs "Optimus" technology [4] and try to find something with an Intel WLAN chip if you care for free drivers.

[1] http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...ould-i-buy-form-must-read-before-posting.html
[2] Lenovo Outlet - ThinkPad T500 - Discounted Laptops, Cheap Laptops, Refurbished Laptops, Discounted Desktops, Cheap Desktops, Refurbished Desktops
[3] Inspiron 15R Laptop Details | Dell
[4] http://forum.notebookreview.com/lin...e/473915-no-support-nvidia-optimus-linux.html

 

Linux works well with older machines (such as ThinkPad T41 with Pentium CPU, 1GB RAM) and current-generation machines (such as ThinkPad T510 with Core i7 CPU, 4GB RAM and so on), so this presents a wide range of choices. Certain brand-new Lenovo IdeaPad and Dell Inspiron machines may fit your budget. Check out Lenovo Outlet and Dell Outlet sites for good deals on refurbished/returned systems.

Again, stay away from NVIDIA Optimus GPU when you consider present-generation machines.

 

At that price you're likely to have an intel GPU which is good for linux compatibility. You'd be better off posting some machines you're interested in, and doing some searches to see if anyone has posted experiences with them. You can try to find out what exact chips are in them and then figure out what drivers they use and find any bugs.

Recently I've had problems with newer touchpads, on my machines I've patched the drivers, but there are some new samsungs that aren't fixed yet with any patches I've seen. There may be others...

 

Thanks all for the replies, sorry for the vague post. Thanks for the links, I'll checkout the outlets. I haven't seen too many cyber monday deals yet.

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

Oh, $400-6/700. I figure if I want a decent gaming laptop I'm better off getting a seperate machine.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

a. Netbook; 10” screen or less
b. Ultraportable; 11" - 12” screen
c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
e. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

C or D.

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.

USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

a. Like: Dell
b. Dislike: Eh, does gateway still make machines?

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?

Yes.

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

Web basics/tech work.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

Mobile work/personal machine.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?

Not really. Whatever that could run on Intel cards (aka not much). If it could handle WoW thats a small plus.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

3-5hr preferred.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Win7/linux dual boot setup.

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer?

Flexible, prefer 13-15'' size screen.

13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

Flexible.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Not for this machine.

15) When are you buying this laptop?

Within 1-2 months.

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?

2-3 years probably.

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

No SSD, 250gb min.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

Dvd burner preferred.

Fairly experienced with computers, not so much with linux.

TIA

 

Hmm, what about a refurb Inspirion 14R?

 

For $600, you can get a new Inspiron 14R or 15R. Check it out.

 

the above are all good recommendations..you could also have a look at the Dell Vostro series..
I have had good luck with my vostro 1220 in linux.. the only problem i experienced was sound coming through both headphone and speakers in ubuntu, but i had got that fixed. good luck on your purchase.

 

Nvidia Optimus GPU has been mentioned multiple times to stay away from, but you want to avoid any switchable graphics laptops.

Also stay away from ATI switchable graphics. My U330 runs terrible in linux, as linux powers both the intel and the ATI chip. This causes my U330 to run extremely hot and get about 50 minutes of battery life. In general stay away from ATI graphics if you want any kind of decent driver support. Anyone who has spent 5 minutes on the linux machine with ATI graphics knows what a nightmare it is, this is even more true of the mobile ATI chipsets.

Also if you are somewhat new to linux, check out Linux Mint, it's a remix of ubuntu (and uses ubuntu repositories) but it's more user friendly and familiar to windows users.

 

@sprinj76 have you tried turning off the discrete GPU by /proc/acpi/call? I know there are ACPI methods for this on switchable (1st gen hw switch and 2nd gen sw switch) nvidia GPUs, not so sure about ATI.

 

Stay away from Latitude D series which is now no longer sold new. Anything with an ATI Mobility Radeon X1270 integrated graphics chipset is unsupported. I just found that out today. Won't even boot and run OS from CD. There are multiple sites which reveal ATI driver nightmares. I know for sure that newer Latitude E5510's work both booting to Ubuntu and using in a virtual environment. But older Latitudes do not.

 

Man, not seeing many good cyber monday/extended tuesday sales. Given what I want, the dell outlet is looking like my best bet. You can even get one with a wimax 6250n card in it.

Thanks all for the replies. The search continues.

 

Dell outlet systems can have blemishes including beyond-ordinary amounts of dead/bright/stuck pixels, backlight bleed/bright spot problems, and physical blemishes as long as they don't affect functionality. You may get lucky, but just keep it in mind.

Do you mean it's not supported by fglrx, because AFAIK the radeon driver supports this chip. Your system may need a boot parameter as a quirk.

 

Dell Vostro 3400 and 3500 are on special right now. Good deals around $550. New. Intel Core i3 with integrated graphics.

Just load your favorite Linux distro.

 

Not bad on the Vostro. Found HP g42t deal that beats it though. $519 with i3 chip, 320gb HD.

 

I currently use a Dell Latitude E6410 with Debian (and previously Fedora). A new one is probably a bit out of your price range but you could get a refurb one within that range probably (I'm not really familiar with the conversion rates etc). But, I know for a fact that the E series Latitudes work a treat with Linux. I've had very little bother trying to get mine working with both Debian and Fedora.