Best laptop for linux (probably Ubuntu)?

#1

Post by wheresvic1 » Mon, Jul 18, 2016, 7:38 PM UTC

I'm looking for a new laptop for programming (Java, JavaScript, CSS, MongoDB, etc.) and would love to have some input!

Re: Best laptop for linux (probably Ubuntu)?

#2

Post by edward » Mon, Jul 18, 2016, 7:44 PM UTC

The Linux laptop of choice is the Lenovo ThinkPad X Series.

Re: Best laptop for linux (probably Ubuntu)?

#3

Post by zeveb » Mon, Jul 18, 2016, 7:44 PM UTC

I've been extremely happy with zareason; System76 is also very good if you're willing to remain Ubuntu-only.

Re: Best laptop for linux (probably Ubuntu)?

#4

Post by mspaulding06 » Mon, Jul 18, 2016, 7:45 PM UTC

If you want something with good hardware support for Linux Lenovo is always my first choice. I have a Thinkpad x220 that runs Linux flawlessly. I've also got an ASUS UX305CA which isn't too bad either. The brightness controls didn't work out of the box, but I've got it all working now. It's thin and light, comparable to a Macbook Air. I use it as my personal development laptop. Easy to take anywhere since it's only 13 inches, but it has a QHD touchscreen so there is plenty of space to have multiple code windows open at the same time. Battery life isn't too bad either and it's cheap (about $700 USD new).

Re: Best laptop for linux (probably Ubuntu)?

#5

Post by dman » Mon, Jul 18, 2016, 7:46 PM UTC

Lenovo T460

Re: Best laptop for linux (probably Ubuntu)?

#6

Post by b3b0p » Mon, Jul 18, 2016, 11:45 PM UTC

I'd like to know experiences using a newer model Thinkpad T460S or T460P with discrete graphics experiences using any distribution of Linux. Does sleep, suspend, hibernate work well? Dual display? The retina (? pixel scaling?) work well? What doesn't work?

Re: Best laptop for linux (probably Ubuntu)?

#7

Post by bketelsen » Tue, Jul 19, 2016, 12:11 AM UTC

I've had the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition with Ubuntu installed for a few weeks now and love it. It works as well as you could hope any Linux laptop could work.

Re: Best laptop for linux (probably Ubuntu)?

#8

Post by grawlinson » Tue, Jul 19, 2016, 12:53 AM UTC

bketelsen wrote: post #7

I've had the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition with Ubuntu installed for a few weeks now and love it. It works as well as you could hope any Linux laptop could work.

I've heard that the only hardware difference between the standard + developer edition is the WiFi card (Broadcom vs. Intel) and that a lot of people just buy the standard edition and replace the substandard Broadcom card for the better Intel one.

Re: Best laptop for linux (probably Ubuntu)?

#9

Post by apathy » Tue, Jul 19, 2016, 4:05 AM UTC

b3b0p wrote: post #6

I'd like to know experiences using a newer model Thinkpad T460S or T460P with discrete graphics experiences using any distribution of Linux. Does sleep, suspend, hibernate work well? Dual display? The retina (? pixel scaling?) work well? What doesn't work?

I have a t450s running Ubuntu and it's awesome. Plan on buying a 16GB DIMM, obviously. I wish they'd add more slots for RAM. Also, get the option where you can cram 3 SSDs into it. Then you can swap to "slow RAM" if you blow out the 20GB. Just a little 20-40GB slice of an SSD but it can save you a lot of hassle if you start to thrash while running simulations or merging huge tables or the like.

Re: Best laptop for linux (probably Ubuntu)?

#10

Post by dan-bell » Tue, Jul 19, 2016, 5:30 AM UTC

grawlinson wrote: post #8

bketelsen wrote: post #7

I've had the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition with Ubuntu installed for a few weeks now and love it. It works as well as you could hope any Linux laptop could work.

I've heard that the only hardware difference between the standard + developer edition is the WiFi card (Broadcom vs. Intel) and that a lot of people just buy the standard edition and replace the substandard Broadcom card for the better Intel one.

I've been using the standard version with Ubuntu (Kernel 4.4) and the Broadcom driver is also perfectly stable for me.