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HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

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Re: HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

#41

Post by Nullabillity »

dagw wrote: post #34
Nullabillity wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. It's also surprisingly hard to find a decent new laptop these days. About a week ago I started at a new company, and was asked to find a laptop that I wanted. The cheapest one with a 1TB SSD was ~$2000, and the cheapest one that would be decent out of the box was a $1300 Dell. Instead I ended up getting a $600 gaming laptoo with a decent CPU, and installed the RAM and SSD myself for $450, ending up with a far be…

I can certainly see doing that if it's your own money. But if I start a new job and the first thing they do is make me cobble together a laptop of spare parts so that they can save a few hundred bucks, then I'm sending out my resume later that afternoon.

They didn't ask me to cobble something together, they asked me to find a good laptop below $1500.

Re: HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

#42

Post by rowyourboat »

pcr0 wrote: post #40

On the flip side, the % of space taken up by the battery is tiny compared to macbooks. One could argue that of all the components in a laptop, the battery wearing down is what most people will face, so having custom components + a larger battery might be better than having modular components.

Or just make the battery replaceable.

Re: HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

#43

Post by bayindirh »

aidos wrote: post #29

Does anyone know what the story is for running Linux on EliteBooks? For context, I'm in the market for a slightly older laptop for my daughter. Something that I could maybe pick up on ebay (in the UK) and upgrade some components would be ideal. Would prefer one I can put Linux on. The Chromebook route turned into a pain when I tried it so I'd like a machine I have some control over.

I use Debian testing on a EliteBook 850G2. I disabled the ATI/AMD gpu since I don't need its computing power, so I don't have any notes on GPU part, but with on board intel graphics, everything is very very smooth. Only non-functional item is the fingerprint reader. I get ~7hrs of battery life with normal system administration / development workflow on a KDE desktop. System runs very cool, and fan seldom kicks in if you push the computer hard.

I've just remembered: I've used the laptop with a Dell U2411 monitor via DisplayPort, a Dell E2211H monitor via DP -> HDMI adapter and HDMI/DVI cable, both without any issues (incl. hot-plug).

I can answer any specific questions if you wish.

Re: HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

#44

Post by willtim »

Xylakant wrote: post #31
grumpyprole wrote: post #25

Another counterexample to the "Apple make the best hardware" meme that is so often repeated. I find the whole concept of a disposable 1000+ dollar machine with a glued-in battery rather abhorrent.

The glued-in battery makes fixing it at home harder, but comes with significant weight and space savings. It’s a trade off, like so many things and many people (including me) are willing to accept it. Apple is not the only manufacturer to do this, my Thinkpad has a non-user-serviceable battery as well. It’s not like the battery cannot be replaced, and I’m willing to have my machine serviced at an authorized repair sh…

My Thinkpad Carbon X1 has a user-replaceable battery and is practically the same weight and size as a MacBook Air. So it is certainly not a compromise I agree with. The "disposable" label was a bit harsh, but there are other compromises in the MacBook Pro, for example the SSD, which is more prone to failure than other components, is soldered on to the logic board.

Re: HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

#45

Post by aidos »

jotm wrote: post #38
aidos wrote: post #29

Does anyone know what the story is for running Linux on EliteBooks? For context, I'm in the market for a slightly older laptop for my daughter. Something that I could maybe pick up on ebay (in the UK) and upgrade some components would be ideal. Would prefer one I can put Linux on. The Chromebook route turned into a pain when I tried it so I'd like a machine I have some control over.

Which model? In my experience with the Elitebook/Zbook workstations Linux runs fine, but always with minor problems (top panel buttons not working, issues with shutdown [does not actually shutdown, have to press power button], TurboBoost being disabled until reboot, varies by distro)... HP really don't seem to care about Linux, either.

So that sounds like a little bit of a "no" for linux on these machines!

Re: HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

#46

Post by aidos »

Xylakant wrote: post #35
aidos wrote: post #29

Does anyone know what the story is for running Linux on EliteBooks? For context, I'm in the market for a slightly older laptop for my daughter. Something that I could maybe pick up on ebay (in the UK) and upgrade some components would be ideal. Would prefer one I can put Linux on. The Chromebook route turned into a pain when I tried it so I'd like a machine I have some control over.

Thinkpads might be a good option. Linux support is fairly good, especially the older models and the T-Series does have some models with upgradable RAM and battery. (Not the slim T4x0s)

I did have a look at Thinkpads but was somewhat overwhelmed by the number of models. Will have a look at the T series to see what's around. Thanks for the tip.

Re: HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

#47

Post by mrtksn »

willtim wrote: post #33
mrtksn wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Upgradeability, in most cases, is just a cost-saving feature. In some industrial settings, upgradability can be crucial indeed. For example, where cutting-edge performance is needed you might want to be able to upgrade the CPU of your workstation when a new version is released but this is hardly the case for Laptops except for some extreme cases like laptops used at the ISS.

Upgrading isn't just about saving money. It's also a more environmentally responsible thing to do. People are "upgrading" to new iPhones just because their glued-in battery is end-of-life.

iPhone batteries are easy to replace by a shop or by the user. iFixit(the article source) sells batteries and screwdrivers to do it.

Your claim doesn’t seem to have grounds.

Re: HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

#48

Post by mrtksn »

willtim wrote: post #28
mrtksn wrote: post #5

I really dislike labeling repairability as user-friendliness. I never ever bought a device with intentions of repairing it, I always hope that I will never have to repair it and just use it. Yes, it is nice to be able to repair it but if it fails, next time I'm buying a laptop I will avoid it and stick with the brand that did not fail and sits in my drawer because it's too slow by modern standards. Repairability is p…

The typical life of a Li-Ion battery is about 2/3 years or less if cycled often enough. This is at least one component that should be user replaceable. Most of us cannot justify or even afford buying a new machine every 2/3 years.

Batteries are deplating resources and I agree that they should be replaceable.

The thing is, it should be design priority as many techies would root for. Apple’s approach is perfectly fine in that regard as batteries are replaceable but you need tools.

Re: HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

#49

Post by gokhan »

Xylakant wrote: post #35
aidos wrote: post #29

Does anyone know what the story is for running Linux on EliteBooks? For context, I'm in the market for a slightly older laptop for my daughter. Something that I could maybe pick up on ebay (in the UK) and upgrade some components would be ideal. Would prefer one I can put Linux on. The Chromebook route turned into a pain when I tried it so I'd like a machine I have some control over.

Thinkpads might be a good option. Linux support is fairly good, especially the older models and the T-Series does have some models with upgradable RAM and battery. (Not the slim T4x0s)

Got a T450s with upgraded ram to 20GB, 4gb soldered + 16 added by myself. Got two batteries. Internal one can't be changed but the back battery is surely detachable / replaceable with a larger one.

Re: HP EliteBook: A friend to the User

#50

Post by willtim »

mrtksn wrote: post #47
willtim wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Upgrading isn't just about saving money. It's also a more environmentally responsible thing to do. People are "upgrading" to new iPhones just because their glued-in battery is end-of-life.

iPhone batteries are easy to replace by a shop or by the user. iFixit(the article source) sells batteries and screwdrivers to do it. Your claim doesn’t seem to have grounds.

People have only recently found out that Apple have been slowing down the iPhones in software to lessen the load on older batteries. I also disagree that changing the battery is "easy", I suspect some people may not even realise it is an option.
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