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Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

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Re: Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

#41
post #29

I am interested in switching from Macbook to Linux laptop. My biggest concern is the different keyboard shortcuts and layouts (most important ones are cmd vs ctrl for shortcuts, but keeping ctrl+C for terminating processes). I bought a cheap Lenovo x230 recently, and the most annoying thing is finding an easy to configure the keyboard shortcuts to be the same as the OSX. Does anyone know if there are any OSes or soft…

This has been the single hardest thing I’ve found in switching platforms.

Re: Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

#42
Does anyone have Linux experience with the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 AMD laptop? I was looking to get a Lenovo X490 or T590, especially now that they have an AMD version, but they've removed a lot of features that longtime Thinkpad fans like myself loved the series for. I noticed that Dell has this Ryzen 7 based laptop available at about half the price of Lenovo, and am considering it now that the Thinkpad line seems effectively dead.

EDIT:

Dell Inspiron 5000: https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/laptops/new-15-amd/spd/inspi...

Lenovo T495: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-t-ser...

The main advantage of the Lenovo is that it can be equipped with 32GB RAM (and has a Trackpoint), but adding more storage and a higher DPI display brings the price up to over $2k, while the Dell is priced at $774.39...

Inspiron is also Dell's more prosumer oriented brand, while the Lenovo T series is supposed to be enterprise grade, so not sure how the Dell would stack up in terms of longevity.

EDIT 2:

Apparently the Lenovo E495 can be configured with 64GB of RAM at around $1,500, so this might be a good option for me, as well as the OP as this is a 14" model. I don't see a 64GB option on Lenovo's site, but there is one listed at Newegg: https://www.newegg.com/p/1TS-000E-0EMS3

Newegg also has an HP Envy laptop with 64GB RAM for a similar price, but I'm not familiar with that brand.

Re: Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

#43
post #29

I am interested in switching from Macbook to Linux laptop. My biggest concern is the different keyboard shortcuts and layouts (most important ones are cmd vs ctrl for shortcuts, but keeping ctrl+C for terminating processes). I bought a cheap Lenovo x230 recently, and the most annoying thing is finding an easy to configure the keyboard shortcuts to be the same as the OSX. Does anyone know if there are any OSes or soft…

Honestly, if this is your big problem with Linux I think you should stay with osx.

(of course you can configure shortcuts and there are distros that mimic isx shortcuts)

Re: Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

#44
I think, it is strange that there are so few passively cooled high end laptops. Most devices with these ~5 Watt Intel CPUs are in cheap Chromebooks with Here in Germany, I know two vendors who sell the same(?) Clevo white-label laptop with a passively cooled Amber Lake Y CPU in a regular Ultrabook chassis. [0] [1]

I am unsure whether the increased 9 Watt TDP of the new Ice Lake Y chips will still allow laptops without any fans. (It seems like "TDP" as no clear definition anymore...) The introduction of LPDDR4X support would allow devices with 32 GiB RAM and this is probably necessary for future-proofing the device because new multi-platform apps for Linux are usually Electron-based. Also, with the upcoming ZFS on root support in Ubuntu desktop we can't have enough RAM. :)

[0] https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/Linux-Hardware/Linux-Note...

[1] https://bestware.com/en/schenker-via-14.html

Re: Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

#45
Get either:

The Dell Precision 5520 (or whatever the latest verison of that is) with Ubuntu pre-installed (you can easily wipe and reinstall with distro of your choice, but this guarantees maximum compatibility.

Pros:

- Premium hardware (better than Apple IMHO, and I love Apple's hardware)

- Nice trackpad

- Good compatibility with Linux (except the Nvidia Optimus stuff, so avoid that if you can)

- Good warranty

- Touch screen compatible (which works great with Gnome)

Cons:

- Price is better than Apple but definitely on the high end

- Compatibility isn't perfect (tho it is really close)

The Lenovo T{4,5}80

Pros:

- More hardware for the buck (excellent value)

- Super easy to self service (basically anything)

- Highly compatible with Linux

- Can get Nvidia card for higher-end graphics/gaming

Cons:

- Body is a little plasticky and looks cheap-ish

- Bezels on the screen are kind of big

- Intel graphics won't let you do gaming or video editing (although I do use Kdenlive on mine. It takes forever to render but I can edit just fine)

I've had both and they are awesome. My current setup is Lenovo T580 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD running Fedora 30. It's flawless and worked out of the box (after running the Fedora installer).

Re: Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

#46
post #13

I had two Dell (XPS 13 and XPS 15), both had their share of driver issues. The XPS 15 also had severe hardware issues, which support could not help with (sound randomly starting and stopping to work). Now I use a Lenovo T480s dual-booting Windows 10 Pro and Ubuntu 18.04 and everything just works. For Linux I recommend getting a Laptop without a dedictated GPU. Regarding Linux distributions, I stopped having issues si…

I agree. I'm using a T480s with no GPU and Ubuntu 18.04 and have no regrets since switching. If you really need a GPU, consider the P1 and X1E series.

Re: Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

#47
Why do you want a laptop ? Building your own computer have never been easier. Just buy the parts and plug them in. (and make sure there are drivers for Linux). First pick a mother-board, probably a server grade MB from Supermicro, because many HDD, controlled fan connectors, memory slots, and possible also dual CPU, and many PCI:e if you are into machine learning. Then read the manual to see known working modules. Just an example of what you can't do on a laptop is having 6 disks in mirror/stripe mode using ZFS. Instead of taking the computer with you, you can SSH into it, maybe use X-server to run the apps on the work machine. Just leave it on when you go home or travel, so you can run lab on it. You can give shell accounts to your jealous colleges, run the git server on it. Use it instead of "cloud" computing and save thousands of dollar, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

#48
post #26

I would probably still say Lenovo. Although ordering on their website was the single worst eCommerce experience I ever had. Mine might be a bit dated, but you might be able to find one on eBay for pretty cheap now. I switched from an MBP 2013 to a ThinkPad T480 running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS back in July of 2018. Linux support has been really great and I didn't have to install a lot of special drivers. (e.g. trackpad suppo…

I also switched from a Macbook Pro to a Thinkpad T480 running Ubuntu 18.04. Everything except the fingerprint reader worked out of the box, I haven't had any hardware compatibility issues so far, been running for 2 months so far. I picked the T480 because it was the last one with a removable battery.

Initially I installed dualboot w/ the existing windows install, but after a week I found there was no reason to flip back to windows and I formatted the whole thing and re-installed Ubuntu.

I've been using Macs for development for so long that I'd forgotten what using a non-mac keyboard was like. Took a couple days to get used to it, but now there's no way I'm ever going back.

Re: Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

#49
post #33
post #31

Lenovo X/T/P Series. Heavy discounts on the Lenovo website right now. And an abundance of refurbs on ebay that are in pretty much brand new condition. Ubuntu 18.04 LTS / Fedora / Manjaro are all good on this platform. Have fun picking!

I'm looking at a X390 really hard, the 32GB is a dream

Yea that machine looks nice. USB-C charge and I/O. Great for travel (1 charger for phone (android) and laptop). Looks like a slightly heavier X1 Carbon. Otherwise everything seems the same!

Re: Ask HN: Best Linux Laptop Replacing a Macbook Pro?

#50
Lenovo T4xxs Lenovo X series

Lenovo T series works well with Linux, also quite many Linux developers use Lenovo laptops so driver support is good.

Detailed Reviews https://www.notebookcheck.net/Notebookcheck-s-Top-10-Premium...

On Dell XPS I had some really weird BIOS sound hardware enumberation, where sound hardware would change hardware bus type during reboots which was annoying.

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