The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS • Hacker News Board

Re: The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS

#21

Post by ekianjo » Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 9:32 PM UTC

lars-b2018 wrote: post #7

Does System76 make a laptop with a high dpi screen? It seems that is table stakes these days...Seems like this is a pretty expensive laptop (portable desktop), but perhaps for gaming it's not a big deal. However, if you are programming or doing some other text intensive activity the low-dpi screens would be deal breaker.

When programming I personally connect my laptop to a larger monitor with better resolution. Not sure what is the point of 1440p or more on a 15 inch screen, because then you end up scaling everything 2x or more to be readable again.

Re: The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS

#22

Post by ekianjo » Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 9:34 PM UTC

symlinkk wrote: post #13

Never understood this company. Lenovo and Dell sell computers with Ubuntu or Fedora pre-installed, that have been tested and are guaranteed to be fully compatible with Linux. Why would you go with System76, which is selling rebranded Clevo laptops with a markup, and PopOS, which is an Ubuntu derivative?

> Lenovo

Does Lenovo have something with Ryzen + Nvidia discrete GPU at the moment, with ThinkPad build quality?

Re: The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS

#23

Post by Scarbutt » Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 9:38 PM UTC

sscarduzio wrote: post #10

lars-b2018 wrote: post #7

Does System76 make a laptop with a high dpi screen? It seems that is table stakes these days...Seems like this is a pretty expensive laptop (portable desktop), but perhaps for gaming it's not a big deal. However, if you are programming or doing some other text intensive activity the low-dpi screens would be deal breaker.

THIS. Plenty of kinda nice Linux laptops out there, but with a terrible, terrible screen. For example, a MBP 13" has 2x resolution than this 15". This is a monumental deal breaker for the majority of people.

Is there much difference when looking at text on an 13" screen between 1080p and 2160p ? assuming both are high quality screens.

Re: The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS

#24

Post by opencl » Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 9:39 PM UTC

lars-b2018 wrote: post #7

Does System76 make a laptop with a high dpi screen? It seems that is table stakes these days...Seems like this is a pretty expensive laptop (portable desktop), but perhaps for gaming it's not a big deal. However, if you are programming or doing some other text intensive activity the low-dpi screens would be deal breaker.

The Bonobo WS is available with a 4K 17" screen.

Re: The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS

#25

Post by ISL » Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 9:43 PM UTC

noja wrote: post #20

ISL wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have a look at the Dell offerings. The Developer Edition of the XPS 13 is a linux-first example: https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/dell-laptops-and-notebo... (This post made from an XPS-13 7390 with a standard-HD display. The standard display is quite pleasant to use. The keyboard is wonderful compared to my crouton Chromebook of the past. The fit, finish, and operation of the device is the nicest I've used.)

Any coil whine?

I haven't noticed any particular noise from the unit. I'm in my late thirties, so if it is at the higher end of human hearing, perhaps those particular cilia are gone, but I'm happy. Placing my ear on the keyboard doesn't detect anything either.

It has been the better part of a decade since I've had a laptop with a fan, so that is a little bit different, but I only notice it under higher loads.

Re: The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS

#26

Post by killingtime74 » Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 9:44 PM UTC

lars-b2018 wrote: post #7

Does System76 make a laptop with a high dpi screen? It seems that is table stakes these days...Seems like this is a pretty expensive laptop (portable desktop), but perhaps for gaming it's not a big deal. However, if you are programming or doing some other text intensive activity the low-dpi screens would be deal breaker.

I wanted system76 but ended up with a xps17 for this reason

Re: The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS

#27

Post by ihattendorf » Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 9:48 PM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #21

lars-b2018 wrote: post #7

Does System76 make a laptop with a high dpi screen? It seems that is table stakes these days...Seems like this is a pretty expensive laptop (portable desktop), but perhaps for gaming it's not a big deal. However, if you are programming or doing some other text intensive activity the low-dpi screens would be deal breaker.

When programming I personally connect my laptop to a larger monitor with better resolution. Not sure what is the point of 1440p or more on a 15 inch screen, because then you end up scaling everything 2x or more to be readable again.

Which results in crisper better defined text.

Re: The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS

#28

Post by ilikepi » Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 9:50 PM UTC

Tsiklon wrote: post #17

This machine doesn't make much use of it's enormous size for connectivity; It has only 4 USB ports which are spread across 3 sides of the computer; 2 are USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A, 1 is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, 1 is a USB 2.0 - What is the purpose of a USB2.0 port on a new computer in 2021? I'm quite concerned that this machine has no 20Gb USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Ports or no 2.5Gb Ethernet (or ideally 10Gb Ethernet). Thunderbolt p…

> What is the purpose of a USB2.0 port on a new computer in 2021?

Volume cost savings, presumably. I guess that's the port you use for input devices since they don't really require high bandwidth connections...

Re: The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS

#29

Post by jdoliner » Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 9:52 PM UTC

I recently tried to buy a System76 laptop and unfortunately had a terrible experience. It was massively delayed and they weren't transparent at all about how long it was going to be delayed. I wound up going with a Juno Computers laptop instead and it's been great so far.

Re: The Serval WS from System76: A Linux Workstation Running PopOS

#30

Post by cbpowell » Tue, Jan 26, 2021, 9:52 PM UTC

lars-b2018 wrote: post #7

Does System76 make a laptop with a high dpi screen? It seems that is table stakes these days...Seems like this is a pretty expensive laptop (portable desktop), but perhaps for gaming it's not a big deal. However, if you are programming or doing some other text intensive activity the low-dpi screens would be deal breaker.

As an owner of a HiDPI laptop, I'm here to tell you that if you want to connect it to an external monitor, you will be disappointed in Linux. For a laptop-monitor combination in Linux, standard resolution is absolutely the way to go.

This isn't a rant. Mad, mad respect for Linux here, and longtime Linux user.

KDE only offers a single scaling factor, so you must scale the laptop and the external screens identically. That means all at 2:1, or 1.5:1, or what have you -- this means one of your screens will be scaled improperly (too fine or too large). Gnome does the same, I believe. I have heard Pop_OS can scale monitors differently but didn't try it.