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Linux Developer Laptops: Dell's Precision 5500 series reigns supreme (2019)

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Re: Linux Developer Laptops: Dell's Precision 5500 series reigns supreme (2019)

#91

Post by prototypeasap »

Need to have a thorough comparative analysis to claim something reigns supreme. My laptop is Lenovo Carbon X1 7th Gen - with custom Debian 10 install.

I chose it over Dell offerings due to better keyboard and substantially lower weight. I don't really care about operating system that comes pre-installed; As, i always do a fresh 'bloatware free' install of Debian anyways. The only thing that doesn't work is fingerprint reader. I absolutely love this laptop; But wouldn't go as far as to claim it reigns supreme.

For the past two years i have been doing more and more coding on my home workstation that runs Windows (if you can believe it). With WSL2 all the linux apps (including GUI based ones) run smooth like butter; And the fact that i can back-up and switch between different distros seamlessly really makes my life easier.

So, i would even consider running Windows on my laptop for Linux development purposes in the future (sorry if it offends anyone). The only thing that is stopping me, is the fact that my X1 runs much faster under Debian and battery life is substantially better.

Re: Linux Developer Laptops: Dell's Precision 5500 series reigns supreme (2019)

#92

Post by synergy20 »

secondcoming wrote: post #85
synergy20 wrote: post #66

I was assigned a Macbook Pro at work and I asked for a non-Mac laptop, reason being I'm a Linux developer and Macbook did not work well for me(keyboard,etc). I ended up with a XPS 15 that has 64GB DDR and 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD around $2750, comparing to 32GB+1TB of MacBook Pro it is about $800 less expensive. I did not realize Precision 55xx series is even better built than XPS15 otherwise I will probably go that route.…

I normally hate laptops but I had to buy one due to Covid and went with a Precision 7750. I didn't bother with a dedicated graphics card, and chose the minimum spec RAM and NVMe, but I did opt for the 4K display with WWAN for the 4G modem. I purchased 128GB RAM and a 2TB NVMe elsewhere and just put them in. Final cost was under £4k It's actually quite decent. I'm not sure I can upgrade the modem to 5G though.

That's what I'm going to do: replace DDR and NVMe myself to save a bit.

I am also keen on something between a NUC and mini-tower, that is small enough to carry, powerful enough to build heavy code bases. You do need find a display with keyboard etc to use them, which works for home and office and lab settings well. Or, just use it as a build machine connected to the network, headlessly(no need keyboard,mouse and display)

Re: Linux Developer Laptops: Dell's Precision 5500 series reigns supreme (2019)

#93

Post by csdvrx »

pjerem wrote: post #87
hughrr wrote: post #46

No. I have a 5550 which is I assume what the author is referring to. It’s garbage. Overheats constantly, the touchpad is dire, the screen has bad vignette around the edges, it’s noisy, the thing hard freezes when you plug it into a dock, the webcam only works 50% of the time you power it up and if you pick it up by the base it flexes so badly the touchpad clicks. The keyboard is also soggy as hell and the battery las…

I was going to write exactly this. I don’t know about Linux support since I have to use Windows on it but oh boy it is crap. The fans are always on whatever you do, the left part of the keyboard is frequently burning hot. Touchpad is mostly really good … when it works, because as soon as I wash my hands, it stops detecting anything. The audio part, at least on Windows, is pure random. USB docks randomly works and onc…

> I was going to write exactly this.

Same. I made the mistake of getting a Dell 2-in-1 without trying it first.

Whether on Windows or on Linux, it's a pain to use.

I found serious ACPI bugs (not just the kind that can be easily fixed with iasl) which made me conclude power management could not work reliably, whether on Windows or on Linux.

It's was usable at all on Windows 10 only thanks to Microsoft extremely careful approach: waking from suspend every now and then, checking the % of battery consumed, giving up on suspend and powering off should the hardware be caught lying about the power envelope while having been "sleeping".

No wonder why Dells risk catching fire if put in a backpack...

Re: Linux Developer Laptops: Dell's Precision 5500 series reigns supreme (2019)

#95

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

vladvasiliu wrote: post #58
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I read dmidecode correctly, I'm writing this on a laptop from 2013, which remains not only fully functional but which has high enough specs that I don't even see it struggling for quite some time. When I someday get another laptop, it's likely to be from eBay, and I would very much like to know what the best laptops were 3-5 years ago. Being from 2019 is important context, but it's not disqualifying.

I used to be the same, rocking a late 2013 MacBook Pro. I then bought a Radeon 5000 series and put it in and old PC I had lying around (Xeon E5-2667 v2, Q3'13 according to ark.intel.com). I was amazed at how well they kept up, and even how they were faster than my 2018-2019 work laptop (an 8th gen i5u-something) when comparing Rust build times. Then I got a new one with a Zen 3 (5650u) in December. Man, it feels sooo…

> Then I got a new one with a Zen 3 (5650u) in December. Man, it feels sooo smooth and snappy when compared to the older computers.

> However, this laptop is an absolute steaming PoS on multiple other aspects (chief amongst which a broken BIOS and absurdly bad screen), so I would absolutely not recommend it.

I think you meant to argue that new hardware can be good, but that's really not the conclusion I walked away with.

Re: Linux Developer Laptops: Dell's Precision 5500 series reigns supreme (2019)

#96

Post by Spooky23 »

hughrr wrote: post #46

No. I have a 5550 which is I assume what the author is referring to. It’s garbage. Overheats constantly, the touchpad is dire, the screen has bad vignette around the edges, it’s noisy, the thing hard freezes when you plug it into a dock, the webcam only works 50% of the time you power it up and if you pick it up by the base it flexes so badly the touchpad clicks. The keyboard is also soggy as hell and the battery las…

Dell universal docking is hot garbage, and they don’t really support it unless to pay for a higher tier.

I understand why people would rather not use Apple, but to me going through the drama of dealing with Linux laptops and shitty OEMs, I’d rather go with a pleasant MacOS experience and use separate Linux VMs if needed for builds.

Re: Linux Developer Laptops: Dell's Precision 5500 series reigns supreme (2019)

#97

Post by tadfisher »

augusto-moura wrote: post #26
ok_dad wrote: post #7

Maybe if you're considering the "major laptop manufacturers", but I prefer my System76 laptop any day, since it comes with Linux and they support it from the get-go. Also, they write a lot of nice software that makes the Linux ecosystem better; I love Pop_OS! and how I basically don't have to futz around with getting things to work but have the power of a Debian/Ubuntu variant so I can install other things easily. I…

I think the point is that most modern laptops don't offer good linux support (which are without a doubt have the best developer experience, aside from ~debatable~ macOS'es). Either they lack good driver support or need you to hack config files/kernel params. So yeah, I still type for "developer laptops" or "laptops with good linux support" when I'm searching new computers, and no, a basic off-the-shelf Dell Inspiron…

There are basically two requirements I have for Linux hardware: an Intel wireless card, and a non-Nvidia GPU. I haven't really been let down so far by sticking with only those two requirements, aside from some teething pains with Lenovo's AMD ThinkPads.

Re: Linux Developer Laptops: Dell's Precision 5500 series reigns supreme (2019)

#98

Post by ok_dad »

2ion wrote: post #70
ok_dad wrote: post #7

Maybe if you're considering the "major laptop manufacturers", but I prefer my System76 laptop any day, since it comes with Linux and they support it from the get-go. Also, they write a lot of nice software that makes the Linux ecosystem better; I love Pop_OS! and how I basically don't have to futz around with getting things to work but have the power of a Debian/Ubuntu variant so I can install other things easily. I…

What happens when such a niche manufacturer's hardware breaks down as a warranty case? I strongly prefer vendors or OEMs who have strong support. I am not terribly impressed by the overall quality of my current laptop by German reseller Schenker/XMG but they, as an alternative to the big enterprise suppliers like Dell or HP or Lenovo have a stepped up support game as well (it reflects in their relatively higher price…

> What happens when such a niche manufacturer's hardware breaks down as a warranty case?

My System76 laptop came with a year of warranty I think, and I never used it. I think there were 2 and 3 year extensions available when purchasing, but I never buy the warranty for anything. However, 3 years after I purchased it I emailed support for a software question and got a great response from them and they spent a good amount of back-and-forth (emails) time helping me diagnose the issue and resolving it, even outside of the service window. That's just my experience, YMMV.

Re: Linux Developer Laptops: Dell's Precision 5500 series reigns supreme (2019)

#99

Post by Ologn »

ok_dad wrote: post #7

Maybe if you're considering the "major laptop manufacturers", but I prefer my System76 laptop any day, since it comes with Linux and they support it from the get-go. Also, they write a lot of nice software that makes the Linux ecosystem better; I love Pop_OS! and how I basically don't have to futz around with getting things to work but have the power of a Debian/Ubuntu variant so I can install other things easily. I…

I got a System76 Serval WS laptop running Ubuntu 2 1/2 years ago and have been happy with it. I used it a lot pre-Covid when I was traveling more. It also updated well, although I always wait two months post-release before upgrading Ubuntu.

I bought a System76 Thelio desktop running Ubuntu in July, and I am typing on it now. I am very happy with it. One nice thing about it is I know the various parts of the system will have decent drivers for Linux. I did get an Nvidia 12 GB GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card with it - that is one area (Nvidia) where support could potentially be problematic, but I have had no problems thus far. The upgrade to Ubuntu 21.10 went smoothly. I also bought a 27" inch monitor with it, and working from home, it beats my old 19" inch monitor by a long shot, especially if I am doing git merges or something.

The first System76 laptop I bought was in 2014, and I have helped other people buy them, and I feel they have gotten better over time - the machines are better.

I like how much of the system is open, if I want to change something I can just drop down and do it - to the desktop layer, to the userspace level, to the kernel level. People have caveats, and I have run into them, but workplaces have had me run Windows or MacOS, and those systems have caveats as well. The ability to be able to look at the code and change it is something I like.

Re: Linux Developer Laptops: Dell's Precision 5500 series reigns supreme (2019)

#100

Post by christophilus »

gnfargbl wrote: post #82

I recently bought an LG Gram 17" for use as a Linux developer laptop. So far, I'm absolutely delighted with it: huge 2560x1600 screen, fast, silent, hardly weighs a thing, decent battery life, Thunderbolt 4 and everything works in Ubuntu 22.04, without special drivers. Definitely worth a look.

I can’t do an off-center keyboard. I wish there was a Linux laptop with really good build quality and a centered keyboard. For now, my crummy old XPS will do.
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