Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics • Hacker News Board

Re: Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics

#151

Post by mcguire » Tue, Mar 16, 2021, 5:38 PM UTC

bluGill wrote: post #70

encryptluks2 wrote: post #57

I don't understand the appeal for System76. It seems grossly overpriced. Is it simply because they install Linux for you? You can find the same processor with much better specs for cheaper on Amazon or Costco.

With system 76 you get not just the processor, but also the other parts. You know System 76 didn't change network interfaces to something new with no linux drivers mid stream. Or Wifi, USB chipset, some BIOS, or one of the many other non-processor parts that manufacture change all the time. If there are drivers the substitution doesn't matter to anyone, but often there are no linux drivers for 3-6 months (best case -…

Pro-tip from an ex-university sysadmin: beware getting consumer-grade machines, and never, ever, get them if you are buying in bulk. The specs will probably all be similar, but the individual parts will be whatever was in the bin when the chassis came down the line, which means whatever was cheapest that day. Even if you get lucky and have drivers for everything, supporting 10 machines with 10 different configurations is 10 times harder than supporting hundreds of machines with one configuration.

Re: Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics

#152

Post by unknown2374 » Tue, Mar 16, 2021, 5:38 PM UTC

isoos wrote: post #143

Fergusonb wrote: post #86

I can't speak to the 4700u or the pangolin specifically, but I can offer this perspective on PopOS/AMD: I've been using System76's PopOS with my Asus Zephyrus G14 (4800hs) as a daily driver and I really like it. (freelance/web) The battery life is comparable to Windows (on integrated graphics mode, it has graphics switching available)at 7-10 hours with 70% brightness and balanced power settings using VScode and firef…

I was considering to buy a G14, but got distracted with other stuff. Can you please share a few details on how you use it? - What kind of external webcam do you use? Does it have any problem with any video-conferencing software? - Do you access any streaming service (with DRM)? Any issues? - Any issues with drivers, returning from sleep/hybernation? Thanks!

I had a G14 that I ended up returning. for points 2 and 3, I had no issues at all in the few months I used it.

A side note: the build quality was extremely disappointing, coming from an XPS 13.

Re: Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics

#153

Post by vetinari » Tue, Mar 16, 2021, 5:39 PM UTC

opan wrote: post #21

bluedino wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not such a big deal because highdpi is finnicky in Linux in 2021 (as long as it is a high-quality panel). Lenovo has shipped some atrocious 1080 panels in the past.

Works well on Wayland from what I've heard.

Works great, if you happen to have resolution that is usable with integer scaling.

If you need fractional scaling, only native Wayland applications work well. X11 applications are going to be upscaled and look blurry. Today, Chrome, all Electron apps, Jetbrains tools still do not support Wayland, though at least for Chrome/Electron the support is on the way.

Re: Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics

#154

Post by astorgard » Tue, Mar 16, 2021, 5:39 PM UTC

pengaru wrote: post #132

astorgard wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm on the same boat as you: my ideal laptop would be an x220/x230 on the outside with a 1440p display and a modern CPU on the inside. I can't understand why Thinkpads are moving away from this absolutely perfect design in the name of... slickness? Why are laptops with a minimal (or non-existing) touchpad so difficult to find? Once you start using the trackpoint your wrists feel incredibly relaxed at all times. Why d…

The X220 is nowhere near an "absolutely perfect" design, it's way too wide. I still use one as my daily driver, but come on. The screen bezels are huge, the keyboard stretched to fill its wide footprint, and the power plug juts out the back where it gets stressed against the floor in any cross-legged, or other tilted back usage setting. The X61s was far closer to an absolutely perfect design, it just needed less plas…

You are completely right. The X61s is a better design (I happen to own one too!), I completely forgot about it as, due to its much slower CPU, I must have put it away somewhere in the attic many years ago :)

Re: Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics

#155

Post by numpad0 » Tue, Mar 16, 2021, 5:40 PM UTC

astorgard wrote: post #74

Happpy wrote: post #27

I'd love to replace my thinkpad. But I need/want things that seem unavailable. * trackpoint + buttons (can be without touchpad, disabled anyway) * full keyboard * strong durable * removable battery * 4k screen * ecc 64-128gb * rj45 * lots of ports * hardware switches to disable: networking, camera, mic,.. Thinkpad's are move farther away each year. I hope some company will fill the gap.

I'm on the same boat as you: my ideal laptop would be an x220/x230 on the outside with a 1440p display and a modern CPU on the inside. I can't understand why Thinkpads are moving away from this absolutely perfect design in the name of... slickness? Why are laptops with a minimal (or non-existing) touchpad so difficult to find? Once you start using the trackpoint your wrists feel incredibly relaxed at all times. Why d…

Likelihood of people actually using products they buy is overestimated, I think.

Lots of games on Steam has achievements for extremely simple tasks, such as launching the game for the first time or playing it for five minutes, and popularity of those is typically around 82.5% and 75% respectively among audiences for most popular titles.

IOW, 17.5% of PC game enthusiasts pay for a game and immediately put it on a shelf and don’t even double click on the icon. 25% reaches past the loading screen. Of all purchasers, maybe 10% reaches the final boss or end of the storyline. Potentially less.

A person who has issues with a mainstream laptop for its lack of an Ethernet port few years into ownership, who knows how many of those exist in the whole world?

Re: Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics

#156

Post by samstave » Tue, Mar 16, 2021, 5:43 PM UTC

robotbikes wrote: post #106

samstave wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have owned multiple S76 machines - the machine was built by Clio? The guts were good, but the case was chintsy. I had four of these laptops - and on ALL 4 they would have screws come loose and fall out inside the case. You could hear it rattling around when you turned the machine. Two of them had one type of connector for the screen and the other two had a different connector - One got fried and on the other I brok…

I had good experiences with System76 support. I've bought 2 laptops off of eBay and had no problem getting support even though I wasn't the original owner since the original owner bought the 2 year support package. If I had a loose screw I would have removed the case and found it. They're reasonably able to diy and your warrant isn't voided just because you replaced the RAM. Apple support has gotten horrible based up…

I opened them up. I spoke to S76 support and they charged me $9 for a new screw kit...

I am quite familiar with breaking down/working on all types of machines...

they had lock-tight paint on the screws, which didnt work.

and the sad thing was that the connector type between the two broken machines had changed, even though they were the same model "Gazelle" - they are also a super pain in the ass to work on. The screen connector requires you to basically dismantle the entire machine...

Obviously this machine was a white-label Clio machine, and S76 has more recently started designing their own machines (supposedly - so I dont know how much of that design is in-house vs them spec'ing things out to other design services...

Re: Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics

#157

Post by Karunamon » Tue, Mar 16, 2021, 5:43 PM UTC

dkersten wrote: post #85

mattl wrote: post #8

I like my System76 desktop but I've had plenty of issues with their laptops, and I really dislike a numpad on a laptop.

> I really dislike a numpad on a laptop. Was going to say the same. Also, I will not buy a 1080p laptop. We're in 2021, give me 4K or at least 1440p or I'm not interested. I also personally prefer 13" laptops for travel convenience. (Not that its a concern right now , but I assume one day it will be again!)

I question whether 4K on the average laptop screen size is worth the added load on the GPU (and so, lowered everyday performance and battery longevity). On big screens, sure, but at 13 inches? At that point you're stretching the limits of perceptibility, and given the other compromises you're already making to have a laptop instead of a desktop, it seems like a doubly silly one to add.

Re: Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics

#158

Post by tjoff » Tue, Mar 16, 2021, 5:45 PM UTC

aendruk wrote: post #97

tjoff wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems more sensible to me to base everything off of usb-c instead.

Thunderbolt uses USB-C since ~2015.

Point still stands.

Re: Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics

#159

Post by bbpp » Tue, Mar 16, 2021, 5:45 PM UTC

stakkur wrote: post #133

I really like System76, and what they're trying to do. But their mediocre laptop keyboards are always the deal breaker for me--it's the chief human interface, and the one component I don't want to compromise on.

I have a Darter Pro 2019 and I also have two ThinkPads (T490 and W510) and I can say the Darter Pro is not half bad. The layout is "different" but not bad once you get used to it. The feel is pretty good. Not as good as the W510 but comparable to the T490. Even the trackpad on the Darter Pro is smooth.

I agree with the overall sentiment though that it's time for a premium-designer-made-for-linux-laptop!

Re: Pangolin – Mobile AMD laptop with Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics

#160

Post by shmerl » Tue, Mar 16, 2021, 5:46 PM UTC

jandrese wrote: post #108

shmerl wrote: post #77

> Video Ports HDMI(w/HDCP) Would be really nice to use a proper modern DP instead of antiquated HDMI for this. Is it using Coreboot by the way?

HDMI is less hassle. Everything comes with a HDMI port these days, but a DP port is still more of a proper full Computer Monitor(tm) feature. My work just installed a whole bunch of projectors that have HDMI and VGA as input options. I have no idea where they found them. Of course sometimes the HDMI fails due to DRM nonsense, so that's also an issue.

I think HDMI only exists because HDMI cartel keeps pushing it for patents profits. There is no real need for it because DP is much better. But since they make HDMI only equipment, we are still stuck with it.

And personally, I had a lot of problems with HDMI in the past. Unlike with DP.