Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

wesmckinney.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 188 posts

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

#161

Post by trelane »

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…

System76 actually _does_ have good Linux kit. They work hard to make sure it actually works (usually in the firmware), they don't just slap Linux on some white box odm and ship it.

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

#162

Post by trelane »

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…

I've had fantastic existence with System76 support, with caveats:

0. They are Colorado business hours

1. They don't send someone to your location to fix stuff.

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

#164

Post by trelane »

stingraycharles wrote: post #5

Missing [2019] in the title. I’m in the market for buying a laptop this year. What is the currently reigning developer laptop?

If you want hardware that actually works with Linux, System76 all the way.

Which one you chose is a matter of taste, preferences, and finances.

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

#165

Post by alexeiz »

thecrumb wrote: post #64

I'm tired of the 'thinner is better' progress of laptops. As a developer I want ports, I want more cooling so the fans don't run all the time. I want a laptop I can actually place on my lap without getting burned LOL. I love my old T420. Currently have P15 from work. Horrible layout because they crammed in a numpad so now the trackpad is offset to the left. If I had to buy a laptop myself I'd lean either to System76…

Take a look at T14. It's the progression of the T4xx line. Lot's of ports. Good performance. Good Linux support. Still fairly upgradable.

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

#166

Post by alexeiz »

TremendousJudge wrote: post #35
stingraycharles wrote: post #5

Missing [2019] in the title. I’m in the market for buying a laptop this year. What is the currently reigning developer laptop?

I think it depends on your needs, really. When I bought a laptop in December of last year, I narrowed my options down to a Dell XPS 15 and a Thinkpad T15 (both with the Intel CPUs, although AMD seemed to perform better on benchmarks, Dell doesn't even ship with them and the Thinkpad with AMD wasn't available in my region). I didn't consider System76 much because I need Windows support, and sadly couldn't go for a fra…

> still it set me back almost 2 grand, so not an easy choice.

You can't just buy a laptop from Lenovo when you want it. You have to wait for the right time.

I'm still trying to figure out Lenovo pricing in the US. Without any discount their laptops are way to expensive compared to the competition. But then, they do these massive random 50%+ discounts and make their laptops priced less than anything else on the market. The question is why would they do that? It's as if they want to dump some old stock. But the laptops they discount are not old, they are top of the line.

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

#167

Post by throw872291 »

This is the year of 16:10 screen ratio laptops. Also 16 inch laptop screens. Because of Apple's latest macbooks maybe.

Excited about upcoming HP Elitebook 805 G9 series with AMD chips. Not sure about Linux support - maybe fedora and it's spins work fine.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/CES-2022-HP-announces-the-Elit...

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

#168

Post by Shadonototra »

krzyk wrote: post #137
Shadonototra wrote: post #29

i find it very hard to suggest an intel/amd laptop nowadays now that M1 macbooks exist.. M1 is a league on its own, everything else is just tech junk at this point

Does it run Linux?

it doesn't matter, it has a native unix environment

i live in the terminal most of the time for my dev tasks, i even have a tilling window manager

for everything else, i am glad macOS exists, applications are great, i get to use iOS apps too and everything is consistent and snappy, it stays cool, quiet, it never throttle on battery, things compiler super quick, and battery lasts super long

laptop? apple won, i wouldn't put anything else on the podium

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

#169

Post by throw872291 »

sireat wrote: post #148

My maximum spec Lenovo P1 Gen 1 that I have been using for the last 3 years has been really underwhelming. It feels just very average. No premium feel whatsoever. XPS13 by comparison feels a bit more premium. Most damning, out of the two M2 SSD drives in Lenovo P1, the main one was some no name Chinese make that failed without a warning after a year. For a premium model that is just unacceptable. Secondary drive is a…

To be fair, shouldn't the Intel 12th gen laptop processors be compared to these upcoming AMD models?:

AMD Ryzen 5 6600U

AMD Ryzen 7 6800U

Both are Zen 3+ with RDNA 2.

For laptops, add upcoming HP Elitebook 8xx G9 series (has Intel and AMD) to your list to check out. No idea whether it's good.

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

#170

Post by throw872291 »

vernie wrote: post #136

Pfft MacBook? This 12 year old ThinkPad is great, you gotta believe me!

He doesn't pfft anything, that much is clear from the very first 2 paragraphs. Also this is from 2019, before M1. Next time, at least read a bit of the article.
Post reply on HN