We Need a Better PC • Hacker News Board

Re: We Need a Better PC

#91

Post by pmarreck » Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 4:25 AM UTC

viraptor wrote: post #66

> They display low ratings for their own products on their own website. What. How is this a complaint? I'd love other companies to post both good and bad reviews without filtering. > Except that page is deceptive, because that's actually the old X1 Carbon Don't know about other locations, but here the X1 got a really nice discount once the 2016 model got announced. (also visible in the screenshot) I got it and I'm re…

Nothing says "my company shoots for Mediocre" more than featuring your own 3/5 star products on your own landing page

Call me crazy but this is why Apple is even a thing

Re: We Need a Better PC

#92

Post by protomyth » Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 4:26 AM UTC

codebook wrote: post #84

vardump wrote: post #19

My dream laptop: 1) No malware/spyware tainted brand. 2) At least 32 GB ECC RAM, 16 GB is so 2010. ECC, because memory errors do happen and cause instability. 64 GB option wouldn't hurt either. 3) HiDPI (retina) display (IPS or equivalent) 4) Fast PCI-e attached SSD. 5) Ability to run two 4k monitors @60 Hz. 6) Stable USB3 ports (My 2015 RMBP keeps resetting USB3 ports, making it nearly impossible to run VMs on USB3…

2) ECC , IMHO, is useless on personal laptop. Error rate is quite low that "opportunity cost" is too high. Except that, MBPr is proper solution. So, let's hope Apple to solve your USB3 port issue. (you can report, by the way)

Next laptop I get for hacking will probably be FreeBSD[1] and I'll be running ZFS so ECC would be a bonus. I understand the debate, but ECC should be standard given how much memory we are putting in these things.

1) well, PC-BSD most probably. I am more an OpenBSD person so I might still go that route.

Re: We Need a Better PC

#93

Post by martey » Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 4:27 AM UTC

superobserver wrote: post #80

Why not by a Chromebook Pixel (2015)? Seriously.

I think if Google decided to sell the Chromebook Pixel (2015) with Linux instead of ChromeOS, OP, I, and a horde of other developers would all buy it.

In reality, it doesn't seem very easy to install Linux on the 2015 Pixel or any other Chromebook without either remembering to press Ctrl+D on each boot or by going through a significant set of hoops.

Re: We Need a Better PC

#94

Post by theyCallMeSwift » Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 4:30 AM UTC

Check out the Dell Developer Edition XPS. It comes with Ubuntu on it and has 100% full driver support out of the box. It's a great machine, we use them for work. Screen is great too and it looks really beautiful. https://sputnik.github.io/

Re: We Need a Better PC

#95

Post by will_hughes » Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 4:34 AM UTC

I've got an aging Asus Zenbook UX31A ultrabook which is amazingly thin and light, and still pretty decently fast. There was also very little crapware on it (was originally a Win7 machine with Win8 and then Win10 free upgrades).

My one complaint is that the (small, light) power bricks are apparently made of unobtainium. They're near impossible to find, and the ones you can are extraordinarily expensive.

Given my hate for proprietary power adapters - I'm holding out for a USB-C powered replacement.

Asus doesn't appear to be offering anything, but Razer's Blade Stealth[1] looks like it could be a great option.

[1] http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-blade-stealth

Re: We Need a Better PC

#96

Post by rasz_pl » Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 4:36 AM UTC

jolux wrote: post #7

Honestly if you get a Mac you can install rEFInd on it and boot Linux just fine, or run Linux in a VM. The hardware also almost never breaks and especially if you have AppleCare they frequently replace it for free. Yes, it may be difficult to upgrade yourself. That's entirely true and if it's a deal breaker there's not much else around. You might do well to look at https://puri.sm if you're a Linux user, they seem to…

never brake? :))) Apple hardware is build to fail, 35 years and they still make computers like we are living on Arrakis and moisture doesnt exist.

Re: We Need a Better PC

#97

Post by Ifhax » Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 4:37 AM UTC

You should get a dell latitude--woot periodically has excellent deals on "last-year's models", brand-new with 3 years warranty. They are reliable, modifiable, and get excellent battery life. They come pre-installed with Windows Professional, with minimal bloatware--but forget about it. Scrub off the Windoze crap, install Linux, and you will have an awesome little machine.

Re: We Need a Better PC

#98

Post by hmartiniano » Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 4:37 AM UTC

dpc_pw wrote: post #74

I'm very happy with my Asus UX305F. I have Linux installed, everything except brightness keys works perfectly. Great build quality, mate screen, battery lasts very long. And it was cheaper than most of what people mention here. For CPU intense task, I just use my desktop.

I also own one and can second all you say about it. The only problem is the lack of a backlit keyboard, which might be a show stopper for some people. Other than that it's a very good machine, at a very good price and installing Linux (at least ubuntu, from my experience) is absolutely painless.

Re: We Need a Better PC

#99

Post by nerdy » Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 4:37 AM UTC

I went through the same thought process in December, never owned an Apple computer but needed a new laptop. Despite trying to fend off the idea of getting a Macbook (due to some combination of price/not wanting to succumb to herd mentality/proprietary nature of Apple) I caved.

It felt silly to spend a lot of time researching and configuring a custom laptop. I've never purchased a pre-built desktop but customizing a laptop seemed too poor a risk/reward proposition for my liking. Even with a great deal of effort it would be difficult to create something comparable to what I could simply purchase.

Apple's hardware is easy to appreciate down to small details. You can open the lid without holding the other half of the laptop (my previous laptop would lift up otherwise) and the screen isn't too loose either (doesn't bounce when you type hard). The speakers sound orders better than any of my previous laptops. Battery life is great. Retina is beautiful & responsive (easy to read text, even while scrolling). The trackpad is unbelievable for a variety of reasons (click anywhere, accuracy to the very edge of the pad, multitouch/gestures). I hadn't previously seen any trackpad worth using let alone nearly as good as a standard mouse, but haven't ever needed to connect a mouse to this one. It's just a great overall experience.

There have been a couple software glitches that required a restart to fix, but other than that and the temps (~90°C) it reaches under load it has been a pleasure (@ 2 months of heavy use). Figuring out OSX took a week or two.

I don't envy anyone who tries to save money while achieving a similar experience.

Re: We Need a Better PC

#100

Post by analog31 » Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 4:40 AM UTC

mingabunga wrote: post #44

I've always found ASUS laptops well built, great screens and very reliable. Their Zen books are nice.

I'm quite happy with my Asus X200M. It's compact, lightweight, and was pretty cheap, though I think it's discontinued now. It's small enough to stuff into a bag, in my bike basket, and cheap enough that I don't worry too much about damaging it.

I try to be platform-independent as much as possible. My "operating system" is Jupyter/Python. Knowing that I could switch to Ubuntu in a jiffy makes Windows seem much less annoying.