Recommended Laptop?

Message

defenderBG · Post by **defenderBG** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:20 pm

take a look at this website: http://tuxmobil.org/mylaptops.html
you can look at alot of users submiting their expirience with installing linux on different laptops and make your decision.

alex.blackbit · Post by **alex.blackbit** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:33 pm

thinkpad++

szczerb · Post by **szczerb** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:36 pm

oh, I'd love a thinkpad (but am quite happy with my Lenovo 3000 N200).

d2_racing · Post by **d2_racing** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 10:06 pm

Thinkpad

efagerho · Post by **efagerho** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 10:14 pm

defenderBG wrote:take a look at this website: http://tuxmobil.org/mylaptops.html
you can look at alot of users submiting their expirience with installing linux on different laptops and make your decision.

Yeah, I know the site, but it is pretty useless for one simple reason: there's no submission date for the reviews. You can only check how a laptop is supported after you've found it on a manufacturer's website. Most of the laptops are pretty antique too... It would be great if you could just check the newest submissions, so that you would get a picture of the new hardware on the market and make a decision based on the reviews.

I am just trying to avoid the usual month of planning when buying a laptop, so I was kind of hoping that someone has recently bought a laptop in the $1500-2000 range and gone through the process.

nixnut · Post by **nixnut** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:11 pm

merged above eight posts here

micro_mx · Post by **micro_mx** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:21 pm

I have a HP Compaq 6710b, and everything is working fine :]
but now I want a netbook

hook · Post by **hook** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:19 pm

I used to have an Acer (finally died on me two weeks ago), but I wouldn't really recomend it. Currently I'm looking at a Lenovo ThinkPad.

I don't know if it was mentioned before, but nowadays ThinkPads are certified to work with Linux: see Lenovo Think Linux page. There's also the unofficial ThinkWiki.

I'm currently using my dad's ThinkPad (yay!) on WinXP (meh

) until I can get my own, and I have to say what they say about the quality of the build and the keyboard seems by no means exagerated! It feels really sturdy; the keyboard is the best I've tested so far (e.g. Dell EliteBook's keyboard is awful!), when you get past the fact that Esc and Fn buttons are elswhere then what you're usually used to; all of them have a matt screen; and usually come with a lot of nifty extras (e.g. light for the keyboard, UltraBay so you can exchange your DVD drive for an extra battery etc. on the fly). If I'll really be able to get that T500 next month, I'll hug it and be giddy as a girl!

*ekhrm* Yeah, just my 0.14 € ...

lizardbrain · Post by **lizardbrain** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 3:58 pm

Anyone have experience installing/running Gentoo on a Thinkpad T200?

I need a laptop for a road trip in a couple of months and my old 600X is no longer able to meet my needs, but I sure do like the Thinkpads. Nice price on the T200 on eBay. I know it'll run Ubuntu, but I've been spoiled by Gentoo. Any issues I should be aware of?

Thanx in advance.

lizardbrain · Post by **lizardbrain** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 7:26 pm

Dangit! Sorry, I meant Thinkpad T400.

JeliJami · Post by **JeliJami** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:08 am

A good resource for Linux installations on ThinkPads is www.thinkwiki.org.
If another Linux distribution runs fine on a model, Gentoo will too.

lizardbrain · Post by **lizardbrain** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:41 am

Thanx, JeliJami. Looks like an informative site. I've just skimmed it so far; I'll delve into it more deeply when I get home this afternoon.

huckabuck · Post by **huckabuck** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 11:10 am

If you're in the US, or better yet in NYC , you could also shop online here,

http://www.jr.com/category/computers/no ... d-tablets/

and pick up a refurbed thinkpad dirt cheap. They always have T42 and T43 models in stock. Plus all the newer lenovo models. I've picked up a T30 and a T43 from them myself.

lizardbrain · Post by **lizardbrain** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:30 pm

An abundance of assistance!

I checked out the ThinkWiki site and found a link there to the Lenovo Outlet Store, which sells refurbished units. And I stopped by the J&R site, too; looks like they have some interesting deals. Between the two of them, I think my situation may be resolved.

Thanx to you, too, huckabuck.

AaronPPC · Post by **AaronPPC** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 7:12 pm

I'm looking at the Lenovo outlet store now and the prices are very attractive. Can I really trust refurbished hardware?

lizardbrain · Post by **lizardbrain** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:57 pm

Apparently you can buy new and "redistributed" laptops there as well. I just bought a new Thinkpad W500 from the Lenovo Surplus Outlet for a very nice price.

Their shipping leaves something to be desired, though. I'll be lucky to receive the laptop in time to install Gentoo on it before my October trip. I'm spoiled by Newegg's outstanding shipping.

lizardbrain · Post by **lizardbrain** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:04 pm

Also... It took them four days (2 business days) to send a confirmatory email. So expect to be left in suspense for awhile.

Still... Nice price.

cwc · Post by **cwc** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:47 am

I'd like to purchase another used laptop and I'l like some feedback from the Gentoo community to what laptop has worked well for you.

I'm in the middle of and install I started on August 21 on a Dell Inspiron 8000.
512 megs of ram and a 80 gig HD. And I'm happy with this set up. tma ~ # uname -a
Linux tma 2.6.30-gentoo-r6 #1 PREEMPT Thu Oct 1 22:01:39 PDT 2009 i686 Pentium III (Coppermine) GenuineIntel GNU/Linux works well and was a big upgrade from my install starting in March.

I'm looking for a machine that I can wirte code on (java, gcc, python, php w/ mysql and jdbc).
I will also run avrdude and avr-gcc to work with Atmel chips.
I will run Apache and Tomcat locally to test on.

I would also like to have a serial and parralel port on board or a USB adapter.

Code: Select all

tma ~ # lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82815 815 Chipset Host Bridge and Memory Controller Hub (rev 02)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82815 815 Chipset AGP Bridge (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 02)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801BAM ISA Bridge (LPC) (rev 02)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801BAM IDE U100 Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801BA/BAM USB Controller #1 (rev 02)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Rage Mobility M4 AGP
02:03.0 Multimedia audio controller: ESS Technology ES1983S Maestro-3i PCI Audio Accelerator (rev 10)
02:06.0 PCI bridge: Actiontec Electronics Inc Mini-PCI bridge (rev 11)
02:0f.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI4451 PC card Cardbus Controller
02:0f.1 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCI4451 PC card Cardbus Controller
02:0f.2 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments PCI4451 IEEE-1394 Controller
08:04.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82557/8/9/0/1 Ethernet Pro 100 (rev 08)
08:08.0 Communication controller: Agere Systems WinModem 56k (rev 01)
09:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR5212/AR5213 Multiprotocol MAC/baseband processor (rev 01)
tma ~ #

Thanks Gentoo developers!

Jaglover · Post by **Jaglover** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:06 pm

IBM used to be the brand to beat. An used Thinkpad well serve you long.

yngwin · Post by **yngwin** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:25 pm

Thinkpads have a good reputation, both in quality as well as linux compatibility. I bought a new SL500 a few months back and am absolutely happy with it!

Jaglover · Post by **Jaglover** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:56 pm

I bought a new SL500 a few months back ...

Lucky you.

I tried to buy a new Thinkpad some time ago and couldn't figure out where to get it from without Microsoft tax. Lenovo didn't consider me worth an answer ...

tylerwylie · Post by **tylerwylie** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 1:08 pm

Jaglover wrote:
I bought a new SL500 a few months back ...
Lucky you. I tried to buy a new Thinkpad some time ago and couldn't figure out where to get it from without Microsoft tax. Lenovo didn't consider me worth an answer ...

If that's what's keeping you from buying it, then good luck on a better laptop at a better price man.

Kasumi_Ninja · Post by **Kasumi_Ninja** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:28 pm

I suggest a Asus laptop, they are Linux friendly and come with a 2 year warranty. You can buy a new Asus with good specs for 500-600 euro.

d2_racing · Post by **d2_racing** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 9:02 pm

I have a Thinkpad T60P,T60,T61 and T500 at work and they are running Gentoo.

cwc · Post by **cwc** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:55 pm

This was a bit of a surprise. I thought I would get a few Toshiba hits. I 've got a T61 running XP (for work) and I like it.
We had trouble with the T41s and the VGA out. But other than the VGA problem they are good laptops. I might try Gentoo on a work computer.
I'm going to start shopping around.

Thanks for the advice.
CWC

Recommended Laptop?

What laptop works well with Gentoo?

Wow!