Recommended Laptop?

Message

tomk · Post by **tomk** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:23 am

Merged from [post=6562883]here[/post].

wraak · Post by **wraak** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:13 am

relatively new to gentoo, altough i have used other distros in the past, even configured gentoo like 3 times to the point of the kernel manual configuration. because i use windows so much at work i was forced to give up on finishing my manual configuration.

I currently have a W500 laptop that has the switchable graphics Intel and ATI FireGL V5700
lspci result below shows the intel graphics card, set to "integrated" in bios.

haat@liefde:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Memory Controller Hub (rev 07)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 07)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 07)
00:03.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset MEI Controller (rev 07)
00:03.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset PT IDER Controller (rev 07)
00:03.3 Serial controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset AMT SOL Redirection (rev 07)
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82567LM Gigabit Network Connection (rev 03)
00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 03)
00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03)
00:1a.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6 (rev 03)
00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 03)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 03)
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 5 (rev 03)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 93)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation ICH9M-E LPC Interface Controller (rev 03)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation ICH9M/M-E SATA AHCI Controller (rev 03)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03)
03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 5350 AGN [Echo Peak] Network Connection
15:00.0 CardBus bridge: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c476 II (rev ba)
15:00.1 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C832 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 04)
15:00.2 SD Host controller: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C822 SD/SDIO/MMC/MS/MSPro Host Adapter (rev 21)
15:00.4 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd R5C592 Memory Stick Bus Host Adapter (rev 11)
15:00.5 System peripheral: Ricoh Co Ltd xD-Picture Card Controller (rev 11)

my question was, is there support for the firegl v5700 in gentoo? I'm currently using ubuntu netbook i386 10.10 and after spending hours in forums to find a way to make it work, the fglxr drivers see my firegl as a radeon 3650. therefor the desktop is very glitchy, freezes a lot, unusable. I eventually made the xorg system work just fine with the intel graphics by switching the bios settings on my w500 to "integrated" instead of "discrete" or "switchable". However the intel video cannot properly handle more intensive graphics, and obviously like to use the firegl v5700 for this reason.

I have the following options of laptops to use for gentoo: lenovo t60p, t61p, x201 (core i7, intel hd graphics), t400, t410, w500. I prefer using the W500 if anyone can confirm the ability to use "discrete" firegl v5700 graphics. Not a big fan of the t400 or t410, i heard people made that work, and obiously love the t61p t60p and w500 for the 1920x1200 resolution screens.

Was wondering if anyone succesfully made the w500 work with firegl v5700 and would be able to provide amd64 kernel configuration file for either of these models.

Thank you.

dE_logics · Post by **dE_logics** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 4:43 pm

Many of you might not have known, but I suggest keeping away from optimus and that hybrid graphs of AMD.

Letharion · Post by **Letharion** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:02 pm

dE_logics wrote:Many of you might not have known, but I suggest keeping away from optimus and that hybrid graphs of AMD.

I'd be very interested in why you don't recommend AMDs hybrid approach? It's seems to me like it's a FOSS friendly project with regard to drivers?

likewhoa · Post by **likewhoa** » Wed Mar 23, 2011 3:25 pm

I like laptops from avadirect.com

lkraav · Post by **lkraav** » Fri May 27, 2011 10:18 am

Couple more criterias apply:

* No Apple tax (drops MBA)
* Windows tax optional, since it's lot less than Apple's, but would still like to know is there any *good* barebone high class hardware out there
* thickness, looks rival something like DELL V13
* looking for 5+hr coding battery life. low thickness is usually the main thing that kills this, as is the case with DELL v13x.
* as good as possible recent kernel drivers compatibility. it probably doesnt make much sense to ask "best gentoo compatibility here".

Have you come across any such beasts? Let us all know please!

Veldrin · Post by **Veldrin** » Fri May 27, 2011 11:32 am

Depending on budget, you might have a look at Lenovo Thinkpads.
My personal favorite is the X220, but depending on the config rather expensive. (I will buy one, but my config seems to be currently unavailable)
An alternative would be the X1, but it is not sure when it will be available.
The only downside, is the low res screen (1366x768).

Plus, Lenovo Thinkpads is greatly supported by Linux. (I my experience, it just works.)

Just my .02$
V.

lkraav · Post by **lkraav** » Fri May 27, 2011 12:03 pm

thanks.

I'll just note here that I'm currently on Acer Travelmate 8172. been gentooing (2.6.38.x-zen+) on the 8172 for about 2 months now. overall a decent experience, but not without a couple of annoyances.

there are some issues with recent acer-wmi (https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=34682 and couple related bugs), and this includes screwing with being able to enable bluetooth in a sane way.

another issue is that the cpu fan seems to switch on earlier than i'd like, i'm not sure if win7 was any better. feels like it was as i killed off win7, i don't have a good way to test it. when the machine is completely quiet, which it is at all temperatures below 45C, im liking it quite a bit. but as soon as temp jumps even just a little bit over 45, fan starts blowing and its ruining my experience. thermal module gives some crap info:

Code: Select all

Apr 12 11:33:10 localhost kernel: [    1.045349] thermal LNXTHERM:00: registered as thermal_zone0
Apr 12 11:33:10 localhost kernel: [    1.045353] ACPI: Thermal Zone [TZ00] (7 C)
Apr 12 11:33:10 localhost kernel: [    1.045524] PM: Adding info for No Bus:thermal_zone1
Apr 12 11:33:10 localhost kernel: [    1.045624] thermal LNXTHERM:01: registered as thermal_zone1
Apr 12 11:33:10 localhost kernel: [    1.045628] ACPI: Thermal Zone [TZ01] (6 C)

what the 7C and 6C temperatures stand for, i have no idea. only coretemp gets the correct CPU temperatures. that reminds me, i should file a bug on bko about that too.

haven't figured out a way to do better throttling yet, or modifying trip points in DSDT. tips welcome if there are any linux hackers out there.

but i *think* i want something that is a sleeker look and a bit larger screen.

Hypnos · Post by **Hypnos** » Fri May 27, 2011 12:03 pm

I've always been intrigued by the rather affordable System76 Lemur. Since its components are chosen explicitly for Linux compatibility, it should work flawlessly with Gentoo. It's a bit thicker than the Vostro V130, but it weighs the same and has an extended battery option.

The glossy screen and lack of a trackpoint make it a non-starter for me, but I can imagine it making someone else quite happy ...

lkraav · Post by **lkraav** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 6:11 am

i've looked into the lemur and looks like both battery options are pretty abysmal.

samsung series 9 might be a competitor here, aside from the price.

lkraav · Post by **lkraav** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:43 pm

ahh, i started a new thread at https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-p-6701279.html perhaps it can be merged here as well.

either way, went to see the samsung series 9 at samsung showroom yesterday and man, they are tastyyyyy. here's ubuntu thread for it: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1737086

tomk · Post by **tomk** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 1:40 pm

lkraav wrote:ahh, i started a new thread at https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-p-6701279.html perhaps it can be merged here as well.

Merged from [post=6701213]here[/post].

Hypnos · Post by **Hypnos** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:01 pm

lkraav wrote:either way, went to see the samsung series 9 at samsung showroom yesterday and man, they are tastyyyyy. here's ubuntu thread for it: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1737086

I've never played with one in person, but I've read the following which makes it a turn off for me as a business user:

1) Great display quality, but low-res and glossy

2) Need extra dongles for Ethernet and presentation video

3) Ports covered by doors

4) Poor WiFi performance due to case design.

5) And, of course, I'm hooked on trackpoints, so I could never go back to a touchpad-only machine.

If you are cool with these limitations, seems like a good option (make sure to get one with Intel WiFi, not Broadcom).

lkraav · Post by **lkraav** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:24 pm

Microsoft Store had the Series 9 for $999 - 25% in-store coupon until beg. of Jan, so for $750 I thought I'd jump on one of those finally. Waiting for it to ship overseas now.

Either way, there's a whole bunch of Ultrabooks also arriving. Anybody here got one? How's the hardware compatibility and stuff?

HeXiLeD · Post by **HeXiLeD** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 9:34 pm

I ended up by buying 2 Asus eeepc 1015ped/pe Seashell

All well supported and i am quite happy.
Details here on the wiki.

Topic SOLVED for me.

lkraav · Post by **lkraav** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 10:08 pm

I'm having a good ol time with the S9 as well. Great looks and great experience so far. I'd like to put a piece of some good looking Gentoo branding on it. Those who know, know. Others will just crawl back to iGarden.

invasivenorman · Post by **invasivenorman** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 6:06 pm

I don't really feel like reading the whole thread, but we picked up the Lenovo x120e (with the amd e350) for right around $280. It has pretty good battery life (seems like about 4.5 to 5 hours of work), isn't too big for my wife to lug around, & once we stuff 8G RAM in it'll be just about peachy for the next 3-4 years.

The downsides are the screen resolution & the touchpad (but it does have 3 buttons, so there's that).

Recommended Laptop?

gentoo on t60p t61p x201 t400 t410 w500

Recommendations wanted for slim, light 11-13" PC laptop

Downside: I wasn't paid to write this.