Laptop Suggestions

[phosphide]

Need suggestions for a laptop, looks like mine may have crapped tonight. (I'm not buying a Mac or Chromebook so don't try it and Lenovo is out - who knows what other spyware they have installed) Difficult choices right now as I would rather wait until Windows 10 is released if I go that route. What I'm really interested in is something like these though:

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd
https://system76.com/laptops/lemur

The XPS looks sick as hell and built for Ubuntu which is even better. System76 builds good laptops too but wish I could upgrade the processor on the Lemur and it would be perfect. Both Dell and System76 are a little pricey I think. HP doesn't have anything in a reasonable price range that interests me right now either (they have really gone down hill).

Thoughts?

[Spider]

Never thought I'd be interested in a dell...but that XPS 13 is probably the best ultraportable around.

It's just too bad you have to go with touch to get that awesome 3k display.

[phosphide]

My thoughts exactly. I don't need a touch screen for Linux. In 20 years when Canonical can make convergence work then maybe I'll give it a shot.

[Southern Dad]

Okay, take it for what it is worth but I know a little something about computers and laptops. I've had Gateway, Acer Dell, Compaq, IBM / Lenovo, HP and many more.

You've eliminated the MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air right off. In my opinion three excellent choices but moving on.



These are my current laptops that I use for personal use. I've got a MacBook Pro for work, as well. Obviously, my preferred machines are my two MacBook Pro 15". Battery life, ability to use Windows or OS X, ease of use, quality of construction, etc.

Now my PC's. They do have purposes. I bought the one HP because I needed a machine with a fingerprint lock. I often volunteer at my daughter's school or other activities. This is the computer we can hook to our View Sonic and stream movies. We can use it for online fun with my daughter's 6-year-old sisters friends. This is the computer I can leave and I'm not worried about it being stolen. It isn't terribly expensive, it's got WiFi b/g/n but no ac. I've replaced the keyboard, the LCD (someone closed it with a pen in between) and the left hinge. Works great with a docking station. Battery life sucks

The HP 455, I bought it because we needed another computer in the SUV for vacations. Okay, I was being cheap. I thought it would work rather than buying a Mac when the 6-yr-old was in the third row. I wound up getting another MacBook. We've had this about a year, I've replaced both hinges, it's got a couple dead pixels near the corner, the right speaker is out and a couple keys stick. Battery life sucks

The Panasonic Toughbook 52? It's just about bulletproof. It's my solid computer that I can use when I'm out on the tractor, on the boat, camping or whatever. It's also $2.5k to buy one. I haven't had anything to bad on it. It gets about 5 hours on battery.

My MacBooks go 8 hours on battery. I'm spoiled.

[Southern Dad]

For the amount of money you are looking to spend give MacBook a serious look. You can dual boot or even triple boot it with Bootcamp, which is free.

[exploited]

Phosphide strikes me as a guy who wants his money to go towards performance and specs, not Mac products.

[Southern Dad]

[exploited]

I don't hate Apple. They are good for a certain type of consumer. But the fact that phosphide is considering a Linux box tells me he doesn't belong to that consumer group.

Besides, for $300 less, he is getting maybe .4 GHz less, but he gets an SSD, the same size screen, the same amount of RAM, and pretty much the same graphics ability. Also has a no-cost warranty and support.

[The Comrade]

PCI based flash memory is a much faster SSD but not worth 300 dollars faster.

[Winchester]

Computers are all but disposable now. I'd just buy the cheapest you can find with whatever specs you're looking for.