If you could buy any laptop..

viniosity · 2006-04-27 22:44:26

I quit my job last month and in a total surprise move my soon-to-be former boss wants to buy me a laptop as a going away present. It's awesome.

Problem is that I have no idea what to choose.. When it comes to laptops I mostly am familiar with powerbooks only owning a thinkpad once (and liking it). Although I could boot Archlinux on a MacBook Pro, I'm leaning away from that route. Mostly b/c OS X is so good I would feel a little weird booting into linux. So what options are there on the straight wintel side?

My constraints:
At least 13" screen
No more than 6 pounds
Good graphics card
Nice design
Available within 2 weeks

Any suggestions out there? I don't want to use this on an Acer 8200 only to find out that the quality really sucks. An op like this is only going to come my way once..

iphitus · 2006-04-27 22:57:03

I dont really understand your reasons for not getting a macbook, but whatever you do, dont get an acer.

Maybe go for a toshiba or ibm. ibm's thinkpads are apparently quite good for linux.

James

eddy · 2006-04-28 03:34:11

Is he going to buy you any laptop? I would go for this one if i were you It's a real beast!
Dell XPS M1710:
2.16GHz Core Duo T2600 CPU, 2GB of 667MHz DDR 2 SDRAM, an Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX with 512MB of dedicated graphics memory, 100GB of SATA storage, dual-layer DVD±R/RW optical drive, 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi card, five-in-one media card reader, and a 17in UXGA screen.

And it just looks great. 2 pounds over what your spec said but for what you get
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/04/18 … xps_m1710/

cactus · 2006-04-28 04:01:54

get a macbookpro.
sweeetneesssss

iphitus · 2006-04-28 04:12:42

aye, get the macbook, and if you're worried about being tempted by osx, wipe it off

it's just a plain intel box now except it uses EFI.

eddy · 2006-04-28 04:49:21

This one is for the style. loved it.
[URL]http://www.coreduonews.com/2006/02/28/laptops-notebooks-asus-s6-ultarportable-leather[/url]
Imagine how it could look after a year Either awsome like a worn out wallet, or completly ripped. I hope the leather is replacable

PJ · 2006-04-28 05:46:42

If I buy a laptop then I probably will check this site:
http://www.colorwarepc.com/products/default.aspx
And yes, it's for the style!

curana · 2006-04-28 09:02:34

What about HP? As far as I know the linux-support is not too bad and the quality is also great.

Ok, style, classic I guess :-D

FUBAR · 2006-04-28 09:04:25

Get an Alienware! The bad guy used it on season 4 of 24! It's probably too heavy tho, unless there's a less than full blown desktop replacement version.

Snarkout · 2006-04-28 12:40:06

Thinkpad.

lessthanjake · 2006-04-28 12:56:40

The professional notebooks from FujitsuSiemens looks nice(not like the ThinkPads) and also has a good building quality. The cheep one from FS is just palstic crap. I own a LIFEBOOK P7120, it maby too small for you, but replasing the dwdrw with a seconary batery you get a silent ultrapotable pc lasting all day long(6-9h depending on usage):
http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/products … ook_p.html

Another nice looking model is this one, maybe more your size Q2010:
http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/campaign … q2010.html
http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/Resource … 398809.jpg

bpisciot · 2006-04-28 18:58:54

I second the Thinkpad suggestion. I have an X30 and an X31--both with Arch installed as the only OS. Works great on both machines. Both have beautiful displays that work wonderfully with the new X.org.

Bob P.

viniosity · 2006-04-28 19:22:14

I actually have a thinkpad now.. an X41. And it's really great. I love it because it's so light and portable that I can take it anywhere without straining my back. In my last job I used to travel > 150k miles per year but now.. I'll probably be working from home until the next opportunity comes my way.

So with weight no longer the major concern, I'm open to looking at notebooks that are heavier but not too heavy. The Thinkpads are really nice but the graphics cards that Lenovo use are just grossly underpowered compared to everything else. A T60 equipped like a macbook pro is more expensive and has a worse graphics card (ATI X1400 vs 1600).

I think I will end up getting a macbook pro and running Arch via Parallels or triple-boot. Fortunately I used to work at Apple so I might even be able to get some freebies thrown in.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

myst · 2006-04-28 19:29:34

I have Toshiba Satellite M45-S355 now. All works fine. But it's 15.4". If I could buy any laptop I want, I'd bought Sony VAIO SZ1XRP/C.

SystemParadox · 2006-06-09 11:13:15

ThinkPad every time.

I'd get a T series (though annoyingly they, like most laptops, have ATI cards).

Go for a T43p - nice.

I have a T23 and it's great. Everything works perfectly. Most of it out of the box. Hotswapping between my DVD/CD-RW, floppy, second battery and second HDD is brilliant. Lightweight, small, thin, robust, looks really cool, long battery life (about 2-2.5 hours on each battery), decent mouse (trackpoint- none of this touchpad rubbish- and you can turn the touchpad off on the ThinkPads that have them), good for parts too. Don't get a T30 series though- they look awful. Go for T23 or a T40 series. Or maybe an X series- really thin (no bay though).

Vlad_Paler · 2006-06-16 11:32:00

http://atomchip.com/_wsn/page4.html

Atom Chip Super Laptop

6.8Ghz CPU
1TB RAM (non-volatile)
2TB HD
12.1" Screen
1.3 MP Camera
802.11g Wireless and Bluetooth
and then pretty standard stuff the rest of the way.

it's over 18 grand, so let's hope your boss REALLY liked you. ;-P

aCoder · 2006-06-17 18:58:43

I would go for a Macbook, and I plan too, actually, but if you need a real graphics chip, a Pro will do you if the price is right.

That said, if you don't go the Apple route, I'll back up everyone that mention thinkpads. Some Dells work well too, but steer clear of Inspirons and XPSs, IMO. Latitudes and the Precision workstations are the only ones that won't be trashed when you get them, but, really, if you're just putting Linux on it out of the box, that's not such a big deal. HPs really tend to work OK too, from what I've heard, but I've no experience with them personally.

Anyway, my call: Macbook (Pro?) or a Thinkpad (X series is nice!)

scarecrow · 2006-06-17 22:10:29

I'd also suggest a FujitsuSiemens laptop. Great value for $$$, good (not perfect) Linux support, great build quality.

ffderrick · 2006-06-18 22:52:09

I'm using an Hp Dv5003cl.
Turion M-32, 1056 ddr, and radion 200 xpress.
Everything works in Arch, including wireless using ndiswrapper.
This amd chip doesn't have the overheating problems previous sempron and athlon seemed to have.

luppy · 2006-07-27 07:30:09

I wouldn't get an alienware as the xps m1710 beats it hands down (both are owned by dell anyways)

Just got an m1710, I have never been so impressed especially with the screen quality, I just dont want to use my machine upstairs anymore so its become a server. I would definitely recommend the dell xps m1710 if you have money

benplaut · 2006-07-27 08:19:35

Thinkpad T43p or T60

they own.

Macbook Pro really is a nice machine, though :twisted:

viniosity · 2006-07-27 12:03:01

I ended up getting a Mac Book Pro.. it's ok. There are some things that are incredibly cool.. scrolling on the trackpad by using two fingers, the fiber optics under the keyboard, and the magnetic power connection. Love all that.

At the same time I really miss my Arch desktop. I've seen how you can load linux on the MacBook Pro but there seems to be lots of things missing like sound through the headphone jacks, 3d acceleration, and sleep.

I'm hoping that in another few months some great hacker out there will address those issues and I'll be able to put Arch back on. When I had my thinkpad x41 it took about 6 months for it to be fully supported under linux.

Until then...

benplaut · 2006-07-27 18:01:36

put either debian or gentoo on.

They both work (i've heard), and they both rock.

djpharoah · 2006-07-27 19:19:54

Shoulda gotten a T60p

szymon gruszczynski · 2006-11-21 11:18:19

if i could choose... i wish to buy something like nec mobilepro 900c... or 880... but witch xscale processor and 'normal' (lege: non-flash) ram and microdrive (at least 4gb). system (any linux, not necessary arch) should start from tiny-in-build flash-memory (like in new zauruses).... and of course wireless and usb's should be included....

Arch Linux

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