Suggestions on building a laptop

MartinZ · 2008-12-22 22:56:41

I'll buy a custom laptop and want it to run flawlessly linux. I've found contradictory information through google, so I decided to ask the ubergeeks not to screw it up

I know this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find the answers I need. Sorry if duplicating discussion!

So, what I want is:
- Great performance
- Perfect linux support
- Compiz
- Good autonomy (hopefully >3.5h)
- 64 bits
- KDE4
- Suspend to RAM and disk
- Hopefully around U$1,000

It will run only Arch (no M$ crap), and I have no intends on playing games on it. I also don't need bluetooth, IR nor webcam.

So, the questions are:

1. Which CPU?
Turion X2 or Core 2 Duo?
- I've read somewhere that Intel processors "emulate" 64 bits, thus giving bad performance compared to AMD64 (but I find this weird)

2. Which Motherboard?
MSI, Compal, Clevo or Asus?

3. Which graphic card?
Intel GMA X4500, Nvidia 8xxx/9xxx or ATI Radeon HD 3xxx
- I know that newer Nvidia cards have very poor drivers, or is this situation solved?
- I've also read that new Xorg release is giving poor performance with Intel cards
- Laptops with ATI cards seem to be much more expensive

I would really appreciate some tips about these or any other things.
Thanks in advance.

QuimaxW · 2008-12-22 23:16:54

1. Which CPU?
Turion X2 or Core 2 Duo?

In a notebook, I've only used the Intel. The 'old' Core's may have emulated 64bit, but the new ones are true 64 bit. I don't think you'll notice a big difference either way as both should work about the same.

2. Which Motherboard?
MSI, Compal, Clevo or Asus?

Um...Asus or Compal are the two I've worked with in the past. Asus seems to have better style but I don't really know about the build quality. Never tried a compal with linux. The Asus, do some googling to see if the 'special keys' or 'Fn (function) keys' work in Linux. The older Asus models used software ACPI calls for the special functions.

3. Which graphic card?
Intel GMA X4500, Nvidia 8xxx/9xxx or ATI Radeon HD 3xxx

Ok, one at a time...

- I know that newer Nvidia cards have very poor drivers, or is this situation solved?

Dunno. Havn't tried a new Nvidia card lately. I just traded a FX5500 for an ATI 9550 card that seemed to work better with HD video. (Desktop cards, I know...)

- I've also read that new Xorg release is giving poor performance with Intel cards

Yes and no. It mostly has to do with Gem support or something. Intel drivers tend to be more cutting edge than ATI/NVidia for linux. It's nice, but comes with quirks. FOR NOW...aviod the X45xx (G45 chipset) as the linux drivers have VERY poor support (read disable 2D support to get a picture) in linux. The specs are nice, so once the drivers catch up, it'll be a truly awesome card for linux.

- Laptops with ATI cards seem to be much more expensive

I havn't tried ATI laptop chipsets, but I've setup 3 different systems with ATI cards in them and they've been REALLY easy to configure. The 3xxx onboard card in my server works nicely with Compiz & high bitrate video.

Personally, I've been keeping my eye out for a similar notebook with TurionX2 and ATI video/chipset.

Just my opinion.

MartinZ · 2008-12-24 21:48:21

Thanks a lot for the answer, I'm currently looking for AMD + ATI as you suggested. Unfortunelly, I haven't found much customizable models... only a 17'' laptop, which is way too big for me. I'll keep searching.

smartboyathome · 2008-12-24 21:57:20

One comment: With all that stuff you want it to do, its going to trade off battery life. I would suggest, if possible, to get at least a 6 cell battery for your laptop if you want it to get anywhere close to 3.5 hours, otherwise you should go with lighter software and such.

Also, I would recommend looking at the HP laptops, if just for seeing what hardware they use. I have found HP to be very Linux friendly on the hardware side of things, I've had very few quirks with their laptops being supported for Linux.

If you want to go with any gaming, though, stay away from integrated chipsets like Intel's and (I think) a few Nvidias and ATIs. They give horrible performance.

MartinZ · 2008-12-25 15:51:24

In fact, I'm looking for a laptop with 9 cell battery.

And I also forget to write: I don't wanna pay M$ tax. Unfortunelly, no big laptop maufacturer (except Dell), offers any of its models without Windows. I've found some Lenovo ones with linux preinstalled, but apparently they are not officialy supported.

Thanks again for the help.

areiks · 2008-12-25 21:38:12

Many manufacturers offers their laptops without os preinstalled, but hardware in these laptops isn't officially supported, so it might be a problem. For example Toshiba. It will be hard to find a laptop with full support under linux on the manufacturer official site... I think its better idea to get know what hardware it has and to check on the linux forums if these hardware is hard to configure.

Also you can buy a laptop with bad battery and you can buy better one later. You shouldn't choose a laptop only for battery O.o

MartinZ · 2008-12-26 02:29:00

Yeah, you're right. Actually, on the last days I've found many sites to buy a custom laptop, and the most of them offer no-OS as an alternative. A few of them also give you all details of the different pieces, so you can verify one by one how it works under linux. And best of all, some of them also offer linux as an option (single or dual-boot).

So, I'll keep searching. The key points to get all that I want seem to be:
- 25 Watt processor (currently only Core 2 Duo)
- DDR3 (consumes 30% less power, according to wikipedia)
- 7.200 RPM and SATA HD (SSD are still too expensive for me. I'll change in a year or so, when they get cheaper)
- 14.1'' screen, as it consumes less power than 15.4''. Unfortunelly, there are few models around with such a screen (I found 13.3'' too small)
- 9 cell battery if available

I'm also searching for ATI graphic cards as suggested by QuimaxW, but few models come with them.

SkonesMickLoud · 2008-12-26 04:56:41

System 76:

http://system76.com/

From what I hear, you can call them up and they'll even do custom partitioning for you.

MartinZ · 2008-12-27 18:00:28

Yeah, this one is very good. However, http://www.avadirect.com seems to be cheaper and have more configuration options.
If someone is interested, here's a very complete list of linux-laptops resellers: http://lxer.com/module/db/viewby.php?ui … 4&offset=0

kiwisaotome · 2008-12-28 01:08:35

You should also look at http://www.rkcomputers.net.

I bought an Asus C90 from here (sans Windows), and I bought some of the parts from another website. (However, you can still order all of your parts from them, but I found it a little cheaper to run to Amazon / Newegg for the ram and cpu.) The prices are pretty decent, and there's a nice selection of laptops here. My next laptop will most likely be ATI / AMD based, and the selction they have here is small, yet awesome.

EDIT: Ah... I see they removed some of the ATI / AMD based laptops. What a shame. Well, at least there's an ample supply of Nvidia stuff there, I guess. The OCZ brand laptops are all ATI based with Intel processors. This one here is pretty awesome and on my list to get: http://www.rkcomputer.net/rkcnotebooks/ … tail&p=107

Last edited by kiwisaotome (2008-12-28 01:15:34)

MartinZ · 2008-12-28 22:17:46

In general, rkcomputer seems to be more expensive than avadirect... but this is one is really cheap http://www.rkcomputer.net/rkcnotebooks/ … tail&p=101

Arch Linux

#1 2008-12-22 22:56:41

Suggestions on building a laptop

#2 2008-12-22 23:16:54

Re: Suggestions on building a laptop

#3 2008-12-24 21:48:21

Re: Suggestions on building a laptop

#4 2008-12-24 21:57:20

Re: Suggestions on building a laptop

#5 2008-12-25 15:51:24

Re: Suggestions on building a laptop

#6 2008-12-25 21:38:12

Re: Suggestions on building a laptop

#7 2008-12-26 02:29:00

Re: Suggestions on building a laptop

#8 2008-12-26 04:56:41

Re: Suggestions on building a laptop

#9 2008-12-27 18:00:28

Re: Suggestions on building a laptop

#10 2008-12-28 01:08:35

Re: Suggestions on building a laptop

#11 2008-12-28 22:17:46

Re: Suggestions on building a laptop

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