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#1 2004-10-15 17:53:00

beniro
Member
From: St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Registered: 2002-12-31
Posts: 313

Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

Hello there.

I'm looking into buying a laptop.  There are a couple of conditions I want it to meet:

1) Be (fairly) easy to set up with Linux.  Arch, specifically.  smile

2) Doesn't need to be too fast, looking for something below $800 USD, really.  Hopefully, as fast and RAM-laden as I can get while keeping it cheap.  The cheaper the better.

3) Still should be quality, obviously.  I'd rather get somthing a bit older and solid than something new that will disintegrate if sunlight touches it.  smile

So, my questions are:  What brands/models are best?  Where is it best to purchase?

I'm in the U.S. of A.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

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#2 2004-10-15 18:31:49

cactus
Taco Eater
From: t͈̫̹ͨa͖͕͎̱͈ͨ͆ć̥̖̝o̫̫̼s͈̭̱̞͍̃!̰
Registered: 2004-05-25
Posts: 4,622
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

I have an IBM T40 that works well, for the most part.
Older dells work well...can't recall the model. The new ones are crap though, in my opinion.
Also have a friend the has a fujitsu lifebook. She is very happy with it.

I advise looking at http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/ and just hunting around to see which ones seem the best supported..


"Be conservative in what you send; be liberal in what you accept." -- Postel's Law
"tacos" -- Cactus' Law
"t̥͍͎̪̪͗a̴̻̩͈͚ͨc̠o̩̙͈ͫͅs͙͎̙͊ ͔͇̫̜t͎̳̀a̜̞̗ͩc̗͍͚o̲̯̿s̖̣̤̙͌ ̖̜̈ț̰̫͓ạ̪͖̳c̲͎͕̰̯̃̈o͉ͅs̪ͪ ̜̻̖̜͕" -- -̖͚̫̙̓-̺̠͇ͤ̃ ̜̪̜ͯZ͔̗̭̞ͪA̝͈̙͖̩L͉̠̺͓G̙̞̦͖O̳̗͍

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#3 2004-10-15 20:08:59

sarah31
Member
From: Middle of Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 2,975
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

pen and paper work pretty well and 800 USD will buy alot of it.


AKA uknowme

I am not your friend

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#4 2004-10-15 20:09:40

phrakture
Arch Overlord
From: behind you
Registered: 2003-10-29
Posts: 7,879
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

I'm not sure how low they go, but the hp pavillion zd7000 series works very well - I have a zd7140...
802.11g wireless
geforce fx 5200Go
60gig HD
512 meg DDR
17" widescreen
cdrw/dvd rom
all-in-one flash/card reader
4 usb 2.0 ports
firewire

only issues:
wireless requires ndiswrapper (no big deal)
LCD DDC probes fail, shut of DDC to get it working in native resolution (1440x900)
I broke one of my usb ports by stepping on the little plug part on the mouse, heh

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#5 2004-10-16 04:14:30

iphitus
Forum Fellow
From: Melbourne, Australia
Registered: 2004-10-09
Posts: 4,927

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

the IBM T series, T40, T41 has had a lot of good writeups, reviews and awards for Linux.

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#6 2004-11-17 20:19:48

oscar
Member
From: Kiruna, Sweden
Registered: 2004-08-13
Posts: 457

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

avoid HP Omnibooks!
they suck pretty hard, both in hardware, windows and linux


To err is human... to really foul up requires the root password.

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#7 2004-11-17 22:15:00

apeiro
Daddy
From: Victoria, BC, Canada
Registered: 2002-08-12
Posts: 771
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

I'd second the Thinkpad T-series.  They're solid, pretty, and they work well with linux.

You could probably pick up a T23 or a T30 for your price range.

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#8 2004-11-17 23:02:39

kakabaratruskia
Member
From: Santiago, Chile
Registered: 2003-08-24
Posts: 596

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

You can take a knoppix CD with you, and see which notebook has less trouble.


And where were all the sportsmen who always pulled you though?
They're all resting down in Cornwall
writing up their memoirs for a paper-back edition
of the Boy Scout Manual.

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#9 2004-11-17 23:20:29

phrakture
Arch Overlord
From: behind you
Registered: 2003-10-29
Posts: 7,879
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

kakabaratruskia wrote:

You can take a knoppix CD with you, and see which notebook has less trouble.

heh, I think the bestbuy people would sh*t the proverbial brick

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#10 2004-11-17 23:45:15

cactus
Taco Eater
From: t͈̫̹ͨa͖͕͎̱͈ͨ͆ć̥̖̝o̫̫̼s͈̭̱̞͍̃!̰
Registered: 2004-05-25
Posts: 4,622
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

phrakture wrote:
kakabaratruskia wrote:

You can take a knoppix CD with you, and see which notebook has less trouble.

heh, I think the bestbuy people would sh*t the proverbial brick

LOL..that alone would be worth it!
'um..sir, you seem to have dropped a brick!"


"Be conservative in what you send; be liberal in what you accept." -- Postel's Law
"tacos" -- Cactus' Law
"t̥͍͎̪̪͗a̴̻̩͈͚ͨc̠o̩̙͈ͫͅs͙͎̙͊ ͔͇̫̜t͎̳̀a̜̞̗ͩc̗͍͚o̲̯̿s̖̣̤̙͌ ̖̜̈ț̰̫͓ạ̪͖̳c̲͎͕̰̯̃̈o͉ͅs̪ͪ ̜̻̖̜͕" -- -̖͚̫̙̓-̺̠͇ͤ̃ ̜̪̜ͯZ͔̗̭̞ͪA̝͈̙͖̩L͉̠̺͓G̙̞̦͖O̳̗͍

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#11 2004-11-17 23:51:41

kakabaratruskia
Member
From: Santiago, Chile
Registered: 2003-08-24
Posts: 596

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

phrakture wrote:
kakabaratruskia wrote:

You can take a knoppix CD with you, and see which notebook has less trouble.

heh, I think the bestbuy people would sh*t the proverbial brick

m... sorry, I don't understand.


And where were all the sportsmen who always pulled you though?
They're all resting down in Cornwall
writing up their memoirs for a paper-back edition
of the Boy Scout Manual.

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#12 2004-11-18 00:00:09

phrakture
Arch Overlord
From: behind you
Registered: 2003-10-29
Posts: 7,879
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

kakabaratruskia wrote:
phrakture wrote:
kakabaratruskia wrote:

You can take a knoppix CD with you, and see which notebook has less trouble.

heh, I think the bestbuy people would sh*t the proverbial brick

m... sorry, I don't understand.

it's an American (??) saying: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p … +brick&r=f

hahaha to paraphrase:

Term used to describe a situation where someone became so overcome with a feeling that they not only lost control of their bowels, they did so on a magnificant scale

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#13 2004-11-18 21:04:48

dp
Member
From: Zürich, Switzerland
Registered: 2003-05-27
Posts: 3,378
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

i second the thinkpad suggestions

i helped a lot of people setting linux (in last time mostly archlinux) to their laptops and from about 25 machines, i had never trouble with thinkpads ... trouble was with an acer athlon (very primitive bios, strange cdrw-drive), a sony (very strange touchpad chipset) and 2 dell machines (no firewire working, usb dies after you close the lid, funny noises, ...)

if i needed to buy a laptop, today, i would only have a look at thinkpads (T or X), powerbooks (because they are white and have digital video out ;-) ) and toshiba (especially Tecra or Portégé)


The impossible missions are the only ones which succeed.

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#14 2004-11-18 21:29:55

cactus
Taco Eater
From: t͈̫̹ͨa͖͕͎̱͈ͨ͆ć̥̖̝o̫̫̼s͈̭̱̞͍̃!̰
Registered: 2004-05-25
Posts: 4,622
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

dp wrote:

i second the thinkpad suggestions

i helped a lot of people setting linux (in last time mostly archlinux) to their laptops and from about 25 machines, i had never trouble with thinkpads ... trouble was with an acer athlon (very primitive bios, strange cdrw-drive), a sony (very strange touchpad chipset) and 2 dell machines (no firewire working, usb dies after you close the lid, funny noises, ...)

if i needed to buy a laptop, today, i would only have a look at thinkpads (T or X), powerbooks (because they are white and have digital video out ;-) ) and toshiba (especially Tecra or Portégé)

I love my powerbook. The only issues I have with it is some squirrely font rendering (AA issues), and the fact that the wireless chipset doesn't work in linux. sad
Unfortunately, the wireless issue has kept me from using yellow dog on it. Hopefully they get that sorted out soon.


"Be conservative in what you send; be liberal in what you accept." -- Postel's Law
"tacos" -- Cactus' Law
"t̥͍͎̪̪͗a̴̻̩͈͚ͨc̠o̩̙͈ͫͅs͙͎̙͊ ͔͇̫̜t͎̳̀a̜̞̗ͩc̗͍͚o̲̯̿s̖̣̤̙͌ ̖̜̈ț̰̫͓ạ̪͖̳c̲͎͕̰̯̃̈o͉ͅs̪ͪ ̜̻̖̜͕" -- -̖͚̫̙̓-̺̠͇ͤ̃ ̜̪̜ͯZ͔̗̭̞ͪA̝͈̙͖̩L͉̠̺͓G̙̞̦͖O̳̗͍

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#15 2004-11-18 22:10:29

phrakture
Arch Overlord
From: behind you
Registered: 2003-10-29
Posts: 7,879
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

cactus wrote:

Unfortunately, the wireless issue has kept me from using yellow dog on it. Hopefully they get that sorted out soon.

what chipset does it have?

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#16 2004-11-18 22:17:20

phrakture
Arch Overlord
From: behind you
Registered: 2003-10-29
Posts: 7,879
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

after some googling.... I figure it's a Airport Extreme... if so:
http://www.petitiononline.com/BCM4301/petition.html

sign that, I did (my laptop is Broadcoma s well, but I am able to use ndiswrapper, which won't work for PPC I don't think)

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#17 2004-11-18 22:40:57

oscar
Member
From: Kiruna, Sweden
Registered: 2004-08-13
Posts: 457

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

cactus wrote:
dp wrote:

i second the thinkpad suggestions

i helped a lot of people setting linux (in last time mostly archlinux) to their laptops and from about 25 machines, i had never trouble with thinkpads ... trouble was with an acer athlon (very primitive bios, strange cdrw-drive), a sony (very strange touchpad chipset) and 2 dell machines (no firewire working, usb dies after you close the lid, funny noises, ...)

if i needed to buy a laptop, today, i would only have a look at thinkpads (T or X), powerbooks (because they are white and have digital video out ;-) ) and toshiba (especially Tecra or Portégé)

I love my powerbook. The only issues I have with it is some squirrely font rendering (AA issues), and the fact that the wireless chipset doesn't work in linux. sad
Unfortunately, the wireless issue has kept me from using yellow dog on it. Hopefully they get that sorted out soon.

ever heard of ndiswrapper? tongue


To err is human... to really foul up requires the root password.

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#18 2004-11-19 00:58:23

cactus
Taco Eater
From: t͈̫̹ͨa͖͕͎̱͈ͨ͆ć̥̖̝o̫̫̼s͈̭̱̞͍̃!̰
Registered: 2004-05-25
Posts: 4,622
Website

Re: Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

wrong architecture.
ndis wrapper uses binary windows drivers for running on x86 hardware.
powerbooks are not x86 hardware (powerPC), and the hardware does not have binary windows drivers either.

so, yes I have heard of it, and have researched it and understood how it works enought to know that it will not work.


"Be conservative in what you send; be liberal in what you accept." -- Postel's Law
"tacos" -- Cactus' Law
"t̥͍͎̪̪͗a̴̻̩͈͚ͨc̠o̩̙͈ͫͅs͙͎̙͊ ͔͇̫̜t͎̳̀a̜̞̗ͩc̗͍͚o̲̯̿s̖̣̤̙͌ ̖̜̈ț̰̫͓ạ̪͖̳c̲͎͕̰̯̃̈o͉ͅs̪ͪ ̜̻̖̜͕" -- -̖͚̫̙̓-̺̠͇ͤ̃ ̜̪̜ͯZ͔̗̭̞ͪA̝͈̙͖̩L͉̠̺͓G̙̞̦͖O̳̗͍

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