Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

beniro · 2004-10-15 17:53:00

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.

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.

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.

cactus · 2004-10-15 18:31:49

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..

sarah31 · 2004-10-15 20:08:59

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

phrakture · 2004-10-15 20:09:40

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

iphitus · 2004-10-16 04:14:30

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

oscar · 2004-11-17 20:19:48

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

apeiro · 2004-11-17 22:15:00

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.

kakabaratruskia · 2004-11-17 23:02:39

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

phrakture · 2004-11-17 23:20:29

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

cactus · 2004-11-17 23:45:15

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!"

kakabaratruskia · 2004-11-17 23:51:41

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.

phrakture · 2004-11-18 00:00:09

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

dp · 2004-11-18 21:04:48

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)

cactus · 2004-11-18 21:29:55

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

phrakture · 2004-11-18 22:10:29

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?

phrakture · 2004-11-18 22:17:20

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)

oscar · 2004-11-18 22:40:57

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

ever heard of ndiswrapper?

cactus · 2004-11-19 00:58:23

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.

Arch Linux

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

Selecting a laptop for Arch Linux, etc...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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