Need advice Linux laptops

[Svartalf]

Update.

Prowling through the ACER line up. I think this is my only option on Acer... what do you guys think?

Acer Aspire 5920G

http://www.acer.com.ph/notebook.php?pkey=76

That's very similar in nature to my HP Pavilion- in fact it's close enough to it except for the GPU (Mine's a 7600...) that I'd say it's a pretty good deal overall. It'd be a dead winner if you could get it without Fis...er..Vista.

I'll try to talk them into dropping Vista. hehehe.

Best of luck on THAT particular detail. >:-)

[Panix]

Hey, I am looking for a laptop, too. I'm not going for something in the OP's price range but for that kind of money, I suggest to consider the Dell Vostro 1400 like the other poster provided. Also, consider the HP dv6000 series (or dv2000 series if you want the smaller 14" screen) as some have the dedicated Nvidia 8400 GS chip.

Btw, could anyone who knows give info on how this chip does in Linux? Is it an easy install? Does the Linux drivers for the 8400M GS work well?

I am considering an HP dv6000 series with that video chip. The wireless is Intel 3945 or 4965 (I forget) but both are supported in Linux AFAIK.

To the OP: beware of the Acers. I've been given mixed reports on them. Some insist they are of low quality and you get what you pay for. There are claims of many returns for repair. Other people claim they are not tier one laptops but do the job. I think for your budget, you can consider the HPs and Dells over the Acers. I think Acers are for the low budget-minded (such as myself :-( ).

The HP I found is not much more than the Acers and few Acers have the Nvidia chip unless you want to pay big bucks or find certain vendors. Btw, I want a laptop with an Intel cpu (preferably core 2 duo).

What's the big deal with Vista? Either dual boot or format the drive. Right?

[Svartalf]

What's the big deal with Vista? Either dual boot or format the drive. Right?

There's four words for those of us whom have had the misfortune of dealing with it...

It...
Is...
A...
Turd...



And you PAID for it, whether you wanted it or not. THAT is the problem.

[niniendowarrior]

That's very similar in nature to my HP Pavilion- in fact it's close enough to it except for the GPU (Mine's a 7600...) that I'd say it's a pretty good deal overall. It'd be a dead winner if you could get it without Fis...er..Vista.

Do you think it's going to be Linux friendly? But I feel like I'll succumb to this... and my bank account will bleed red.

Best of luck on THAT particular detail. >:-)

Aha... even if I am forced to buy it, I won't use it, just like Dave M.

[niniendowarrior]

There's four words for those of us whom have had the misfortune of dealing with it...

It...
Is...
A...
Turd...



And you PAID for it, whether you wanted it or not. THAT is the problem.

Bingo. Why buy it when you don't intend to use it? If can save a couple of hundreds from it, the better!

[Svartalf]

Do you think it's going to be Linux friendly? But I feel like I'll succumb to this... and my bank account will bleed red.

My Pavilion dv9235 is COMPLETELY Linux friendly- everything came up except the 3D from the NVidia chip (Duh...) and this is a similar parts layup. The only gotchas I could see is if you need XP. Most of the machines now have been deliberately made impossible or next to it to "downgrade" to XP (and I need a dual boot for verification of function of cross-platform apps I write for people on contract- I need XP...) and if you don't have compatibility mode on the SATA chain, you won't be doing XP at all. There might be a few other gotchas, but unlikely.

If you're leery, you should check into the HP lineup options. They're pretty much a go if you've got no ATI or Broadcom parts in the mix.

Aha... even if I am forced to buy it, I won't use it, just like Dave M.

Mine never booted under Vista when it was in my possession- I popped open the DVD drive with a paperclip, popped in Ubuntu Feisty, and proceeded to nuke and pave the whole machine. XP was a slow lurching horror to install. Ubuntu was amazing. It was like the laptop was designed for it. (Even though we KNOW better... )

[niniendowarrior]

My Pavilion dv9235 is COMPLETELY Linux friendly- everything came up except the 3D from the NVidia chip (Duh...) and this is a similar parts layup. The only gotchas I could see is if you need XP. Most of the machines now have been deliberately made impossible or next to it to "downgrade" to XP (and I need a dual boot for verification of function of cross-platform apps I write for people on contract- I need XP...) and if you don't have compatibility mode on the SATA chain, you won't be doing XP at all. There might be a few other gotchas, but unlikely.

If you're leery, you should check into the HP lineup options. They're pretty much a go if you've got no ATI or Broadcom parts in the mix.

I remember my Linux friends telling me to avoid HP/Compaq like the plague. Crappy hardware. I don't plan to have any sort of Windows in this machine. It's one thing I don't really care at all. 100% Linux. I am just taken somewhat aback at the price tag, but most important is that this machine shouldn't make me have to hack anything to get basic stuff to work.

and... I hope it's got some real power.

Mine never booted under Vista when it was in my possession- I popped open the DVD drive with a paperclip, popped in Ubuntu Feisty, and proceeded to nuke and pave the whole machine. XP was a slow lurching horror to install. Ubuntu was amazing. It was like the laptop was designed for it. (Even though we KNOW better... )

So, I suppose this Acer lappie is going to be the choice then.

[niniendowarrior]

Update. It's done. I've plucked down and ordered it. Bit the bullet and yeah, it comes with Vista. Question is, what to do with it.

[Panix]

Which one did you decide on? I think if you're not planning on using Windoze at all but think there might be the odd reason to have it for the .01% of the time you would boot it up, just keep the Vista recovery CD and format the drive. Wipe out your Vista partition and start fresh with an install of whatever distro you ultimately decide on. Many newer Laptops have 100+GB drives so you can fit a few distros on there if you want.

I would dual boot. I'd only be using Vista to fall back on if, for some reason, wireless wasn't working in the distro I was using. I don't think a fresh install of Vista would use much disk space and I wouldn't be *using* it so there would be no software-adding or anything. I'd probably even install it myself rather than take the bloatware that I'd be given from the sellers. I think it would be rather difficult to try and get a laptop discounted by saying you'll buy one without Vista pre-installed.

HP laptops (in particular, dv2000 and dv6000 series) are decent machines and have compatible hardware for the majority of Linux distros. I've read in notebook forums of these laptops being good choices for Linux. They might not be the top level laptops around but for those on a budget, they are reasonable choices. Which laptop did you choose, though?

[niniendowarrior]

Which one did you decide on? I think if you're not planning on using Windoze at all but think there might be the odd reason to have it for the .01% of the time you would boot it up, just keep the Vista recovery CD and format the drive. Wipe out your Vista partition and start fresh with an install of whatever distro you ultimately decide on. Many newer Laptops have 100+GB drives so you can fit a few distros on there if you want.

I would dual boot. I'd only be using Vista to fall back on if, for some reason, wireless wasn't working in the distro I was using. I don't think a fresh install of Vista would use much disk space and I wouldn't be *using* it so there would be no software-adding or anything. I'd probably even install it myself rather than take the bloatware that I'd be given from the sellers. I think it would be rather difficult to try and get a laptop discounted by saying you'll buy one without Vista pre-installed.

HP laptops (in particular, dv2000 and dv6000 series) are decent machines and have compatible hardware for the majority of Linux distros. I've read in notebook forums of these laptops being good choices for Linux. They might not be the top level laptops around but for those on a budget, they are reasonable choices. Which laptop did you choose, though?

I ordered the Acer one. It's a painful price tag but I just decided to bite it. I found some Dells and but they were hugely priced out of my range. They had those selling cheaper Dell laptops at a price of more than $2,500. I cannot afford it even with the allure it comes with Dellbuntu pre-installed. Also 40+ days before arrival is a tad too long. I needed it, pronto.

I am half hoping they give me a legitimate Vista disc, not some hammy recovery disc (which is likely to be what I get). If I get a legitimate copy of Vista, I'll be more than happy to kill Vista and give it to my brothers. But we'll see. I have no real use for Vista, and Ubuntu must use all of my hardware, well at least most of it.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it all works out.

About the Acer warning: Yep, I've heard of them and am fully aware of them. But you see, the budget I threw in this forum is kind of like ceiling, which means double 0 bank account. The one I'm buying is a tad bit above that tag, so I at least hope to get some little bit of what I paid for. Some of my folks have dished out similar complaints on Compaq and HP so, oh well. Really would have wanted a Dell, but you can't have it all in life.

Foot note: I have NIC problems with Ubuntu on my Desktop PC and Ubuntu forums has done nothing to help me. So much for Linux people helping fellow Linux users.