ZaReason Strata 6880 Sandy Bridge Notebook

ZaReason offers this notebook with a choice of open-source operating systems: Ubuntu 11.10, Kubuntu 11.10, Edubuntu 11.10, Debian 6.0, Linux Mint 11, or Fedora 16. It is also an option to have no operating system installed at all. The ZaReason Sandy Bridge notebook was sent out in advance of the Ubuntu 11.10 release, so initially it had Ubuntu 11.04 installed, which I then did clean installs of Ubuntu 11.10 (among other operating systems) during the Phoronix tests.

The notebook has a VGA output, Gigabit Ethernet, a Kensington lock slot, one USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, HDMI out, analog microphone and audio out ports. There are also plenty of ventilation slots. The memory card reader is positioned on the front of the laptop.

From the bottom of the laptop, the disk drive and system memory can be easily upgraded.

The keyboard on the ZaReason Strata 6880 manages to accommodate a full number area, which some will enjoy. The "Windows key", as usual, is replaced with an Ubuntu logo. There are Linux and NVIDIA stickers on the notebook. The touchpad area is located just left of center, which may annoy some users.