Suitable Laptop For Ubuntu Or Mint?

[lost_in_space]

I want to buy a new laptop in the next week or so and would like some advice about which laptops are okay with Ubuntu or Linux Mint and which ones I should avoid.

Normally I wouldn't worry too much but recently my company bought me a Dell Vostro 360 all-in-one desktop with Ubuntu 10.10 pre-installed. I couldn't get any newer Linux desktop software to work on it, except 11.10 in simple graphics mode. It had the Intel i3 chip and integrated graphics. Even the IT dept couldn't get it to work, and the main guy is an Ubuntu fan. Since this will be my own money, I want to avoid as many problems as I can. I've been to some websites like the Ubuntu certified page, Ubuntufriendly, and the Ubuntu forum on laptops and hardware. That forum mostly consists of posts saying everything worked out of the box except.......(one or two things).

I have about 15-18,000 to spend and would appreciate any tips you might have.

[thaimite]

I understand your concerns, but am also surprised that the Dell would not work. If I was in your position I would be checking the Video and audio drivers that are supplied, or ideally see if the shop will let you try a Live CD. My own laptop is a Sony Vaio and when bought I had a few minor problems the worst being being microphone support, the last 2 Ubuntu updates have solved all issues. I have a friend running an Asus and that would not support 3D until recent releases of Ubuntu due to the fact it had a hybrid video chip. I prefer Nvidia graphics as I believe they are the best supported but other than that can not advise on any specific model or make.

[aarn]

Great advice from thaimite - ask to trial run a linux distro (from a live usb) before you buy.

I suspect your previous desktop comp had other issues, resulting in poor performance. AA

[urandom]

intel or atheros wireless chipset (check the chipset on http://linuxwireless.org/ if possible). intel or nvidia (non hybdrid) GPU. avoid sony if possible. new machines are likely to come with UEFI, make sure your distro supports it or that you can fallback to BIOS legacy mode (or be prepared to get your hands dirty)

[lost_in_space]

Thanks for those tips and the link.

[DozeDoezntWin]

How's about buyin' one with mint/ubuntu preinstalled? There are lots of sites that offer that service, like inatux, they have a small selection but all are pretty low price or try any of the others listed on linuxpreloaded

Hope that helps.

[noisyboy]

I would say Thinkpads/Mackbooks would be a safe, albeit pricier choice. Typically a significant number of developers use them and the hardware is generally well supported. I personally own an HP nx6320 business laptop (now discontinued) and it works great with all Ubuntu versions I've tried.

Edited April 22, 2012 by noisyboy

[jampola]

We purchased Dell Vostro's for our road warrior staff and they all run Deban Squeeze and everything apart from wifi works out of the box (we image a working image with wifi so this isn't an issue).

I've been testing 10 or 15 of our laptops with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and absobloodylutely everything works out of the box plus the staff love unity a lot more than gnome 2.32. All the shortcuts keys, wifi, backlit keyboard, everything work without messing with any confs! And they're cheap and can handle a few drops and spills. Obviously they're no Thinkpad but they're up there.

[JimShortz]

Go for a Lenovo - great quality and work well with Ubuntu; see here: http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/make/Lenovo/laptops

[flash77]

Agree with Lenovo and the Thinkpad series (see also http://www.thinkwiki.org). And I suspect most of the cheaper Lenovo's, e.g. Ideapads, should be ok as well. I have an Ideapad V470 running Ubuntu 11.10 fine (although this model was not so cheap). Only thing that doesn't work (and I've never attempted to get working) is the fingerprint scanner. It uses Intel Wireless-N 1000 which works fine. Although when initially installing 11.04 there was a bug with loading the wrong wireless driver by default (my own notes on the fix: http://sandilands.info/sgordon/wireless-lan-lenovo-ideapad-v470-ubuntu-not-working).

Also have a Samsung NC-10 netbook that is almost 3 years old and running Ubuntu 11.10 fine.

Have you bought the laptop yet? If so you could bring it to the next Thai Linux meeting () - thats if its still on ...

[lost_in_space]

Actually, I haven't bought one yet. There are so many options and choices, I can't make up my mind.

If I get one I'll try to make the meeting in June. Thanks for the invite and the links.

Thaimite, as to your post being surprised it didn't work on the Dell, I think it was my fault. When I turned it on the first time, there was something in Thai in a box on the screen. When I saw it was 10.10 I just used the whole disc for 11.10. I think I must have removed some drivers or something.

[BugJackBaron]

I have a Dell Vostro here and Ubuntu works fine, as do other Linux distrobutions.

Dell, Lenova and HP are more or less cousins and should work well with

any modern distrobution.

Edited May 16, 2012 by BugJackBaron

[linuxuser010101]

I know this post is 5 months old but, I just bought a new Dell that came with ubuntu (also has the ubuntu logo on the machine) which wanted to update as soon as I turned it on (terrific, that's what it should do!).

I installed Linux Mint 13 cinnamon Maya in a matter of minutes as that is the distro I personally prefer and I have not had any trouble whatsoever. I would recommend anyone looking for a new system have a look here http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/whats-the-best-laptop-for-running-ubuntu-linux/3793 this year anyway but do a google search to the effect of "good laptops for running Linux" before you buy.

The worst machine I bought (and returned recently) was a Toshiba, the sales person lied to me and told me it would run Mint perfectly which the floor model did because it was connected to the internet via cable however, Toshiba clearly states on their website they will not make Linux drivers for their products so, you are pretty much stuck with asking the community to make one for you. In any event the wireless did not work and the machine was a piece of junk compared to the Dell that cost 2000B less anyway.

[BugJackBaron]

I know this post is 5 months old but, I just bought a new Dell that came with ubuntu (also has the ubuntu logo on the machine) which wanted to update as soon as I turned it on (terrific, that's what it should do!).

I installed Linux Mint 13 cinnamon Maya in a matter of minutes as that is the distro I personally prefer and I have not had any trouble whatsoever. I would recommend anyone looking for a new system have a look here http://www.techrepub...untu-linux/3793 this year anyway but do a google search to the effect of "good laptops for running Linux" before you buy.

The worst machine I bought (and returned recently) was a Toshiba, the sales person lied to me and told me it would run Mint perfectly which the floor model did because it was connected to the internet via cable however, Toshiba clearly states on their website they will not make Linux drivers for their products so, you are pretty much stuck with asking the community to make one for you. In any event the wireless did not work and the machine was a piece of junk compared to the Dell that cost 2000B less anyway.

Interesting.. I have an old Toshiba Equix (sp?) with 256 ram...

Its a complete tired old dog with the windows XP that came with it.

When I have some time I may try a light distro like arch with openbox.

Probably the wifi will be a problem but you never know.

ASUS may be another good choice for linux.

Edited September 4, 2012 by BugJackBaron

[urandom]

brands means not much, one has to look at what's inside the machine. also:

Toshiba clearly states on their website they will not make Linux drivers for their products

it's very unlikely that toshiba would release any driver anyway. {wireless,video,audio} chipset, mainboards manufacturers do.

[dave_boo]

I know this post is 5 months old but, I just bought a new Dell that came with ubuntu (also has the ubuntu logo on the machine) which wanted to update as soon as I turned it on (terrific, that's what it should do!).

I installed Linux Mint 13 cinnamon Maya in a matter of minutes as that is the distro I personally prefer and I have not had any trouble whatsoever. I would recommend anyone looking for a new system have a look here http://www.techrepub...untu-linux/3793 this year anyway but do a google search to the effect of "good laptops for running Linux" before you buy.

The worst machine I bought (and returned recently) was a Toshiba, the sales person lied to me and told me it would run Mint perfectly which the floor model did because it was connected to the internet via cable however, Toshiba clearly states on their website they will not make Linux drivers for their products so, you are pretty much stuck with asking the community to make one for you. In any event the wireless did not work and the machine was a piece of junk compared to the Dell that cost 2000B less anyway.

Interesting.. I have an old Toshiba Equix (sp?) with 256 ram...

Its a complete tired old dog with the windows XP that came with it.

When I have some time I may try a light distro like arch with openbox.

Probably the wifi will be a problem but you never know.

ASUS may be another good choice for linux.

Lubuntu is nice and light; also you my want to look at a net install (opensuse has a great one) and stick with openbox, ldxe or other lightweight WM/DM.

[linuxuser010101]

dave_boo, I have a few old distors that may run well on it that are still updated, I also have a lot of live cd's you could try first. Let me know if you need anything.

[dave_boo]

dave_boo, I have a few old distors that may run well on it that are still updated, I also have a lot of live cd's you could try first. Let me know if you need anything.

I must have mis-explained myself.

My weakest system has the SU7300, 8G of RAM and an SSD. It does have Linux Mint on it, but only because it's my road machine and I'm too lazy to upgrade it. However, having played with opsenSuSE 12.2, there's a really good chance I'll end up installing that on there. If you haven't tried it yet, give it a go. Super responsive. Would also standardise my installs across the board; I see that bumblebee is in the repositories now and it'll let me disable the Nvidia card until they get their Optimus drivers out.