Dell or System 76?

[Unstuck]

My friend bought a Dell n-series laptop at my suggestion, and it's been a bit of a disappointment, especially after version updates. After updating to Hardy and losing sound and wifi and Dell's insistence that I restore to the factory presets (promptly followed by an admission they don't really know what they're talking about when it comes to the OS), I've been reconsidering a planned Dell purchase. How does System76 stack up? I expect a certain amount of problems with a major release, but I'm a little fed up with Dell...

[Tart]

I'm new system76er. I'm really happy with my machine. And I can see that system76 staff working extermely hard on all issues. Their support is great. They even helped me out this some specific issues not related hardware or system76 drivers. I don't see this type of support from dell. When I was in grad school i had dell laptop, and their support was really terrible. Just based on this I recommend system76 over dell.

I hope this helps in your decision.

[hkarl629]

I Have a Serval Performance (July 2007). It is a really nice machine. The service from System 76 has been very good. I am new to Linux/Ubuntu and have been through 3 operating system upgrades (Feisty Fawn, Gutsy Gibbon and now Hardy Heron) all done automatically and with no problems. System 76 also regularly sends out updates to drivers to further tweak components when needed. I am still learning and enjoying the process. Am trying to wean myself away from Microsoft and make converts of those who have only known MS. I am a retiree and volunteer as a teacher of computer classes so am still attached to MS by virute of their dominance in the consumer marketplace. Other than that inconvenience I'm satisfied that I made a wise choice by going with System 76, an unknown (to me) up to time of purchase.

Hope this helps with your decision and that others voice their opinion too.

Sincerely,
Karl Juelch

[perce]

I have a white Darter, and my experience with the previous upgrades were that
there have been problems at the beginning, but they were solved rather quickly by the System76 team.

[TheBuzzSaw]

System76 has the best service I have ever seen. They are so responsive and give personalized details for your questions. I own a Daru2 (black Darter Ultra) and now a Wild Dog. They are the best for running Ubuntu. Everything is fully supported, and the performance is superb! For what it's worth, I play recent games (like Portal) in WINE on my Wild Dog, and it performs VERY smoothly.

[wyth]

I can't speak for System76, but I can for Dell.

Dell's Linux support seems to be an entirely different branch from all their other support, and it isn't easy to track down. But if you have a supported system (most likely only if you bought the system with Ubuntu loaded on it), their support is pretty solid. I've had to call them twice for my 530n, and it's been fantastic every time.

The direct number for Dell Linux support is 1-866-622-1947.

[weverjames]

go with dell. You will get a cheaper system (300 bucks less) with the same specifications. I bought a gazelle and no advantage in terms of support. I upgraded to ubuntu 8.04 and lost wireless. no way to get a decent solution for this. All what they say is that it has to be your router. It sucks!. And this is not a isolated problem. search the web.
But if you decide to buy a system 76, I can sell you mine!