March 2012 System76 Lemur Ultra laptop

[Welly Wu]

Montclair State University has no official plan to support Microsoft Windows 8. I purchased Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium Service Pack 1. I am going to use Oracle Virtualbox to install Windows 7 64 bit into a 64 bit 64.00 gigabyte guest virtual machine. It is going to be a tight fit, but it will be super fast and reliable. I have Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus 32 bit Service Pack 1. I also have a lot of Windows software.

My System76 Lemur Ultra will arrive tomorrow by 1 PM.

[Welly Wu]

I got my System76 Lemur Ultra this past Thursday. I have been very busy for the past two days downloading and installing software. I finished the major work toward that end by installing a bunch of software applications for both Ubuntu 12.04 64 bit Long Term Support and Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium Service Pack 1. I still need to enter the registration code for my Super Anti-Spyware Professional since I activated it too many times in the past in Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium Service Pack 1. Otherwise, I am pretty much done.

System76 confirmed that there is a bug regarding the Intel HD Graphics 4000 and the Linux kernel that causes my computer to freeze randomly. I have been added to the list of affected users and computers. They are working to fix this problem. So far, my computer has frozen up on me three separate times in two days. I am confident that System76 will resolve this problem.

I placed my Amazon order for Corsair Vengeance PC3-12800 1,600 MHz 16 GB dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM. It will be delivered to my home next Wednesday.

I have a pretty nice System76 Lemur Ultra. Most people would not mind to have my specific configuration.

This is the best computer company that I have ever dealt with in the past two years and this is the best computer that I have ever owned and it happens to be one of my more affordable computers in over two years. My ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC cost me $1,500 USD while my System76 Lemur Ultra will cost me just under $1,100 USD. It is much more powerful and faster along with being lighter and more portable.

The keyboard and touch pad are really nice. My System76 Lemur Ultra stays cool to the touch all of the time and the fan never turns on except during boot up. Otherwise, it stays quiet and cool all of the time. The keyboard has large keys which make typing accuracy really high. The keys are soft and springy and they are responsive. This is by far the best keyboard that I have ever used in over two years. The touch pad is kind of odd. It is integrated into the computer and it is kind of hard to tell where the touch pad is located. However, it is very smooth and effortless in usage. It is highly accurate and responsive. I can execute three finger gestures and events smoothly in Ubuntu. I also have a Logitech Wireless Touchpad and an ASUS BX700 Bluetooth laser mouse. I find that the touch pad is adequate, but I prefer my Logitech Wireless Touchpad because it is bigger and smoother and it can execute four finger gestures and events. I can move the Logitech Wireless Touchpad to anywhere on a desk.

This computer resists finger print smudges nicely. The palm rest is large and it makes typing and using the touch pad comfortable. It stays cool to the touch even under stress such as installing Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium Service Pack 1.

I am going to take my new System76 Lemur Ultra to the West Orange Public Library to test it to make sure that it will work with a public 802.11 G Wi-Fi network. I have WiTopia personal VPN basic and PRO services so I have an encrypted and secured tunnel connection.

The performance and speed of my System76 Lemur Ultra is unbelievable. This is by far the fastest computer that I have ever owned in over two years. Pound for pound and dollar for dollar, it is the best value and it offers the highest performance of any computer that I have ever used in over two years.

It is really light weight and portable. I can slip it inside my Microsoft Messenger 17" messenger bag quite easily and comfortably. It feels so light weight and portable. I no longer get strain by carrying it around anymore.

The Crucial M4 128 GB SATA-III 6 GB/s SSD is really fast. I am getting around 545 MB/s read speed whereas my previous ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC with the older Intel 2nd Generation X25-M 160 GB SSD only got 36.8 MB/s read speed. I can cold boot in 7 seconds. I can reboot in 15 seconds. I can shut down in 9 seconds. This happens every single time.

These are my random first impressions thus far. I am really happy that I bought a System76 Lemur Ultra. The company stands behind their products 100 percent. They are highly responsive to every single question and issue that I have brought up on their website using their ticketing system.

I bought a second year warranty for an extra $100 USD. I want to protect my investment as this will put me through graduate school.

Otherwise, I am a very happy and satisfied System76 customer. This is the best computer company and the best computer that I have ever had the pleasure of owning in over two years.

[Welly Wu]

Buying a brand new System76 Lemur Ultra saved me time and hassles which I would have spent trying to get Ubuntu installed on another computer certified for Microsoft Windows 7 or Apple Macintosh OS X. This has been the easiest way for me to continue to use Ubuntu in a stress free manner. It was definitely worth the price and the wait.

[Welly Wu]

I just finished installing Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate Edition Service Pack 1, Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus 32 bit Service Pack 1, and all of my purchased Microsoft Widows 7 software applications including Symantec Norton 360 version 6, Super Anti-Spyware, WinPatrol PLUS, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, Acronis TrueImage Home 2012 Plus Pack, Adobe Flash, Reader, Shockwave Player, and Air, Oracle JDK 7 and FX, JRE 7, and Macecraft Software jv16 2012, Driver Reviver 2.1, Intuit Quicken Deluxe 2012, VS Group Revo Uninstaller Pro, QFX Software KeyScrambler Premium, and that's about it for now. I purchased quite a number of eclectic Microsoft Windows 7 software applications as you can see for yourself. I have the best in breed Microsoft Windows 7 security software applications designed for high security, privacy, and safety.

Running Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate Edition Service Pack 1 in an Oracle VM Virtualbox 64 bit 50.00 GB guest virtual machine is faster than when I had Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium without Service Pack 1 pre-installed on my ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC 22 months ago! My System76 Lemur Ultra is really really fast!

Next Wednesday, my Corsair Vengeance PC3-12800 1,600 MHz 16.00 GB dual-channel DDR3 SODIMM SDRAM will be delivered to my home in West Orange, New Jersey 07052. This is special RAM. It is capacious and it is high speed. It is also compatible with my System76 Lemur Ultra. This will give my laptop kick *** speed and performance along with rock solid stability and reliability. I verified that it is compatible with a System76 support engineer.

My second year warranty will go into effect early next week with System76.

I have a terrific custom System76 Lemur Ultra notebook PC. This is my dream system and it became a reality for me. I am going to baby it with kid gloves. Most of my work will be to study for the Graduate Record Examination and to do academic research on the Internet along with typing Microsoft Word 2010 documents for the next 2.5 years. That is pretty light weight work and it places a low amount of stress on my computer. I wanted to buy a more feature rich and highly capable laptop PC than I actually needed just in case.

This is highly affordable. My custom System76 Lemur Ultra is less than $1,070.00 USD in total even with the add-on purchases. I may decide to purchase a second Lithium Ion 6 cell 4400 mAh 48.84 WHr battery for $105.00 USD this Christmas 2012 just before I move to Montclair State University to pursue my Masters of Arts in English Writing Studies degree program while living on campus in Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043. It costs a few hundreds of dollars less than my ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC which I spent $1,500.00 USD to purchase and it is miles ahead way better. It also weighs 1.5 pounds less and it is easier to carry around even with a full messenger bag. I carried all of my electronics and accessories to the West Orange Public Library and it weighed at least 2 pounds less than when I had my ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC.

System76 is a great company. Now, I know why so many people rave about this company and their products. I am definitely going to purchase another System76 laptop PC in April 2014 when Canonical releases Ubuntu 14.04 64 bit Long Term Support.

I have never had such a good computer in my life.

[Welly Wu]

System76 responded to my support ticket today regarding the random freezes and lockups on my brand new System76 Lemur Ultra. They advised me to select the precise-proposed updates repository and download Linux kernel 3.2.0-27-generic. I did this and I rebooted my computer. Now, it is rock solid and stable. I do not get any more random freezes, lockups, or slow downs whatsoever. I reported this problem to them less than three days ago and they fixed it today. This is great service and support and this is the reason why I purchased a second year warranty from System76 for my Lemur Ultra.

This is solved.

[Welly Wu]

I got my Corsair Vengeance PC3-12800 16.00 GB 204 pin dual-channel SODIMM RAM from Amazon via the US Postal Service a few minutes ago. I installed it and it works perfectly with my custom System76 Lemur Ultra. Everything is much faster and the performance has gone up considerably. I am going to dedicate 4.00 GB of RAM for my Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate Edition Service Pack 1 guest virtual machine in Oracle VM Virtualbox now.

[Welly Wu]

Lemur Ultra (lemu4) Modify Configuration $849.00 $849.00 Remove from Cart Quantity:

Base System Price $689.00
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS 64 bit
5 Free GB of Ubuntu One Online Storage and Sync
14.1" 720p High Definition LED Backlit Display ( 1366 x 768 )
Intel HD Graphics 4000
3rd Generation Intel Core i5-3210M Processor ( 2.50GHz 3MB L3 Cache - 2 Cores plus Hyperthreading )
Corsair Vengeance 16 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 8GB +$120.00
128 GB Crucial M4 Series SATA III 6 Gb/s Solid State Disk Drive +$95.00
8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Combo Module +$20.00
No Bag
2 Yr. Ltd. Warranty and 2 Yr. Technical Support
No Canada Warranty Shipping Coverage
No donation, thank you
Sub Total: $1,100.00

[Ubun2to]

My new laptop arrived today. It is going to be a gift to myself for my birthday (July 17th-ONLY 6 DAYS AWAY!) Here are the specs:

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS 64 bit
14.1" 720p High Definition LED Backlit Display ( 1366 x 768 )
Intel HD Graphics 4000
3rd Generation Intel Core i5-3210M Processor ( 2.50GHz 3MB L3 Cache - 2 Cores plus Hyperthreading )
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 4GB
60 GB Intel 520 Series SATA III 6 Gb/s Solid State Disk Drive
8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Combo Module
Lemur Ultra (lemu4) Extra Li-ION Battery - 6 Cells 48.84 WH
1 Yr. Ltd. Warranty and 1 Yr. Technical Support

I just can't WAIT to open the box. The packaging alone says a lot-I can't hear ANYTHING inside there if I shake it (but, of course, it has weight, so I know there is actually something in there).

[Welly Wu]

I hope that you will love your System76 Lemur Ultra. I certainly do love mine.

One other thing that I forgot to mention is the screen hinge design. It is a simple hinge that is very sturdy and durable. Opening the lid and closing the lid can be done with one hand. It is a very smooth and fluid motion. My previous ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC had angled hinges which I thought were delicate and prone to breakage. My brand new System76 Lemur Ultra has a much simpler and much more reliable and durable hinge design. It makes me feel better knowing that it won't give me any problems over the next two years.

Adding the Corsair Vengeance PC3-12800 204 pin dual-channel DDR3 16.00 gigabytes of SODIMM RAM really boosted performance by at least 10 percent. Now, my System76 Lemur Ultra is rock solid stable, reliable, dependable, and durable. It is also extremely fast and the performance is top notch. I am getting 4 hours and 10 minutes of battery life on a single full charge of the Lithium Ion 6 cell 4400 mAh 48.84 WHr battery. I also have an Energizer / XPal Energi to Go XP18000 lithium polymer battery that works with my System76 Lemur Ultra, but I only tried it once. I use the LiteOn power adapter that came with my computer most of the time.

This Christmas 2012, I am going to purchase a second Lithium Ion 6 cell 4400 mAh 48.84 WHr battery from System76 for $105.00 USD. I want to make sure that I have everything that I will need before I move on campus at Montclair State University to pursue my Masters of Arts in English Writing Studies degree program for the next 2.5 years.

System76 is a great computer company. They stand behind their products and services 100 percent. It gives me great comfort knowing that I have a two year warranty and technical support. I can simply contact System76 when I run into a problem especially if I decide to upgrade to a newer version of Ubuntu 64 bit in the future.

Finally, I am still debating whether I should stick with Ubuntu 12.04 64 bit Long Term Support release or if I should continue to upgrade to a newer Ubuntu version every April and October of each year. In the past, I have chosen to upgrade continuously every six months in April and October, but I have made it a point to do a clean installation of a LTS release on my previous ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC. Overall, I am happy with Ubuntu 12.04 64 bit Long Term Support as it is extremely reliable and stable along with being quite fast and it offers high performance. However, I like to stay up to date with hardware and software technologies because I am an enthusiast. I am expecting new software security features and capabilities along with improvements and fixes to be included with future Ubuntu releases and this is the primary reason why I choose to upgrade every April and October of each year. For example, Canonical plans to add new features and enhanced capabilities for the new Heads Up Display in future Ubuntu releases. I find myself using this new HUD feature quite often as it saves me time, but I also find that the current version is somewhat lacking. Its fuzzy matching search capabilities are not accurate and precise enough for me to find it truly useful. It is rather limited in its current version and it needs to adapt itself to a wider array of software applications in order to be more useful. Finally, HUD does not work with third-party, closed source, proprietary software applications.

I am glad that I pretty much stuck with the default configuration for Ubuntu. I did not need to modify Ubuntu extensively in order to get my software applications to work properly especially with specific software products and services that I subscribe to such as Spotify or WiTopia personal VPN PRO or CrashPlan+ home unlimited plan. With the sole exception of the Linux kernel 3.2.0-26 generic bug regarding the Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU, this has been a much easier and simpler Ubuntu user experience for me now that I have my custom System76 Lemur Ultra. This has saved me a lot of hassles and problems related to installing Ubuntu on a notebook PC that is certified to run Microsoft Windows. It has made my life much less stressful and I have been able to continue to study and prepare for my Graduate Record Examination and work on my graduate application to Montclair State University with fewer disruptions as a result.

I know that my future replacement notebook PC will be another System76 laptop PC. This company deserves a look and consideration if you are in the market for an Ubuntu powered computer.

[Welly Wu]

Another positive feature about my System76 Lemur Ultra is the fact that it has wide viewing angles. I can clearly see the screen off-axis and the image dos not wash out. Text remains pin sharp and colors don't fade or wash out. I can see the screen at up to 178 degrees to the left or right and it looks beautiful and clear. I don't think that this is IPS technology, but it is similar. This is the best screen display that I have seen with my own eyes in over two years. My ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC had a horrible and cheap TN screen that limited viewing angles up to 45 degrees off axis. It was really bad and it was much more expensive than my System76 Lemur Ultra. The screen is a real gem.