Custom laptop - will it run Ubuntu?

[Martom]

I'm looking for a laptop specifically to run Ubuntu. One of the options has the following specs and I'm wondering if anyone could tell me whether this is likely to run Ubuntu properly. On my current laptop I have some issues with the GPU and the card reader and I'd like to avoid such problems on my next purchase.

The specs unfortunately are not in English but this is probably not a huge obstacle; if anything needs translating I'll be happy to do so:

Beeldscherm: 14 inch HD LED TFT - Glare, (res. 1366x768 )
Videokaart: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT525M 2Gb DDR3 (PhysX™ + CUDA™ ready)
Chipset: Mobile Intel® HM65 Express Chipset
**Processor (max 45W / Quad-core): Intel® Core™ i5-2450M 3Mb Cache, 2.50 GHZ (3.1GHz Turbo mode / 2 Cores - 4 threads)
**Processor koeling: Artic Silver koelpasta (Systeem wordt beter gekoeld, tot 6 graden winst)
RAM DDR3 1333/1600 (1): 4Gb BTO Selected DDR3-1333MHz (slot 1)
RAM DDR3 1333/1600 (2): 4Gb BTO Selected DDR3-1333MHz (slot 2)
Harddisk: 128GB SSD SATA-3 Samsung 830 series (Max 520 MB/s lezen / 320 schrijven)
Optische disk / Extra interne harddisk (Caddy): 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer, incl DVD-RAM (TE VERVANGEN VOOR EXTRA INTERNE HARDDISK)
Optische disk USB: Externe optische disk optioneel
DVD-Software: DVD Software optioneel
**Wireless / Bluetooth (Combo): Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230, Single Band BGN (2.4GHz), 300MB + Bluetooth 4.0 (wireless display)
Accu: 6-cell Primary Lithium-Ion Batterij
Bluetooth: Interne Bluetooth module met EDR 2.0 (2Mbit/s)
Bluetooth Draadloze Speakers: Bluetooth Speakers Optioneel
USB 3.0 - 2.0: 1 x USB 3.0 + 2 x USB 2.0 (USB 3.0 poorten ook te gebruiken voor USB 2.0 apparatuur)
VGA-poort: 1 x D sub 15-Pin VGA poort
HDMI Poort: HDMI aansluiting voor extern LCD scherm / HD TV
Webcam: Ingebouwde 1,3 MegaPixel WebCam + Microfoon
Keyboard Layout: QWERTY Toetsenbord (VS-Internationaal voor NL)
LAN: 10/100/1000 GigaBit Ethernet (RJ45)
Cardreader: 3-in-1 card reader (MMC, SD and MS)
Audio: Microfoon Ingang, Speaker uitgang
Audio: Ingebouwde Stereo speakers
Audio: Realtek geluidskaart met HD Audio ondersteuning

[mlentink]

Personally, I'd like a lappy with those specs. Would the shop be prepared to let you try it out? In that case, I'd prepare a Live-USB and test it, just to be sure. Even though I'm pretty sure it would do just fine.

[Shuudoushi]

I'm looking for a laptop specifically to run Ubuntu. One of the options has the following specs and I'm wondering if anyone could tell me whether this is likely to run Ubuntu properly. On my current laptop I have some issues with the GPU and the card reader and I'd like to avoid such problems on my next purchase.

The specs unfortunately are not in English but this is probably not a huge obstacle; if anything needs translating I'll be happy to do so:

Beeldscherm: 14 inch HD LED TFT - Glare, (res. 1366x768 )
Videokaart: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT525M 2Gb DDR3 (PhysX™ + CUDA™ ready)
Chipset: Mobile Intel® HM65 Express Chipset
**Processor (max 45W / Quad-core): Intel® Core™ i5-2450M 3Mb Cache, 2.50 GHZ (3.1GHz Turbo mode / 2 Cores - 4 threads)
**Processor koeling: Artic Silver koelpasta (Systeem wordt beter gekoeld, tot 6 graden winst)
RAM DDR3 1333/1600 (1): 4Gb BTO Selected DDR3-1333MHz (slot 1)
RAM DDR3 1333/1600 (2): 4Gb BTO Selected DDR3-1333MHz (slot 2)
Harddisk: 128GB SSD SATA-3 Samsung 830 series (Max 520 MB/s lezen / 320 schrijven)
Optische disk / Extra interne harddisk (Caddy): 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer, incl DVD-RAM (TE VERVANGEN VOOR EXTRA INTERNE HARDDISK)
Optische disk USB: Externe optische disk optioneel
DVD-Software: DVD Software optioneel
**Wireless / Bluetooth (Combo): Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230, Single Band BGN (2.4GHz), 300MB + Bluetooth 4.0 (wireless display)
Accu: 6-cell Primary Lithium-Ion Batterij
Bluetooth: Interne Bluetooth module met EDR 2.0 (2Mbit/s)
Bluetooth Draadloze Speakers: Bluetooth Speakers Optioneel
USB 3.0 - 2.0: 1 x USB 3.0 + 2 x USB 2.0 (USB 3.0 poorten ook te gebruiken voor USB 2.0 apparatuur)
VGA-poort: 1 x D sub 15-Pin VGA poort
HDMI Poort: HDMI aansluiting voor extern LCD scherm / HD TV
Webcam: Ingebouwde 1,3 MegaPixel WebCam + Microfoon
Keyboard Layout: QWERTY Toetsenbord (VS-Internationaal voor NL)
LAN: 10/100/1000 GigaBit Ethernet (RJ45)
Cardreader: 3-in-1 card reader (MMC, SD and MS)
Audio: Microfoon Ingang, Speaker uitgang
Audio: Ingebouwde Stereo speakers
Audio: Realtek geluidskaart met HD Audio ondersteuning

http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/
Give this link a look. It list all of the laptops/desktops that can come with Ubuntu pre-installed and/or run Ubuntu flawlessly. Other than that it looks like the specs are good for Ubuntu; it really doesn't need much.

[oldfred]

I recently ran across this site that seems to have some useful info on laptops.

http://www.linlap.com/

[ibjsb4]

I recently ran across this site that seems to have some useful info on laptops.

http://www.linlap.com/

Nice find

[Martom]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Those sites are helpful; learned a bit about some other options I'm looking at.

As for these particular specs, there's nothing in there that Ubuntu cannot cope with? There should be drivers available for everything? I'm not afraid of the hardware not being enough to run Ubuntu but about Ubuntu not being able to use the hardware to its fullest.

[Shuudoushi]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Those sites are helpful; learned a bit about some other options I'm looking at.

As for these particular specs, there's nothing in there that Ubuntu cannot cope with? There should be drivers available for everything? I'm not afraid of the hardware not being enough to run Ubuntu but about Ubuntu not being able to use the hardware to its fullest.

Most of the time Ubuntu is really good a keeping good working drivers in the software center. If you can't the drivers you need there chances are good that the vendor web-site has what you need for Ubuntu.

[Martom]

Alright thanks again. From the sites you posted and some more Googling, it seems the hardware will probably be accessible, though perhaps not straight from the box. Looks like I found a winner (it's the only laptop I found locally in my price range that sports the SSD drive.)

Cheers!

[Shuudoushi]

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