New laptop

[Dedwyn]

I am looking for a new laptop and I was wondering if any of you could help me.

I need a laptop with:

Needs to have at least a core i5 processor
Needs to have a Intel HD 4000 integrated Graphics card
Needs to be moderately slim, I don't want it to be ultrabook slim but I also don't want it to be extremely thick either (probably something like the Macbook Pro Retina 15")
Needs at least 4GB of RAM, preferably 8.
Needs to be 15"
I would EXTREMELY prefer it to have the native resolution of 1600 x 900, although I would be satisfied with a 1920 x 1080, though I still prefer the 1600 x 900.

And of course it needs to be able to run Ubuntu smoothly.

Any suggestions?

P.S sorry if I have posted in the wrong section, I wasn't sure which sub forum to post in.

[montag dp]

Thinkpad T530, though I'm not sure if it fits your definition of slim. I have the T430 and it's plenty small for me. Plus the Thinkpad T series are known for good Linux compatibility, from what I've heard.

[samwillc]

I am looking for a new laptop and I was wondering if any of you could help me.

I need a laptop with:

Needs to have at least a core i5 processor
Needs to have a Intel HD 4000 integrated Graphics card
Needs to be moderately slim, I don't want it to be ultrabook slim but I also don't want it to be extremely thick either (probably something like the Macbook Pro Retina 15")
Needs at least 4GB of RAM, preferably 8.
Needs to be 15"
I would EXTREMELY prefer it to have the native resolution of 1600 x 900, although I would be satisfied with a 1920 x 1080, though I still prefer the 1600 x 900.

Sony Vaio E14 Series
Intel i5
HD4000
15" 1600 x 900

Can be configured just as you like:

https://shop.sony.co.uk/shop/ipc/dis...deActive=)/.do

I am looking for a similar laptop too. The thing is, I keep reading about people with overheating issues on different laptops and can find no decent information about whether this is going to be fixed, or whether canonical even recognise this as a problem.

Sadly, if I can't find an answer, I'm going to spend my money on a macbook instead even though I'd rather use ubuntu! I'm not having damaged hardware thanks to an OS.

There's clearly something wrong when laptops are overheating and people are getting pathetic battery life. More worrying is that I've been reading about the same problems for a long long time.

If I were you I'd think very carefully about the laptop you choose.

Sam.

[grahammechanical]

This is what you should worry about:

And of course it needs to be able to run Ubuntu smoothly.

The same will apply to any Linux distribution. Do not expect Linux to run smoothly on new hardware. Give the developers time to catch up. They receive little or no cooperation from the hardware makers.

My advice would be to buy a laptop with Ubuntu pre-installed. You will have to wait for one of those laptops.

Be also aware that laptops with Windows 8 installed will most likely be Secured Boot enabled and using UEFI instead of BIOS. At the moment Ubuntu 12.10 is the only Ubuntu that stands any chance of installing on a secure boot enabled machine. And that is only possible because the kernel is signed by a key that Canonical purchased from Microsoft. There are a lot of posts on this forum from people trying to install Ubuntu on Windows 8 machines. Look for them and see their problems and what needs to be done to avoid or correct problems. You are about to become an experimenter.

I would recommend Ubuntu Secure Remix as the Installation medium. There is a 12.10 version.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuSecureRemix

Other reading

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI

You should also be aware that hardware makers often implement the UEFI and secure boot specifications differently from each other.

When you do buy this machine and install Ubuntu add to this database:

https://friendly.ubuntu.com/

Regards.

[samwillc]

I am looking here too:

http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/ultraNote/

In case you haven't chosen yet.

Sam.