Yet another laptop request thread.

[Gannon8]

Hiya guys.

Yep, another person requesting suggestions for a new laptop. I have a $800 limit, maybe a bit more if it is a Dell (because my mother has a discount program with them). I do a variety of stuff on it, from programming to image editing. I would like to play TF2 and Garry's Mod on it though. Here's some things that I would like:


No integrated graphics
I don't need a blu-ray drive (those cost a lot)
I would like a DVD-RW drive
Big screen (I'm really used to my current laptop's 1600x1200)
I don't need a webcam
All the RAM I can get
It must be Linux compatible of course! :)
I don't care about the color, but don't suggest a hot pink laptop or some other color like that to me.
I would like Windows XP on it, but I don't mind if it doesn't because I can install it. (Actually, a linux laptop might be the way to go :) )


Suggestions would be nice. I'll continue to shop around.

[LowSky]

you cant get one with XP on it anymore, its vista or as of two weeks, windows 7

dell does sell ubuntu machines, so does system 76.

as for NO intergrated graphics, and that screen resolution will be an issue at $800

[drawkcab]

I'd suggest spending a bit more on a custom whitebook.

http://www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=603

Basically it is a rebranded Compal JHL-90. You can save a bit by selecting no OS and then install your copy of XP for running steam and ubuntu. The nice thing about powerpro is that they give you a free three-year warranty which saves you a bunch. You can toss the extra money into upgrades. The website looks cheesy but they are a great little company to work with.

I had the Compal IFL-90 which wasn't quite as nice as this one. Nevertheless it handled TF2 on high settings fairly well and it worked with Ubuntu 8.10. The build quality was excellent too. If I were on your budget, this would be at the top of my list.

[Gannon8]

you cant get one with XP on it anymore, its vista or as of two weeks, windows 7
Huh, I found some at Tigerdirect.com that still had XP.

Lowas for NO intergrated graphics, and that screen resolution will be an issue at $800
Well, I don't need a 1600x1200. I just would like it bigger than 1024x768.


I'd suggest spending a bit more on a custom whitebook.

http://www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=603

Basically it is a rebranded Compal JHL-90. You can save a bit by selecting no OS and then install your copy of XP for running steam and ubuntu. The nice thing about powerpro is that they give you a free three-year warranty which saves you a bunch. You can toss the extra money into upgrades. The website looks cheesy but they are a great little company to work with.
Hmm, looks nice. I will have to take it into consideration. I guess I could scratch up maybe $100 more or something. Maybe even $200.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions.

PS. I see this "Dell Turbo Memory" thing, looks like just a flash cache space. How well supported is it under Linux (even though I will probably not be getting it)?

[Grimhound]

The big issue with XP isn't getting a hold of XP. It's that nobody is developing drivers for XP anymore. I bought this laptop two years ago, and it was already somewhat outdated by a year or so. What XP drivers I could scrounge for it were crash-happy, and is one of the main reasons I'm using Ubuntu today. It's not a matter of getting XP. It's a matter of getting XP to work in such a way that it will have stability. XP was only a remarkably stable platform because it had remarkable driver support. Using SP3 now with a lot of laptop hardware is similar to using base XP back when it first came out.

[jeremyswalker]

Why not buy one with Ubuntu pre-installed?

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

http://system76.com/

http://www.zareason.com/shop/home.php