I have 1000 dollars to spend on a laptop

[kingrobdun]

School is starting up soon, and I need a laptop for fall classes. I can spend up to 1000$ dollars. What laptop do you recommend that can run Ubuntu?

Edit: I'm thinking of getting a system 76 laptop, but I'm still unsure.

What would you choose, Lenovo, Asus, or System 76 and why?


Also if you choose Lenovo or Asus, tell me what model it is.

[NightwishFan]

Anything by Asus. I got a K50ij for $500 and I get over 4 hours of battery.

[Sporkman]

http://www.system76.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=106

[Hman242]

System 76 computers are way overpriced. I would recommend getting an ASUS or HP, then dual-booting Win7 with Ubuntu.

[Sporkman]

System 76 computers are way overpriced. I would recommend getting an ASUS or HP, then dual-booting Win7 with Ubuntu.

They come with ubuntu preinstalled. All the hardware is guaranteed to be compatible. All the special function keys will work correctly, as will suspend & hibernate. Everything will work right out of the box.

I'd be willing to spend a premium for a machine custom-designed with Ubuntu in mind, and with it preinstalled. In fact, that's what I'll likely do on the next purchase (a couple of years away).

EDIT: The main complaint I have about system76 machines is their apparent lack of sleekness. Their high-end laptops appear to be well over 1 inch thick...

[kingrobdun]

They come with ubuntu preinstalled. All the hardware is guaranteed to be compatible. All the special function keys will work correctly, as will suspend & hibernate. Everything will work right out of the box.

I'd be willing to spend a premium for a machine custom-designed with Ubuntu in mind, and with it preinstalled. In fact, that's what I'll likely do on the next purchase (a couple of years away).

EDIT: The main complaint I have about system76 machines is their apparent lack of sleekness. Their high-end laptops appear to be well over 1 inch thick...

Will Ubuntu run better on a system 76 machine, compared to a standard laptop with windows pre-installed?

[Sporkman]

Will Ubuntu run better on a system 76 machine, compared to a standard laptop with windows pre-installed?

What do you mean by "standard"? Ubuntu works to varying degrees on different laptops. Suspend may or may not work, special buttons on the machine may or may not work, etc.

I've owned two main laptops since using Ubuntu, both Acers. On the first one, the video would get screwy & scrambled when coming out of suspend, so that didn't work. On this (second) one, suspend usually works, but occasionally doesn't. There are special buttons that either don't work (like a big one labelled "P"), or that are actually counter-productive (like the one next to the trackpad, that has a picture of a finger touching the trackpad - when I push it, the mouse pointer ceases to function, and I'm forced to reboot).

I used to look at laptops by hardware specs alone, but I've come to realize that there's more to a personal computer than raw specs. There's functionality, design quality, quality of worksmanship, etc.

[penguin10916]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6052766&CatId=4965

This is what I bought for college (which starts for me in a few days) back in march. For one, I prefer AMD to Intel, and it's a good balance between power and entertainment. However, if you want something a little newer and more powerful, I'd recommend this: http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/HP-Pavilion-DV6-3050us-2GHz-Phenom-II-X4-N930-Laptop-w-50.00-Mail-In-Rebate/5124217/product.html

[kamaboko]

I vote for Asus.

[YuiDaoren]

ZaReason (http://www.zareason.com/) has some nice laptops with Ubuntu preinstalled. I've had great luck with their stuff, too.


http://zareason.com/shop/Laptops/

[undecim]

ASUS!

Only problems I've ever had with Asus are the touchpad (their Elantech touchpads don't have the driver in Ubuntu, but they still emulate a PS/2 mouse) and the backlight (had to set "acpi_backlight=vendor" under GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX in /etc/default/grub)

The laptops themselves have always been rock solid and sleek.

[Austin25]

If you really want it to work with Ubuntu, I suggest building it.

[jimrz]

ThinkPad

[cprofitt]

Lenovo Thinkpad. T510 with a core i5 -- should run you about $950. Great solid laptop that will work with Ubuntu 10.04

[smellyman]

Can't vouch for the quality of the laptops, but I heard this guy on Linux Outlaws and he specializes in computers optimized for blind people. Have a big choice of Distros to pre-install though.

Frostbitesystems (http://frostbitesystems.com/)

[drawkcab]

http://www.powernotebooks.com/

They're back to carrying an inexpensive ASUS model that you can customize. Their website is cheesy, but they've hooked me up a couple of times.

[Tracy177]

School is starting up soon, and I need a laptop for fall classes. I can spend up to 1000$ dollars. What laptop do you recommend that can run Ubuntu?

Edit: I'm thinking of getting a system 76 laptop, but I'm still unsure.

What would you choose, Lenovo, Asus, or System 76 and why?


Also if you choose Lenovo or Asus, tell me what model it is.


asus or u could buy msi for example gt725 dont know how much it cost over there but this is the best laptop i ever had

[NightwishFan]

ASUS!

Only problems I've ever had with Asus are the touchpad (their Elantech touchpads don't have the driver in Ubuntu, but they still emulate a PS/2 mouse) and the backlight (had to set "acpi_backlight=vendor" under GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX in /etc/default/grub)

The laptops themselves have always been rock solid and sleek.

Linux 2.6.35 gives me touchpad control and backlight on my k50ij. Sadly, I also get a bunch of video and sound issues. :( With the acpi_backlight=vendor lucid works amazingly though, I might stick with it.

[drawkcab]

asus or u could buy msi for example gt725 dont know how much it cost over there but this is the best laptop i ever had

I've owned MSI and Compal laptops that were awesome. They're just tougher to find in the American market.

[mamamia88]

If you really want it to work with Ubuntu, I suggest building it.

how do you build a laptop? with all honesty just look for one with a supported videocard and wireless. wireless isn't too big of a deal since you can get a cheap usb dongle

[Tracy177]

how do you build a laptop? with all honesty just look for one with a supported videocard and wireless. wireless isn't too big of a deal since you can get a cheap usb dongle

check up dell web page there u can build laptop put memory want to graphic u want to.

the thing is that build laptop isnt like build desktop it will cost u a way more than if u buy ready high spec laptop.

[4ebees]

ThinkPad

We have two Lenovos (X200 so more expensive than you want).

Both work 'out of the box' though you have to make sure you have a proper Intel wireless chip (you can get the cheaper ones to work but it takes more than just installing the distro :))

[drawkcab]

how do you build a laptop?

Actually you can look for a "barebones" or "whitebook" and then install the remaining components separately which is just what a lot of these cutom laptop places do.

Strangely, you can save a lot of money this way because the components can be found for much less than the custom shops charge.

I've seen some folks build up some amazing laptops from whitebooks for under $800.

[kerry_s]

get a netbook($350) & a ipad($500) :lolflag:

[MaxIBoy]

I've been very satisfied with my Lenovo Thinkpad T510 so far. I bought it during March of last year with these options:


Core i5-540M @2.53 Ghz, 3 Mib L3 cache
Nvidia NVS 3100M discrete graphics (512 Mib DDR3; GPU 606 Mhz, RAM 790 Mhz)
15.6" Anti-glare monitor (1366x768)
3 Gib DDR3 RAM
320 GB 5400 RPM HDD
9-Cell battery

Total price was $1,262.55 US. You could get a slightly down-specced one for $1000. You're paying a premium for build quality, but I think it's really worth it-- the Thinkpad design is just as sturdy as it was in the IBM days. It's got the best keyboard ever installed in a laptop, and the touchpad (thanks to tactile feedback from the textured surface) is actually better to use than some "real" mice! It's running Ubuntu (well really Linux Mint) like a dream. I couldn't get Debian Lenny installed when I first got it (didn't pick up either NIC for some reason,) but this might have been fixed since then.

This model is what I recommended to my father, and now he has a down-specced version of the same thing (with Intel graphics and a lower-clocked CPU, standard battery, smaller HDD, etc.) He hasn't had any complaints so far either, and that may be a good option for you if you don't do any 3D gaming or anything.

Now for some small gripes:


The 5400 RPM HDD is kind of slow. This is normal for 5400 RPM drives, nothing special about that. If you can spare the cash or don't need as much space, go for a 7200 RPM HDD instead, that would be my one recommendation. I knew I wanted more than 250 Gib and couldn't afford the higher-end 7200 RPM HDD.
The internal mic, like all laptop internal mics, picks up a lot of noise from the fan and HDD, and unfortunately my laptop doesn't have an external mic jack. I don't know if you do get an external mic jack along with the webcam option (The webcam doesn't come stock, and I didn't go for it.)
The sound chipset is a big weak spot on this laptop-- sound output from it is way too quiet, and if you try to pre-amp it at all, you get a lot of clipping.

Overall, these problems aren't too bad, and they don't let the overall laptop down too much. But if you have different priorities from me you should know about them.

Finally, it's likely that things have changed in the five or so months since I ordered my laptop.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

I admit I didn't read all the replies.

I have traveled quit a lot recently. I have a large laptop that I didn't think was that heavy until I had to carry it around the airport, hotel, to the rental car and back, carry it to the building where I was working. That is similar to carrying one around school. The thing gets heave after a short period of time.

I bought a 10.1" notebook. It really does make a difference. It is much lighter than the laptop.

I really don't care what OS came installed on it. I can install whatever I want. I'm just looking at the practicality of carrying it around.

Just something to think about.