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anirbanghosh
January 1st, 2013, 03:44 AM
I need to buy a laptop around $500. I do not prefer Dell. Can anyone please recommend me a laptop that is within this price range and also Ubuntu dual boot can be done with Windows. The WiFi, Bluetooth etc should work perfectly. Planning to buy 15.6 inch laptop.

Thanks in advance.

pqwoerituytrueiwoq
January 1st, 2013, 04:02 AM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230531
works great for me, if you are planning on gaming you may want a amd apu based system
i don't have any bluetooth stuff here

cariboo
January 1st, 2013, 04:29 AM
Moved to the Cafe, as this isn't a support question.

sammiev
January 1st, 2013, 05:36 AM
Toshiba 100% Intel based. Works right out of the box.

anirbanghosh
January 1st, 2013, 06:50 AM
How it would be if I choose some AMD A series laptop. Seems we get better speed with lesser price.
Any recommendation on this type of laptop? It should be working dual boot with Ubuntu and <= $500

Bandit
January 1st, 2013, 07:01 AM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230531
works great for me, if you are planning on gaming you may want a amd apu based system
i don't have any bluetooth stuff here

I agree, ASUS is a good brand.



@OP: But asking for asking for a good laptop at 500USD or less is hit or miss. There is asking for something to work, then theres asking for something to work correctly..

LowSky
January 1st, 2013, 10:08 AM
I agree, ASUS is a good brand.



@OP: But asking for asking for a good laptop at 500USD or less is hit or miss. There is asking for something to work, then theres asking for something to work correctly..

After dealing with Asus' support I wouldn't recommend them at all. They take forever to respond to emails on their support site. Turnaround for any RMA or repair is very long too.

I will agree that $500 is a low end computer price. I find Lenovo to be the best solution at this price point. Their Essential Line is basically a ThinkPad without the branding or top end business finishing.

mips
January 1st, 2013, 10:54 AM
would look at this $450-$500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740%204020&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&PriceMin=440&PriceMax=500&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20 list pick the one that offers best bang for buck and then go read up on linux compatibility

Bandit
January 1st, 2013, 10:58 AM
After dealing with Asus' support I wouldn't recommend them at all. They take forever to respond to emails on their support site. Turnaround for any RMA or repair is very long too..
I hate to here that. I have been purchasing their products religiously for years and received timely support when needed. Having said that, i still buy from newegg and have had major issues with them before. I guess its just luck of the draw.

Linuxisfast
January 1st, 2013, 01:07 PM
I have had no issues with ASUS support either in India or Philippines. Our company currently has 116 ASUS laptops and tablets as well as EeePC and very few of them have needed repairs and thankfully, the turn around was prompt. Compared to my expensive SONYU Vaio, the ASUS run cooler and are better built as well. The K53E runs out of the box on Ubuntu with every Fn key supported, haven't come across more cooler running compatible laptop for Linux yet. I only buy the big three brands for laptop that is ASUS, SONY or Toshiba. The reliability rating for others are far below these three.

Linuxisfast
January 1st, 2013, 01:08 PM
How it would be if I choose some AMD A series laptop. Seems we get better speed with lesser price.
Any recommendation on this type of laptop? It should be working dual boot with Ubuntu and <= $500

Please go for the Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge series ASUS and if you are not into avid gaming, I would recommend you don't go for discrete video card as they consume more power and also produce extra heat. For compatibility Intel video drivers work best and HDMI movies play with no CPU load. For AMD, the Catalyst are a big issue.

stalkingwolf
January 1st, 2013, 03:41 PM
I have had 2 asus EEE's that worked with absolutely no problems. One was purchased in a local pawn shop 3 yrs ago the other on ebay about 3 yrs before that. That one i got cheap because it had the Japanese version of windows installed.

Ive had several HP or Compaq's that also worked with no problem. The same for an IBM T42p.
As for Dell, I have a D800 that works fine set up an M4300 for someone never could get the broadcom wireless to work, solved it with a netgear usb wireless stick.

anirbanghosh
January 1st, 2013, 04:59 PM
Please go for the Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge series ASUS and if you are not into avid gaming, I would recommend you don't go for discrete video card as they consume more power and also produce extra heat. For compatibility Intel video drivers work best and HDMI movies play with no CPU load. For AMD, the Catalyst are a big issue.

So it seems that ASUS has a nice compatibility with Linux. I was hoping to buy HP but alas they have problem with dual booting.

scwogit
January 1st, 2013, 05:35 PM
I have had a good few laptops now I have found acer's to break on a regular basis, I have had 2 break in the past by break I mean parts falling off left and right mouse buttons stay pressed down etc. I have also had problems with Toshiba's after having 2 of them, I have currently got a u400 ubuntu and I can say it is the best I've come across, the only problem which I have is the driver for the left and right click mouse buttons works different in ubuntu to windows. Which means for right click I have to tap the keypad with 2 fingers of click the keypad down in the centre. However you get used to this and I find no problem with it these days.

pqwoerituytrueiwoq
January 1st, 2013, 10:55 PM
I have had a good few laptops now I have found acer's to break on a regular basis, I have had 2 break in the past by break I mean parts falling off left and right mouse buttons stay pressed down etc. I have also had problems with Toshiba's after having 2 of them, I have currently got a u400 ubuntu and I can say it is the best I've come across, the only problem which I have is the driver for the left and right click mouse buttons works different in ubuntu to windows. Which means for right click I have to tap the keypad with 2 fingers of click the keypad down in the centre. However you get used to this and I find no problem with it these days.
you can remap them in ubuntu to match the flawed logic in windows
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MouseCustomizations
adding this to startup should make it match windows

xmodmap -e "pointer = 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 2 9 10 11 12 13"

BigCityCat
January 1st, 2013, 11:12 PM
I would recommend Intel hardware and Win 7 not 8. This is what I have and its been great. You could probably find it a little cheaper.

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,3253,l=266437&a=266418&po=0,00.asp

Bandit
January 2nd, 2013, 02:28 AM
So it seems that ASUS has a nice compatibility with Linux. I was hoping to buy HP but alas they have problem with dual booting.

Not sure if they resolved their issues lately. But HP was having quality issues with there laptops. Chips were breaking away from the main boards because they were ran through the soldering oven to fast. It would warp the boards and when place back flat it put pressure on many of the chips causing to break free after some time.

t0p
January 2nd, 2013, 02:30 AM
I have a Packard Bell EasyNote TS (http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/laptops-portable-pcs/laptops-and-netbooks/packard-bell-easynote-ts-937248/review), which should be in your price range now (mine was GB£350-ish 6 months ago). All hardware works "out of the box" with Ubuntu 12.04, and no problems setting up the dual-boot with the already-installed Windows 7. The linked review's subtitle is "Luxury level laptop features at a low, low price? Surprisingly, it's possible". Which may be a bit of an over-statement, but I like the laptop. It's quick, has a lovely wide screen, nice keyboard... but no super-duper graphics I'm afraid.

Linuxisfast
January 2nd, 2013, 04:21 AM
Not sure if they resolved their issues lately. But HP was having quality issues with there laptops. Chips were breaking away from the main boards because they were ran through the soldering oven to fast. It would warp the boards and when place back flat it put pressure on many of the chips causing to break free after some time.


Quality is the main issue with HP even though they sometimes offer better options than ASUS or SONY, biggest issue with HP is fan, the fan which tends to go bad and cook the chips. The body also comes apart after a year or so.

Bandit
January 2nd, 2013, 07:36 AM
Quality is the main issue with HP even though they sometimes offer better options than ASUS or SONY, biggest issue with HP is fan, the fan which tends to go bad and cook the chips. The body also comes apart after a year or so.

Thats sad... Back around 1998 to around 2003 or so HP was my prime choice of laptops. They and Compaq made the nicest ones IMHO and were very good for their price.. I remember buying 4 or 5 of them for work related use "rolls eyes" while in the Navy and had no issues what so ever. Then I got my wife one in 2007 and 6 months later the board popped the solder off two chips, later found many HPs to suffer the same issues and QA has been dow hill since..

drawkcab
January 2nd, 2013, 08:14 AM
Hard to beat the Lenovo thinkpads. Support for thinkpads is nothing short of awesome. Their keyboards and ergonomics rock although they're often not the best when it comes to bling (graphics, fancy screens, aesthetics). Lenovo has some entertainment/multimedia laptops but I'm not sure how well their other lines are supported. Asus is also a good brand.

mips
January 2nd, 2013, 09:26 AM
Thats sad... Back around 1998 to around 2003 or so HP was my prime choice of laptops. They and Compaq made the nicest ones IMHO and were very good for their price..

+1

Another thing to keep in mind is that HP's business & consumer line laptops are two different beasts, I would not hesitate to buy their business line stuff but the consumer line stuff I would stay away from.

Asus does make some pretty good stuff, also a fan of Lenovo (not the cheapies but professional range stuff).