Which Ubuntu Laptop Should I Get for College?

[Dlambert]

Hello all, and basically I need some help. I'm attending the University of Michigan majoring in computer engineering, and I don't know what Laptop I should get so I can use when not at my desktop. My desktop sadly is my custom built windows 8 machine, but I want an Ubuntu laptop.

Here are the two choices I have found (around $1600 budget - but money doesn't matter)

Criteria: No Mobile/Dedicated GPU (I use desktop for gaming), High performance (quad core preferred), at least 8 Gb RAM.

I plan to wait until haswell is released and these systems have been updated.

Please Help me decide! -dlambert

UPDATE: My biggest concern going with the System76 system is the lack of Hard-shell cases available. The dell at least has the option to buy a hard shell case (like the macbook air)


Dell XPS 13 "Sputnik" Developer Edition:

13" Inch
1080p
i7-3537U
8GB ram
256 GB SSD

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd

http://i.dell.com/das/xa.ashx/global-site-design%20WEB/4be0cd20-293e-b6da-4c3f-4eb257251174/1/OriginalJPG?id=Dell/Product_Images/Dell_Client_Products/Notebooks/XPS_Notebooks/XPS_13/Overview/laptop-xps-13-love-pdp-2.jpg


System76 Gazelle Professional (configured):
15.6"
120GB SSD
i7-3840QM
16GB Ram

https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/gazp8

https://c12278716.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/gazp8-a6bf031db98ae84e39ae106aa0a75eea.jpg

[Roasted]

Having bounced around through a few different sized laptops, I can say that bigger is better. At least, for me. At work I had a 13" ultrabook and I thought it was all sleek and super nice, etc. And truth be told, it is a super nice laptop. But with the way I use technology, I needed that thing to be a solid workhorse. A workhorse it was not. The fans were constantly kicking on because of all of the stuff I was doing on it and at the end of the day the 13" screen size just didn't do it for me.

Right now I'm using a laptop that's not far off from the super comfortable 13" screen... as my work laptop is a 14". It doesn't sound like a big difference, but as a "mobile desktop" I love it so much more. Sure, it's a little chunkier, but at least I have a full size HDD slot to put in my 256GB SSD, unlike the ultrabook. And at least I have a significantly more powerful processor and more USB ports, and even more battery life.

There's something about the System76 that just screams "this will last you many years." Maybe it's the array of specs on it or the fact that you get a decent size screen with a solid resolution. I would absolutely love to have that machine as my daily work machine, or even my personal machine.

At this point I can see I'm bouncing over the radar a little bit. So here's a basic synopsis. I prefer a laptop that will not hold me back and will allow me to get all of my work done comfortably and efficiently. Both of those units look really great, but the System76 just seems like something that would fit the bill for intense multitasking and extended longevity in a much nicer fashion.

Just my 2c.

[lykwydchykyn]

Dell dabbles in supporting Linux. System76 has built its business around supporting Linux.

If I had money to spend I'd spend mine with System76.

Don't forget:


Dell recommends Windows™

[montag dp]

I would recommend a Thinkpad. They have good Linux support, are very durable, and are priced right.

[Dlambert]

Thank you for the replies guys. Does anyone know if I can buy a hard shell for the system76 pc? I've sent them an email.

[Dlambert]

I would recommend a Thinkpad. They have good Linux support, are very durable, and are priced right.

I think the
ThinkPad Edge E431 looks nice,but I wish I could "customize it"

[AllRadioisDead]

Get an Ultrabook. As a college student, I can recommend you no better option. Either the XPS13, or the Lenovo Thinkpad Carbon, The XPS13 has a higher resolution screen but the Carbon has a bigger screen in a smaller form factor and better build quality.


I think the
ThinkPad Edge E431 looks nice,but I wish I could "customize it"



Don't get an edge. They're not real thinkpads. You want something from the T or X series. T series for durability, power, and ports or the X series for form factor.

[cbennett926]

I'd have to throw in what I use, I am a computer engineering major at the University of Oklahoma and primarily run Ubuntu. I have a Thinkpad w520, it's a mobile workstation and performs as such. I LOVE IT! Plus I got money from the university to buy my laptop so I went all out and spent ~2500 and got a BUNCH of student discounts from Lenovo. Great company, great products. My specs are in my sig, but yeah if you want linux, get a System76, if you want linux and a gaming machine/engineering machine, get a thinkpad, as AllRadioisDead said, a T or X or W, the W is more pricey than the T but is also more customizable. I originally was going with a T but I wanted the higher graphics card and got a W series.

[AllRadioisDead]

I'd have to throw in what I use, I am a computer engineering major at the University of Oklahoma and primarily run Ubuntu. I have a Thinkpad w520, it's a mobile workstation and performs as such. I LOVE IT! Plus I got money from the university to buy my laptop so I went all out and spent ~2500 and got a BUNCH of student discounts from Lenovo. Great company, great products. My specs are in my sig, but yeah if you want linux, get a System76, if you want linux and a gaming machine/engineering machine, get a thinkpad, as AllRadioisDead said, a T or X or W, the W is more pricey than the T but is also more customizable. I originally was going with a T but I wanted the higher graphics card and got a W series.

Nice. The only reason I didn't recommend the W series is because they're not quite as portable. That being said, if the W520 is a great option if you need the power.

[Triblaze]

Just finished my freshman year as a computer science major. As people have already said, Thinkpads are a solid choice, I know a lot fo comp sci people using them running plenty of different distros.

I personally have a Lenovo Ideapad y580, and while yeah, ideapad vs thinkpad, it's been absolutely great so far. Good price for the specs, I needed a laptop capable of gaming, and it maxes most of my collection, but there are definitely higher end games where I have to tone it down. Came with Windows 8 pre-installed (sigh), but Ubuntu installed just fine, and I run a dual-boot with windows for gaming, linux for everything else (although I'm liking that Steam on Ubuntu has some of the games I play). Only problem I have is the poor trackpad, but I always use a mouse, and everything else about it is great.

[jediboaz]

i was cash strapped, and could only afford a lenovo ideapad g560e. few months in, i managed to upgrade the memory to 8GB, and the HDD to 720GB. I took the stupid windows
off and am still running Ubuntu on it. All works well without any problems. Actually works better than the windows that was on it. Its up nearly 16hours a day, and i wouldnt
replace it for anything else.
my 2c.

[mips]

Get a Thinkpad.

[Dlambert]

I like the look of the carbon. But not having 4 phyical cores is a minus. Do they make shells for the Carbon?

[mips]

I like the look of the carbon. But not having 4 phyical cores is a minus.

You are not gonna get 4 cores in any Ultra-Low Power Core CPU.

[Dlambert]

I should note that I'm also looking at the Zareason Strata 7330 : i7 3840Qm (4cores) 16GB Ram, 120GB SSD for about $1600. http://zareason.com/shop/Strata-7330.html

http://zareason.com/shop/images/D/top%20600.png

[WinterMadness]

EDIT: I only really read the OP, but here ya go anyway

I cant really recommend System76.

1) My laptop came with a ton of dead pixels and they wouldnt replace it
2) I got my screen fixed because i dropped my laptop, new screen had a ton of dead pixels
3) I could not add more Ram to my laptop because the ram slot was broken when it was given to me, I made a youtube video about it to show System76 and it took them forever to get back to me about it
4) The track pad is... random. Theres no better word for it than that, it will randomly go all over the screen from time to time
5) I often couldnt tell if I was pressing on the laptop or the track pad button (mouse pad buttons)
6) Right now my System76 is dead because I cant replace the AC adapter. They use a strange size that I cant find anywhere, not even universal ones have the size in my experience. The only way I could get it replaced AFAIK is to give system76 more money, which I dont want to do.

Basically, I am anti-System 76 at this point. My experience with the panp7 was so utterly nightmarish that the only thing they could ever do to change my opinion is to give me a new laptop showing that every problem I had was an isolated experience. Until then, its too much to spend on such a low quality laptop.


Have you considered Asus or Zareason (never used them myself...)?

I have my problems with Asus too, but they arent bad enough to warrant a boycott. Ive had extended warranties with Dell on Ubuntu laptops, and they would send people to my house to fix whatever problem I had while I play video games. Cant beat that... You HAVE TO consider the fact that laptops break a lot (so companies that have hardware faults are not good enough even if the specs are good), and are a pain to reassemble. After doing it twice myself, I decided that I dont want to do it anymore lol

though for the record I WOULD consider buying a System76 desktop. Laptops? Count me out.

[Dlambert]

Could I see this video? ^

[WinterMadness]

sure.

Theres actually two videos, one that allows you to see the ram slot and one showing that the ram stick wont stay in, i went out of my way to make sure i covered as many possible situations when inputting the second ram slot so as to not bring up questions about what im doing, so that explains why it isnt a 3 second video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrVulmMxDVo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_S55g1QfEc

Im sure it wouldnt take much to get it fixed, but im not paying for it, and I still need a power plug.

[Dlambert]

sure.

Theres actually two videos, one that allows you to see the ram slot and one showing that the ram stick wont stay in, i went out of my way to make sure i covered as many possible situations when inputting the second ram slot so as to not bring up questions about what im doing, so that explains why it isnt a 3 second video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrVulmMxDVo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_S55g1QfEc

Im sure it wouldnt take much to get it fixed, but im not paying for it, and I still need a power plug.

Thank you.

[Dlambert]

After some thought (and a "show-rooming" trip to BestBuy), I've decided to get an Ultra-book because I like the look and feel. That being said, I've got it down to the Dell and the X1 Carbon from Lenovo.

I'm also looking into a Samsung Ultra-book, because out of the ones I saw yesterday, the Samsung ones were the best built.

But HP's envy Black/Red is to die for..

[Dlambert]

I've decided to go with the XPS 13. For these reasons: 1)Hard shell case avaliable 2) Student discount of several hundred dollars (compared to lenovo's $100)

I am not buying the Ubuntu edition, instead I'm going to save a bit and just buy the "Windows" version and install Ubuntu on it. Thank you all for your advice!