Getting Notebook - Would Love Opinions

[Zephalie]

Hi everyone. I'm getting a notebook for school (moving to residence in the fall) and I've been looking into getting a Dell. I want to eventually have my OS as a dualboot of Ubuntu and Mint, and just cut Windows all together. Anyways, I'm considering the following notebooks and I would love to get your opinions on them. I've been really leaning towards the Dells because of the customized builds. Also, what do you think about the pricing? I live in northern Ontario, so I'm pretty much forced to order online. Anyways, here are my two favourite choices:

INSPIRON 1420

Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2MB cache/2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB), English
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition, English [not for long haha]
System Color and LCD cover Pattern: Sunshine Yellow Color with Microsatin Finish
Memory: 3GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (1GB x 2GB)
Monitor: High Resolution, glossy widescreen 14.1 inch display (1440 x 900)
Video Card: 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8400M GS
Video Memory: Windows Vista™ Premium
Hard Drive: 250G 5400RPM SATA HDD
Integrated NIC and Modem: Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software: Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0
Optical Drive: 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Card: Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
Wireless Networking Cards: Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
Integrated Webcam: Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Webcam
Productivity Software: Microsoft Works 9. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD, English
Security Software: Trend Micro Internet Security 30-day trial, English
Primary Battery: 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Services: 3 Yr Next Business Day Onsite Service,CompleteCare,Lojack and Tech Support
Optional Support Services: DataSafe Online Backup 3GB (included with price)
Processor Branding: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Internet Access (ISP): Provided
Wireless Personal Networking Card: Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

Estimated Cost: $1.588.00

XPS M1330 (PRODUCT) RED

Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista™ Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED™
System Color and LCD cover Pattern: (PRODUCT) RED™
Memory: 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
LCD Screen & Camera: Slim and Light White LED Display with VGA Webcam
Video Card: 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8400M GS
Hard Drive: 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Adobe Software: Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Optical Drive: 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Card: Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
Wireless Networking: Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
Productivity Software: Microsoft Works 9. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
Software - Antivirus: Trend Micro Internet Security: AntiVirus, Firewall, Spyware removal 15-months
Primary Battery: 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Hardware Services: 3 Yr Next Business Day Onsite Service,CompleteCare,Lojack and Tech Support
Online Data Storage: DataSafe Online Backup 3GB
Internet Access (ISP): Provided
Bluetooth and Wireless USB: Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)

Estimated cost: $2.038.00

[lswest]

Well, my first reaction is to take the XPS, since the Dell Wireless 1395 card in the inspiron 1420 is unclear as to what chipset it is (chances are it's a broadcom) whereas the XPS has an intel card that (should) run out of the box. The rest of the hardware seems fine, don't see why any of the other hardware wouldn't work.

Just my $0.02. Also, if they offer the inspiron with an intel card instead of the dell wireless stuff, i'd take that because the specs are fine for Linux, and it'd cut down costs.

P.S. i miss living in Ontario :( & good luck in School (I've only got a year of high school left, then university)

[liquidfunk]

Why not get a Dell-Buntu? ^_^

[Zephalie]

Well, my first reaction is to take the XPS, since the Dell Wireless 1395 card in the inspiron 1420 is unclear as to what chipset it is (chances are it's a broadcom) whereas the XPS has an intel card that (should) run out of the box. The rest of the hardware seems fine, don't see why any of the other hardware wouldn't work.

Just my $0.02. Also, if they offer the inspiron with an intel card instead of the dell wireless stuff, i'd take that because the specs are fine for Linux, and it'd cut down costs.

P.S. i miss living in Ontario :( & good luck in School (I've only got a year of high school left, then university)Just checked again, and nope, the Inspiron only has the Dell cards.

Hmm here's another one I haven't look at before:

INSPIRON 1420N

Base: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5450 (2MB cache/1.66GHz/667Mhz FSB)
Operating System: Ubuntu Linux version 7.10 with DVD Playback
System Color: Sunshine Yellow
Memory: 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
Monitor: High Resolution, glossy widescreen 14.1 inch display (1440x900)
Video Card: 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8400M GS
Hard Drive: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Integrated NIC and Modem: Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Optical Drive: 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Card: Integrated High Definition Audio
Wireless Networking Cards: Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
Camera: Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Webcam
Primary Battery: 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Hardware Support Services: 3 Year Next Business Day Onsite/In Home Service, CompleteCare and Tech Support
Bluetooth Options: Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)

Total cost: $1,528.00

[lswest]

Why not get a Dell-Buntu? ^_^

i find the offers rather limiting, and that they're slightly overpriced... Besides, i just installed Ubuntu on my dad's D430 and everything runs out of the box, since it's based on intel stuff. Cost less than the cheapest dell with ubuntu i saw with the same specs, and he uses XP too. I'd just suggest to choose a notebook that you want, and then check to see if the hardware works, and if it does, buy it, otherwise, keep looking. I learned that the hard way with my purchase of a DV6545EG from HP for school this year, it required a lot of tinkering to get running in Gutsy, Hardy made it somewhat easier though (there goes that excuse for school "i haven't gotten around to setting that up yet" XD)

Dell Ubuntus come with it pre-installed and configured (so if you were planning on doing a custom install, you'd end up getting rid of it anyways) and it comes with a slightly custom Ubuntu with media codecs pre-installed (since they have the license for it for use with Windows systems, they can offer it with Ubuntu too without running into any legal issues).

[Zephalie]

i find the offers rather limiting, and that they're slightly overpriced... Besides, i just installed Ubuntu on my dad's D430 and everything runs out of the box, since it's based on intel stuff. Cost less than the cheapest dell with ubuntu i saw with the same specs, and he uses XP too. I'd just suggest to choose a notebook that you want, and then check to see if the hardware works, and if it does, buy it, otherwise, keep looking. I learned that the hard way with my purchase of a DV6545EG from HP for school this year, it required a lot of tinkering to get running in Gutsy, Hardy made it somewhat easier though (there goes that excuse for school "i haven't gotten around to setting that up yet" XD)

Dell Ubuntus come with it pre-installed and configured (so if you were planning on doing a custom install, you'd end up getting rid of it anyways) and it comes with a slightly custom Ubuntu with media codecs pre-installed (since they have the license for it for use with Windows systems, they can offer it with Ubuntu too without running into any legal issues). I know this is a stupid question, but how do I know if the hardware will work? Usually I don't mind testing things, but returning a non-compatible computer and trying to explain to the sales people is impossible. Plus, I don't trust the sales reps around here. Last year, one guy tried to sell me a $100 CAMERA memory card for my PSP. They think that being blonde=being computer illiterate.

[lswest]

Generally hard drives and sound cards work (unless it's something fancy like 5.1 surroud sound or a multi-satellite speaker setup) out of the box, displays too. CPUs have (in my experience) never had any trouble, the major problems come from graphics and wireless. Nvidia graphics cards are well-supported and the nvidia drivers are pretty good (save for the new 9xxx series of Nvidia cards, they need a beta driver to run) and intel chipsets run straight out of the box (however, the performance isn't the same) and wireless cards usually are best if you go with an intel chipset, since i have yet to hear of a case where intel cards fail to work out of the box on a fresh install.

If you have any specific queries or are unsure about a card/piece of hardware have a look here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupport

And usually it's best to check out the hardware before buying a computer ;) Also, sales reps are out there to sell you stuff, and (in my experience) often don't know much about the stuff they're selling. For example: the guy selling the HP laptop claimed the broadcom card (which he thought was intel, until i checked the spec sheet) had both bluetooth and 802.11n support, neither of which is true. In any case, i didn't think much of it, it was a cheap (relatively) laptop, and I was right in thinking i'd be able to get it all up and running with a bit of time, so the purchase wasn't a bad one, just would have been easier had i known what i know now when i bought it. Especially because the model i looked at that was a bit more expensive dropped in price (so it actually cost 10€ less than the one i bought) 2 days after i bought my laptop, and brought with it a 7400 nvidia card instead of the 7150, and an intel card. (maybe the sales rep thought that was the laptop we were talking about? who knows)

[madjr]

I know this is a stupid question, but how do I know if the hardware will work? Usually I don't mind testing things, but returning a non-compatible computer and trying to explain to the sales people is impossible. Plus, I don't trust the sales reps around here. Last year, one guy tried to sell me a $100 CAMERA memory card for my PSP. They think that being blonde=being computer illiterate.


http://www.dell.com/open


those are the models that work 100% with Ubuntu and are supported.

[fedex1993]

what about something other than dell i recomend some toshiba laptops or you can get a think pad from lenovo they run perfect with ubuntu and mostly and linux distro

[50words]

I just ordered a second ThinkPad for myself, and I am handing my old one down to my wife after it comes back from some warranty service. ThinkPads are tough as hell, and if they do break, Lenovo customer service is fantastic.

[fedex1993]

I just ordered a second ThinkPad for myself, and I am handing my old one down to my wife after it comes back from some warranty service. ThinkPads are tough as hell, and if they do break, Lenovo customer service is fantastic.

yes they are great. I am actally acquiring one in about 4 days for free WOOT WOOT onlything i wish that it was still under ibm and not lenovo

[madjr]

what about something other than dell i recomend some toshiba laptops or you can get a think pad from lenovo they run perfect with ubuntu and mostly and linux distro

not totally true i had a toshiba, i couldn't get wifi to work.

it all depends on the components of the laptop.

Intel components (wifi, etc) + nvidia 8xxx = good choice.

[cardinals_fan]

Get a Thinkpad. Any Thinkpad.

[zmjjmz]

You can buy Thinkpads from Los Alamos Computers that have Linux preinstalled.

[bigbrovar]

not totally true i had a toshiba, i couldn't get wifi to work.

it all depends on the components of the laptop.

Intel components (wifi, etc) + nvidia 8xxx = good choice.
+1

[Madman6510]

If you want a laptop, and plan running Ubuntu on it, try getting a System 76. www.system76.com