Looking for a laptop for Ubuntu ... suggestions?

[Homeroast]

I have had success installing Lubuntu on my 10 year old IBM Thinkpad (thanks to some incredibly helpful members of this forum)!

However, since most of the computers around my house are pretty old, I am thinking about getting a new or semi-new laptop to install Ubuntu 12.04 on.

It's been my experience that some laptops take the install easier than others. Is there a brand that has worked best for you?

What laptop manufacturers would you suggest?

Thanks so much. I really appreciate the collective wisdom of this group.

[afixane]

System76's Laptops are awesome

[VE6EFR]

System76's Laptops are awesome

I agree. From everything that I have read about their laptops, it seems to be a great way to go.

[mapes12]

I took Ubu with me, both on a CD and on a USB stick, to PC World and asked the assistant if I could check if my preferred OS would work on a range of the machines in the shop. Amazingly, he agreed! He'd not seen Ubu before and was quite enthusiastic about having a look at it. Once I'd found the laptop I was interested in and confirmed Ubu would run on it I thanked him for his help and said I would have a think about it. I then went home and on the internet to price comparsion the machine and saved about £100 on the shop price by buying online.

[sammiev]

I have loved Toshiba all Intel based units for Ubuntu. All equipment worked right out of the box. The Toshiba L650 is a dream come true with Ubuntu 11.10/12.04/12.10. For less than $600.00.

[PcMojo]

I'm still relatively new to Ubuntu/Linux, and have asked a similar question in the past. What I have found is that the make/model of laptop is actually of secondary concern. Let's say Ubuntu had issues surrounding video with the AMD APU chips or the newer Intel HD4000. It wouldn't matter much whether it was a Dell, Hp or IBM. After you get a few ideas on models you may want to research the components (especially any new WhizBang! features) on the forums and see if others are having problems with that particular piece of technology. That being said, laptops tend to be more proprietary than desktops so you may be safer with a larger selling brand just because any problems would effect more people and possibly get fixed quicker. Another thing you may want to keep in mind is that even if you get a laptop that works perfectly with the latest version of *buntu, that doesn't guarantee that the next upgrade (or even update) that things will still be perfect. My Dell620 worked great with 10.10 but after doing a clean 12.04 install my dvd/cd stopped burning. In fact, I need to make a post to find out what the issue is! Hope this helps!

[steve7777777]

For brands Lenovo followed by Dell as far as Linux compatibility goes. This thread is also helpful.

[Redblade20XX]

Just a suggestion, stay away from HP. They have way too much linux hardware incompatibilities and locked BIOS.

-Red

[drawkcab]

Hard to beat a Lenovo Thinkpad. There are sales periodically on their website and if you call or chat with a rep you can ask them to rush your order.

[mapes12]

Just a suggestion, stay away from HP. They have way too much linux hardware incompatibilities and locked BIOS.

I have never had a problem with HP laptops. Their printer support is legendary.