Dell Latitude 3540

[simonf2]

I am hoping to purchase a pre-used Dell laptop running Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition that I wish to dual boot with Ubuntu. Having already run into issues with an aged laptop that apparently met the 14.04 spec but was a disaster, I wondered if anyone would just put my mind at rest. The processor is and Intel Core i5-4200U Dual Core with integrated graphics and 4GB DDR3 RAM.

Is there any reason why this should not be suitable for Ubuntu 14.04?

Thanks in advance for any observations.

[yousef2]

Ubuntu Is VERY Light OS Compared to Windows, You won't have ANY Performance/Compitability Problems, I Run Ubuntu on Core2Duo T7500 @ 2.2 with 2GB of DDR2 RAM with 120GB Good state HDD, It Works lag FREE, if i was you, i wouldn't even complain about it.

[mastablasta]

it should work. GPU would work well.

what is the model? you could check if it's maybe Ubuntu certified.

[LastDino]

That laptop should work fine, what was the older laptop you tried like?

[simonf2]

Thanks for all the posts, I freely admit to being a senior non-techie Ubuntu virgin!

The laptop I tried it on was a Dell about 8 years old - the problem seemed to be the graphics card but whatever, it wasn't happy and would only run Lubuntu which is not what I want to use. Given this experience I thought I would check.

I was unaware of the "Ubuntu certified" site so this alone is a great deal of help although the one I hope to buy (Dell 3540) is not listed.

Thanks again

SimonF

[claracc]

Here, http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/ you have the ubuntu certified hardware site in order to know what computers will run ubuntu out of the box.

[simonf2]

Thanks!

[hellybelly]

performance should not be an issue especially with 4gb of ram

the only issues you might possibly have are getting specific hardware (wifi card / audio etc) to work - you may have to install on the ethernet if the wifi is an issue and update the drivers once it's installed

this is a really comprehensive site to help see what linux distro might be best for your laptop:

http://linux-laptop.net/

[mörgæs]

Best you can do is testing the Dell in a 64 bit live boot and judge the results. Chances are good that everything works.

[simonf2]

Yes, live boot would be ideal - I wasn't sure if this is a true indicator but anyway buying at a distance it is not too easy.

Linux-laptop is an excellent resource, if I get there I'll add my post.

Thanks for the posts

SimonF