Should NVIDIA be avoided?

[Yellow Pasque]

Well, there's no seamless switching "Optimus" support in Linux.
You may be able to use prime-select ondemand like this: https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread....5#post14004415
But I personally would not buy a laptop with dual GPU's if running Linux. Heck, my nephew got one of those gamer laptops with a powerful Nvidia GPU and he ended up overheating it, and that was probably with Windows.

[TheFu]

I've been extremely happy using the iGPU included in Intel CPUs for years. No AMD or nVidia GPU at all. Nothing to fight, since Intel has provided their drivers to the kernel for a very long time. It "just works" and it helps reduce power requirements that the other GPUs seem to demand. If you aren't gaming, the Intel iGPU is more than good.

IMHO.

I'm not anti-AMD CPU for desktops and servers, but I am for laptops. Intel has nailed the CPU power vs Watt power requirements for many years just perfect. My intel CPU laptops since around 2012 have all gotten 8-10 hrs of battery life when new. After 4 yrs, most still got over 6 hrs of battery.

[erosman]

I see ..... any suggestions on new laptop ranges without extra GPU?

[mastablasta]

PS. I use laptop for usual computing & programming (with added external monitor), no game-play or intensive video editing.

Ryzen 5 or Intel i5 or better.

get AMD/AMD or intel/intel (no additional GPU chip). the latest GPU on chip are more than enough for your needs. just to give you some perspective - my kid has Ryzen 5 3600U with built in GPU and 8 GB ram. he can play many older games (source games like gary's mod, half life 2, CS:GO, L4D2) as well as some less demanding newer ones (Subnautica for example). i saw that even doom 2016 would run at low settings, but he should increase ram to 16 GB and put it in dual channel mode. the new generation (Ryzen 4xxx series) has an even better GPU. situation is quite similar with intel. OK so you won't be having 4K gaming on high frequency monitor with everything set to ultra, but you are not after that right?

for programming a good CPU and plety of RAM is more important i think.

what to find depends on where you live. Some preloaded linux laptops are awesome.

since you plan second monitor and you might need more disk space you should look into business class laptops. Lenovo, Dell or HP. Avoid those with soldered ram. Get something that is easy to upgrade and repair. business laptops might also be bigger and have better vents & fans.
Dell can come with Ubuntu preloaded. Some HP models are sold with SUSE linux, if you can find which mode that is you can buy one with Suse or with no OS, then you just load the OS. i tiwll work out of the box. I also saw some lower end HP Omens (gaming laptop) with linux preloaded.

if you are going to go with major brands, first check what is available in your area, then notebookcheck website is a good resource to check hardware and see if it fits you needs. when you find a few candidates check in google "installing linux on chosenmodel", if it doens't have linux preinstalled. if you don't find anything, then ask here.

for example Dell XPS developers addition was made with developers in mind.

i would go with something that has Ryzen 47xx (or intel i7) and that can upgrade RAM up to 32 Gb with some extra disk space in the box. bur depends what you do exactly and what the budget is. maybe 45xxx or i5 is also enough?

if you go with smaller brands (like system76, Purism, Tuxedo, KDE Slimbook, Ubutnushop, Vikings, Retrofreedom... ) search the internet for linux preloaded laptops. plenty of them.

[coffeecat]

@erosman, I've a somewhat off-topic comment to make, but relevant in the context of this from your OP:

I am looking to buy a new laptop to install Ubuntu. As a Linux novice, I am hoping for a hassle-free migration.

If you make a good choice with regards to graphics, you may still stumble badly with wireless. Some devices are challenging in Linux. If I was in your position and wanted graphics and wireless to "just work" I would choose all Intel - Intel CPU, graphics and wireless. The problem with the tech spec sheets of many manufacturers is that they don't always specify which wireless chipset is used, and if you're unlucky you might end up with one of the difficult ones.

Others have suggested Linux pre-installed laptops. At least you'll know that the wireless and all the other things that need effective drivers will work.

[TheFu]

I see ..... any suggestions on new laptop ranges without extra GPU?

Most of them do - just avoid "Gaming" in the name.
I agree with the Core i5 or Ryzen 5 or better, but mainly because that is my minimal desire.
However, the RAM and CPU needed depends on the type of programming you are doing. I've been very happy programming using a $200 Chromebook with a Celeron CPU & 2GB of RAM. I was writing web server apps in Perl and Ruby. The machine easily ran a test DB and webserver along with my WSGI webapp and a browser for informal testing.

If I were doing Java or Android development, then the requirements would be much higher. Those both are hogs.

For C/C++, Rust, and any other scripting language development, a $300-$500, laptop would be fine without compromises. I really prefer to program on my Ryzen desktop - more screen area on 2 monitors, faster CPU, more RAM, and a much better keyboard, but my office has lots of workspace for desktop hardware.

My current laptop is this:

$ inxi 
CPU~Quad core Intel Core i5-8250U (-MT-MCP-) speed/max~800/3400 MHz Kernel~5.4.0-73-generic x86_64 Up~31 days Mem~4679.0/7847.9MB HDD~500.1GB(23.2% used) Procs~497 Client~Shell inxi~2.3.56

It is nice for any programming, except Java or Android apps. For those, I'd want the $2000 Core i9 and 64G of RAM. For anything else, 4+ cores and 8G of RAM is fine.

I don't keep up with lines of computers that don't have addon GPUs. Probably any "Business" laptop, but that would be a wide brush stroke. Just stay away from gaming and check. The marketing won't be quiet about any addon GPU.

I'm ignorant about Ryzen laptop GPUs. I know that on desktops there was some compatibility problems, at least early on. I just don't know if those have all be addressed.

One last recommendation - don't by the newest laptop. Get a model from last year or the year before that. Avoid the latest and greatest so the Linux driver guys and do their volunteer efforts and so the new drivers have time to work through all the distribution stuff and "just work" when we do a Linux installation. A 2019 model would be the newest I'd touch, without knowing 100% that the install for a specific version of a specific model "just worked."

Life is too short to fight with hardware compatibility issues. IMHO, Dell and Lenovo have the strongest track records on being linux compatible.

I gotta ask - if you are new to Linux, why buy a new laptop at all? Can't you just run a virtual machine on your current system and put Linux inside that? I've been using virtual machines that way, especially for server and my main desktop setup, for over 10 yrs. No need to spend money, unless you just want to spend it. I ran lots of VMs our 2-core 8GB RAM systems for years. Plus, virtual machines hide any hardware compatibility issues, since the guest VMs are presented with only the most popular, well-supported, virtual hardware regardless of what is inside the actually physical computer.

[erosman]

I gotta ask - if you are new to Linux, why buy a new laptop at all? Can't you just run a virtual machine on your current system and put Linux inside that? I've been using virtual machines that way, especially for server and my main desktop setup, for over 10 yrs.

Currently, I am using an Acer Aspire V3-571G, i5-3230M, 4gb RAM, 750gb HDD (30% used), NVIDIA GeForce710M. Windows 7.
Although it runs fine, the lack of power and RAM has been bothering me. I get the CPU maxed more than I like and that has gradually been bothering me.

Win7 also has become a hassle with lack of support by some software. Some IDE like Android doesn't run properly and updating Windows wont help will the low specs.

Therefore, I have been thinking of getting a more powerful laptop (i7, 10-11th gen CPU, 16gb RAM, 512 SSD). Furthermore, I have been thinking of ditching Windows altogether.

Moving from Windows to Linux would take me a few weeks where I have to set-up Linux, find desired software replacements for my use, transfer my working environment gradually from one laptop to another, without interrupting my daily routine.


Therefore, virtual machine on my current laptop doesn't help me and it would eat up more of the CPU/RAM.

[TheFu]

My main concern is what happens if you have issues loading linux on the hot, new, laptop? What then?

Moving from Windows to Linux isn't trivial. It really should be after using Linux for a long time, daily, so your eyes are open and tiny issues don't take weeks or longer to solve. Plus, Linux isn't Windows and about 80% of the power for it comes from NOT using GUI programs.

Android development needs a $2000 laptop. 16G of RAM isn't nearly enough, IMHO.
A light Linux like xubuntu on the current hardware, then you could run Win10 inside a virtual machine under it.

I'd be very careful with an i7-11xxxx CPU. Those are really new and Linux needs time to develop solutions for new hardware.

OTOH, I can't blame you for wanting a new laptop. Have you considered getting a desktop for $450-ish and using a less powerful laptop as a remote connection client back to the desktop? I've been doing that since 2008. A $200 chromebook can run an x2go session, securely connect to my workstation back home and let me get work done faster, with less risks, over any network that is ISDN or faster. Just more options, but I wouldn't blame you for getting a new system either.

[SeijiSensei]

Looks like you can add another 4 GB of memory into your Acer. That's a fairly low-cost upgrade that can often help improve performance considerably.

https://www.crucial.com/compatible-u...g-73618g50makk

Replacing the hard drive with an SSD is also a fairly cheap upgrade that can cut down on the time required to boot and do file transactions.

[him610]

I am looking to buy a new laptop to install Ubuntu. As a Linux novice, I am hoping for a hassle-free migration.

Why not consider buying one with Ubuntu already installed? https://system76.com/laptops

They make good machines. I have had one for over eight years now - it is my wife's primary computer.