Ask HN: Best current Linux-compatible laptop?

[sz0ka]

Aloha HN!

I'm looking for the "best" linux compatible laptop you know about (business). Here are some specs: - min. 8GB RAM - SSD - VGA (for beamer support) - HDMI / DVI - MUST work with Ubuntu Linux 14.04 without poking around for weeks just to get the damn W-LAN running or jokes like that - Shouldn't cost more than 1.3k €urons

I came up with a custom configured Schenker, but maybe you know something better :D!

It'd be awesome to get some recommendations! Thanks in advance for sharing your experience!

./sz0ka

[danford]

http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/

http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/

In my experience Dells usually work well and if you're willing to spend the money they have some pretty decent end developer laptops that come with ubuntu (xps I think).

Edit: seeing as Ubuntu 14.04 has only been out for a couple weeks the links provided may not be as relevant because they're so far only certified to run on 12.04, but it still gives you some inference as to what manufactures have the best support.

[BugBrother]

That worked well for me.

I bought a laptop a couple of years ago off that list. Dell Latitude E5520. It is like a cheaper Thinkpad.

[hpaavola]

I have Asus Zennbook UX31A (I got only 4 GB of ram, newer version have 8GB) and it works almost perfectly with Ubuntu 14.04 (and older, only thing that does not work is ambient light detector).

At least here in Finland they cost about 1100 euros (http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/product/36916/dnqkg/Asus-Zenb...). While it does not have VGA output, it comes with HDMI->VGA adapter.

See https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AsusZenbookPrime

[natdempk]

+1 for Zenbooks. I have a UX32VD, with 12 GB RAM and an i7 and it runs all of the distros I've tried with minimal problems and setup. I've run different versions of Ubuntu and Arch on it with no real issues, and the battery life is decent for its weight and thickness as well. The 1080p screen in the small form factor is also really nice.

[sergiosgc]

I'm definitely skewed towards Thinkpads, having carried one with me since '03 when I bought the first. My current laptop is an X1 carbon, and I can only say nice things about it. The only nitpick is that they messed the home/insert/end/Del key island.

No problems whatsoever running Linux on it.

[pcx]

I've heard very good reviews for the X1 Carbon. The only cons are: 1)weird keyboard layout 2)low-quality mousepad. Except for that the X1 Carbon seems to be a perfect Linux laptop. My friend's running Arch and it's working like a breeze.

[bobdvb]

I've had two Thinkpad's and bought my mother one as well, all running Linux, so easy, solid and reliable.

[blueyed]

> My current laptop is an X1 carbon

Is this the second generation?

[mekoka]

I've used 2 System76 laptops in 5 years. I would buy again and would recommend them. They're not as fancy looking as the more mainstream brands, but they do the job quite well for their price tag (approx 700-800$ for a Gazelle). They come in various size and weight.

The first one I bought was a Pangolin that I used everyday for work and play, in an average of 12hrs/day, and lasted 4 years, before the display started to have problems, at which point I bought another one.

Most things work as expected on delivery, usb ports, camera, mic, audio jacks, hdmi, etc. The laptop itself feels pretty solid.

The low points: speakers are crap (I use headphones), touchpad is crap (I use a mouse), not the most innovative design (I once had someone commenting to me that my laptop must be pretty old, it was only 2 years old).

[japhyr]

What was your experience with battery life? I had a Pangolin around 2010 that I loved, but the battery would only last 1.5-2 hours.

I have a Thinkpad 430s with a bay battery now, which gets 4-6 hours of battery life. I would have a hard time going back to a machine with a battery life much shorter than that.

[TobbenTM]

Most lenovo ThinkPads are certified to work with Ubuntu.

And (for me at least) there are no better laptops out there. They should have all of your needs covered. I would suggest going for the T540. It's awesome.

[sandGorgon]

I just upgraded (today!) to a Thinkpad T430S from a Dell Latitude E6410. I now have the ability to go to 16GB RAM and upgrade the processor as well. It is fully compatible with Linux and is one sexy 4.2 lbs laptop.

the Tx30 is "theoretically" previous generation, but the problem with the current generation of Thinkpads is the touchpad without buttons which is very bad (not like the macbook) as well as the fact that several of them have one ram slot soldered to the motherboard, so you cant upgrade.

Also, most of the processors seem underpowered. You will be able to find previous generation thinkpads for less than 800 euros.

Having said that, the Dell Latitudes are also fully compatible with Linux - but not as cool looking.

[davb]

T430s here. Was running XUbuntu 13.10, now running stock Debian 7.4 (I don't like XUbuntu 14 one bit).

Really happy with it. I bought a T440 for someone recently, which is also really nice however it seems the RAM is limited to 12GB max (too little for my use).

[donquichotte]

I bought the T430 two years ago. It's the best computer I have ever owned and works flawlessly with Ubuntu.

[trobertson]

I've got a T530, and have had several distros on it at varying points. I highly recommend ThinkPads as well.

[mello151]

I've been running an (ancient) T420S with Manjaro for quite a while. Never had an issue.

[janvidar]

I've used several ThinkPad x-series laptops in the past.

My current machine is a Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition, which ships with Ubuntu pre-installed.

Good battery life, excellent performance and nice size/weight - comparable to a 13" Macbook Air.

You'll ned a mini-DP to HDMI/DVI converter cable though.

[davb]

I'm using a Dell XPS 13 too and really like it. My biggest gripe is how hot it gets. So much so that it's uncomfortable to use on your lap (with the air vents all along the bottom). I've cleaned the inside, verified the fan operation and speed. It's just a machine that tends to run quite hot.

[kelseyfrancis]

There's no official Linux version of the larger Dell XPS 15, but it's also a great choice if you need a little more power: quad-core i7, 16gb ram, 512gb ssd.

I recently installed Fedora 20 on it with no problems. I except Ubuntu 14.04 works well too.

All the hardware works out of the box. As usually, the proprietary NVIDIA drivers gave me fits, so I've just uninstalled them for now. Battery life is still good, as usually the Intel chip is used, even with an external monitor connected (unlike a MacBook Pro).

[hadoukenio]

Ctrl+F ThinkPad.

I guess the search count should show you something.

I'm on a W530. It's a beast and everything works. And I'm talking Debian!

[Torgo]

I have that same laptop. It uses the Nvidia optimus video architecture, I can't get that to work right, but I just use the Intel GPU and it works perfectly if you're not playing 3D games. The external displayport doesn't work out of the box for me, I have heard it doesn't work right but it might be an advanced configuration thing.

The fingerprint reader doesn't work, but you shouldn't use it anyway because it offers no real security.

The BIOS doesn't support booting off the sdcard or expresscard slot, which isn't a linux-specific problem, but is a giant pain in the ass.

edit: also adding, I bought it only maybe a year ago, and the battery is already at around 50% recharge capacity. I don't know if it's me or it's linux, but I only run Linux and it's torn through thinkpad and macbook (2008-ish) batteries.

[Galanwe]

ThinkPads USED to be good products. Lenovo killed it. the W530 is still good, but the W540 is a joke. The "Lenovo recommends Windows." at the top of Lenovo's website finished to convince me not to buy any TP anymore.

[jlgaddis]

> I'm on a W530. It's a beast and everything works.

Same here: Quad-core i7, 32 GB RAM, 480 GB SSD + 500 GB SATA, 1920x1080. This thing is mostly going to waste. :(

[maguirre]

I am on a W520 and things worked fairly well until I decided to connect an external monitor. Has this problem gotten anywhere in the past year or so?

[zokier]

> I'm looking for the "best" linux compatible laptop you know about (business) [...] Shouldn't cost more than 1.3k €urons

Pick one. Personally I find HPs ZBook15 interesting, but Linux models begin from $2500.

> VGA (for beamer support)

get an external dongle, otherwise you are limiting your options needlessly.

[sandeepshetty]

Have been using the 2nd gen Dell XPS 13 developer edition that comes pre-installed with Ubuntu and I'm loving it. Wasn't all smooth sailing though: http://www.sandeep.io/157

The latest edition is even better.

At the time I also looked at the ultrabook from System 76 but decided to skip it because of keyboard issue reports and lack of support in my country.

Edit 1: The keyboard on the Dell XPS is nowhere as good as a Thinkpad, but it beats them on form factor, price and support (at least in my country).

Edit 2: The X1 carbon has a slightly flexible carbon-fiber chassis which I didn't like but it's a great option if you want a bigger display than the XPS 13 and don't mind the price.

[klrr]

http://shop.gluglug.org.uk/product/ibm-lenovo-thinkpad-x60-c...

Doesn't require any binary blobs and comes with Trisquil GNU/Linux pre-installed.

[teh_klev]

Nice old machine but doesn't meet OP's desired spec, i.e. 8GB RAM and HDMI/DVI.

[perlgeek]

I'm very happy with the Asus UX31A (from the Zenbook series).

It works fine on Ubuntu 14.04 here, including wlan, suspend-to-RAM (I haven't tried suspend-to-disc, since I have no swap partition), function keys (backlight, keyboard backlist, switch off trackpad etc.).

Battery lifetime is -- in typical office workload, including wlan -- between 3.5 and 5H, mostly depending on backlight setting.

And I guess that's common to most SSD-equipped notebooks, but bootup is really fast (haven't measured it, but probably ~8s).

(Just a small note: to install linux, you first must remove all "secure boot" keys in the bios, then disable secure boot; windows 8 still worked fine afterwards).

[computer]

Only issue I have with mine is that they have non-expandable 4 GB memory, since it's soldered onto the motherboard. I think some of the later models can be manually expanded up to 10 GB.

[glitch273]

Take a look at System 76: https://www.system76.com/laptops/model/galu1

The specs are very well chosen for most developer users at a very reasonable price. From your requirements, I believe the only thing missing is native VGA support, which I'm sure you can easily fix with a simple adapter.

[pan69]

I'm really interested in these but I've heard reports on flaky casings made of cheap and thin plastic. Do you have experience with these yourself and if so can you share your findings?

[sz0ka]

Yeah the VGA thing is optional, but our laptops do need some output, that is compatible to our beamers... :/ Buying an adapter is not the problem :D!

[secure]

The ThinkPad X240 will work. Alternatively, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (perhaps in its 2014 edition) with an adapter for VGA.

[einrealist]

I have one with all configurable components. The clickpad is not working properly out-of-box and needs to be configured in the xorg.conf. The Ericsson WWAN also has issues, requires a line in udev rules. I did not try fingerprint reader, NFC and the card reader, yet. There are also issues with the Ultra Dock. After a firmware update VGA/DVI is working, but no HDMI/DisplayPort. The sound jack of the dock is not working either.

But so far I'm satisfied. The x240 is a decent laptop. It was a good choice to wait for the FHD model and not to fall for a MacBook Pro.

[herokusaki]

How do you find the keyboard compared to that of the X220 and earlier X series laptops? It's the one thing that makes me reluctant to consider the newer devices of the series.

[marcocampos]

I currently use a Thinkpad T530 with Ubuntu 14.04 and TLP power management and it works great. I modded mine by replacing the 900P screen with a 1080P IPS screen and putting a bigger SSD (128GB vs 500GB). Highly recomended.

Specs:

Intel Core i5-3320M 2.6Ghz (Dual-Core) Intel HD4000 Integrated Graphics 8GB DDR3 RAM 500GB Samsung 840 Evo SSD 15.6" 1080p IPS Screen Blacklit keyboard

Price: About 1200€ after replacing the screen and SSD.

Forgot to tell that with TLP and a 9-cell battery I get about 7.5 hours of battery life using the ondemand profile.

[kclay]

Have a similar configuration on my T530 as well, wonderful laptop.But I do need to tweak my TLP setting I get around 4-5 but think I have a 6cell

[tbmatuka]

Until recently I was using a Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E530 for sysadmin work. It was ridiculously cheap for a ThinkPad, everything worked under Arch Linux and best of all it had a numpad, which I needed. It was mostly sitting on a desk and not moving around much, so the weight and size weren't a big deal.

I just took a look and the newer model E540 can be ordered with a full HD screen (15") which weren't available on the older ones.

[LocalMan]

I have a Dell Inspiron laptop that's about 1.5 years old. It runs 14.04 LTS just fine. With one exception: The external USB CD/DVD drive is not supported. The built-in CD/DVD drive works like a champ, so it's okay.

Sometimes I boot the Windows-7 partition.

My spinning rust is a 500 GB drive.

How you should buy your machine also depends on what country you are in. Local suppliers often give much better support than mail-order.

[rainmaking]

The Lenovo Ideapad series has (almost) always worked out of the box for me. You can even buy them without Windows.

Tested and true:

* Ideapad G780 (17 inch) * Ideapad Y560 * Ideapad G560

The casing quality isn't that great so if you're always on the go you might want to get a ThinkPad instead, but they're really great for something you occasionaly take with you and mostly just move around the home/office.

[BruceIV]

This might not be what you're actually looking for, but I just set up a new laptop, and after a week of trying to get it to dual boot (UEFI, eh?) decided to run Linux in VMWare under Windows instead. I've got to say, Windows+VMWare makes a darn good hardware abstraction layer, which means I don't need to worry nearly so much about crappy driver stuff.

[lion0]

I agree. I've used both vmware and virtualbox, and they both provide good options to running linux under windows. Since most of my linux work is server type work, it works out pretty well.

[jamesjguthrie]

I really love my HP Chromebook 14. It comes with 4GB of RAM and the RAM is upgradeable. I've installed an Ubuntu chroot which had no issues with wifi/trackpad/etc. I'm on 13.10 but the new version is supported too. Everybody comments on its looks - I got the white one - and it was only ~£280.

[danoprey]

ASUS N56 for me. Everything except the sub-woofer worked immediately and that was an easy fix. Awesome sound, great keyboard, pretty good to look at, good screen and touchpad. Downside is that it's a little heavier but that doesn't bother me at all. Had the N72 17" version too and it was also great.

[fgd]

I'm currently very happy with ThinkPad T440s. It covers all your requirements, comes with a FullHD panel (optional touchscreen) and double batteries. The only downside is the new Lenovo touch/clickpad. I got used to it, but it took me a while to figure out the settings which worked for me.

[rawland]

Same here! I like the T440s a lot and get 10h+ out of the double battery under heavy usage incl. WiFi and usable brightness with tlp and roughly the same at a low profile using the standard battery.

Clickpad fix, which feels good:

http://rscircus.org/post/72978821261/t440s-clickpad-fix-whic...

Decent power management:

http://rscircus.org/post/71103253232/linux-on-lenovos-thinkp...

Disclaimer: Wrote that myself to have a manual on how to setup it again in case my machine crashes.

[hyp0]

NOT AN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, but the chromebooks seem the best value-for-money laptops - and already have a linux distribution installed (ChromeOS). The Acer C720 has a Haswell dual-core and 2GB RAM - lower speced than your needs. There's the Pixel, I guess... (much higher speced).

[danoprey]

Yup, I believe Linus uses the Pixel.

[moist]

There's also a 4GB RAM version of the C720 with a 32GB SSD.

[theshadowmonkey]

I currently use ThinkPad T520. Its a bit heavy. But works smoothly with Fedora. I am looking to buy a T440s which looks awesome and is incredibly light for a thinkpad. I also run dual boot macbook pro. Both suit my needs well and have no problems getting them working.

[sz0ka]

Wow a big thanks to everyone commenting here!! Great recommendations so far (apart from the mac :P </troll> just joking, but for our special case is apple no option, thanks anyway!), I'll check them all! :D

PS: the link to the ubuntu page with certified hardware is great!

./sz0ka

[tdsamardzhiev]

The answer's been the same for many years - Dell Latitude E6xxx, Lenovo Thinkpad T-series.

MacBooks are good buy if you live in the US, but here in Europe their prices/service/support are a joke.

Fujitsu is my favourite laptop brand, but their Linux support is iffy at best.

[pan_sapien]

I'm currently using a Dell M3800 with Ubuntu 14.04. It works great for software development and 14.04 improved support for high DPI screens.

Dell's Sputnik project seems to have worked out the kinks as I haven't had any problems with hardware support.

[kelseyfrancis]

Have you been able to successfully use the proprietary NVIDIA drivers? That's the only thing I've had any trouble with at all (on the XPS 15). Otherwise, it's a really great machine.

[pan_sapien]

The XPS 15 is the same machine with a different GPU if you want to save a few $s.

[pessimizer]

https://zareason.com/shop/Strata-7440.html

https://zareason.com/shop/Verix-540.html

muy macho

[phaemon]

Hah! I was thinking of posting the exact same question. Though I don't care about an SSD for an otherwise good machine, as I'm happy enough to put one in myself.

Recommendations at different prices points would also be appreciated!

[JohnDoe365]

Running my first SSD Laptop now and won't look back. It's definitely worth them money. U/K/L buntu 14.04 with btrfs does also a good job by enablig ssd specfics during boot.

[ushi]

I am running a Lenovo T430 (Arch Linux) - Everything works out of the box.

[w4rh4wk5]

if somebody is looking for a cheap one, i can recommend lenovo e330. the laptop costs less than 500 euro, comes with no OS installed but an HDD which should be replaced with an SSD. linux compatibility is top, performance is sufficient for office work, youtube, development. Battery life of about 5-6 hours when using WLAN and maximum display brightness all the time.

been using it for months now without any issues.

edit: for more power i can recommend the lenovo T440, a friend of mine bought one and he is completely satisfied with it)

[jaseemabid]

As of now, I use a mac for the hw but the linux experience on this box is shitty.

I installed archlinux, and still havent got the fonts right. Its so much strain on the eyes and I had to go back to mac.

[DanBC]

I agree.

I'm using a 2009 MBP and the Linux experience is frustrating. (I'm not even dual booting)

It's fine if you enjoy tinkering with the system and finding different drivers and so on, and it's probably good as a learning experience. (WIFI doesn't work. Some models don't have ethernet. That's a fun and relatively easy puzzle to solve).

[__chrismc]

Have you tried installing the Infiniality bundle? It's a replacement set of libraries that definitely improved the font rendering in Arch, to my eyes at least.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Infinality-bundle+fonts

[danford]

Have you tried Ubuntu 14.04? My sister just installed it on her MBP and she hasn't had any issues except with the track pad, which she was abe to fix (not sure how). Don't install arch unless you're ready to tweak some configuration files.

[hpeinar]

Try to avoid dual GPU setup laptops like Dell Inspirion 5521 I'm using with Linux Mint.

It's hard to get external monitors / projectors etc to work with this setup.

[sz0ka]

Great, this is good to know, thank you!

[neverminder]

I'm looking for the same thing, but with yet another most important requirement - 4K screen. Doesn't have to be out now, sometime this year is fine.

[bdahz]

ASUS B400, works like a charm, with Manjaro Linux. Up to 6 hrs. And excellent touchpad driver functioning better than that of Windows.

[JohnDoe365]

I was also doing some research some weeks ago and ended up with a Schenker. Is also a good deal value for money - wise!

[rvijapurapu]

I have been using HP Elitebook 8470p - everything works out of the box (Including the HSPA modem & suspend to ram).

[mello151]

I use one of these for work and always wondered how it'd fair with Linux. Do you use a docking station with it?

[helicon]

seen this review of Dell XPS 13 on hn a while back. Not 14.04 but may be of interest:

http://www.jx0.org/2013/12/dell-xps-13-developer-edition-rev...

[seba_dos1]

My Dell Vostro 2520 seems to match all those requirements, but I added SSD by myself.

[jnardiello]

At work i use an HP Elitebook 850 with Ubuntu, no issues. Everything works.

[guidopallemans]

HP almost always get so much shit (also for linux-compatibility), but I never understood it

[akulbe]

My absolute best experience has been with a ThinkPad W530.

[TFlon]

Macbook Air (Or any Macbook for that matter).

[Galanwe]

Got a Schenker from XMG. Works like a charm.

[known]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrabook#List_of_models

[claudiug]

the guys from dell have a custom ubuntu for xps products :)