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Best out of box laptop for Linux/Ubuntu

post #1 of 12
2/21/07 at 3:01pm
Thread Starter 
My wife needs a new laptop. I am looking for something in the $500-1000 range with a 15" screen that supports linux with the LEAST amount of hassle.

- Nvidia or Intel graphics required, I've had too much trouble with ATI in the past
- what wifi card has best support today?
- what sound card to look for?
- suspend/resume works

Any suggestions?
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post #2 of 12
2/21/07 at 3:20pm
I just want to say, at least you ask the right questions

Unforunatly I haven't bought a PC laptop in a while though, so I can only help you so much, I think you already got the basics down. Wireless worst case scenario there is always ndiswrapper, but try to get one of the natively supported Aetheros or Prism chipsets I believe and youll find it easier and better.

Sound, the vast majority of them all run very similar when it comes to onboard. If you need something fancy then I might be able to make a few suggestions, but I believe the majority of onboard sound is fairly well supported at the moment.

Seablade
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post #3 of 12
2/21/07 at 3:49pm
From what I've heard, Intel wireless cards are almost universally supported, so if you get a computer labeled "Centrino" (meaning it uses an Intel processor, chipset, & wireless card), then that should work fine. If you're going to be using "Edgy" Ubuntu (6.10), then be cautious of notebooks with 2 batteries, as there have been some documented issues with Edgy & that. Also, if you get a laptop with a card reader, there's a good chance the card reader won't work with any version. If you're interested in modifying your processor voltages at all (undervolting), you'd need to get a computer with a Pentium M CPU. If you want to be able to see your component temperatures & fan speeds, don't get a Thinkpad, as the lm_sensors module is not compatible with them. And Nvidia graphics are preferable to Intel, as you can get the drivers from Ubuntu via Synaptic Package Manager or Terminal. Other than that, it's more based on your needs than on what Ubuntu will support.
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post #4 of 12
2/21/07 at 5:16pm
Actually Intel Graphics may surpass NVidias fairly quickly in as far as support, I believe they had announced plans to open source the drivers for linux across the board if I remember right. However that says nothing about the state of things right now.

The Intel Wireless though I believe you are right, in general those are also fairly well supported.

Seablade
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post #5 of 12
2/21/07 at 5:54pm
i am a strong supporter of Atheros for wireless whereas the madwifi project is doing a fantastic job. Also I am a supporter of Nvidia for graphics, my desktop had nvidia and its good to work with, my lappy has ati and its apain (and cause of suspend not working). IBMs generally have very good support. my thinkpad supports suspend and everything works.
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post #6 of 12
2/21/07 at 6:24pm
Not all distros come with intel ipw3945 drivers out of the box, so be careful when you choose your wireless cards. However, you can always install the drivers manually. In Ubuntu, pretty much all intel wireless cards i have tried have worked.
As for the graphics card, you won't really need a dedicated card unless you are doing some CAD work or gaming. If it's for work, I would suggest integrated for better battery life. If you are worried about beryl, I know that it works on integrated.
For sound, Ubuntu has great detection, and I don't think you should worry if you buy something from Dell or HP, probably even acer and asus. Not sure about the botique brands.
I don't know anything about suspend/resume on other laptops, but on my dell e1705, it works great in Ubuntu, but not in every distro
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post #7 of 12
2/22/07 at 8:16pm
everything on my S5n works fine, except for the integrated SD reader.
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post #8 of 12
2/23/07 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by katorga
My wife needs a new laptop. I am looking for something in the $500-1000 range with a 15" screen that supports linux with the LEAST amount of hassle. - Nvidia or Intel graphics required, I've had too much trouble with ATI in the past - what wifi card has best support today? - what sound card to look for? - suspend/resume works Any suggestions?
I have tried several types of linux on my Acer 5102 WLMi and Kubuntu, 6.06, Suse 10.2, and Puppy all seem to run fine on it even with the ATi 200m integrated graphics. Wifi is ath0 and works OK, no sound problems, but don't use suspend or resume features much since I log off when done using but they appear to work OK. These Acers are cheap and in the price range you mention.
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post #9 of 12
2/24/07 at 12:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
These Acers are cheap and in the price range you mention.
Ugg. I'll never buy acer again. My 8104 has had repeated hardware issues. Its a pain to send it in for service, and it has a mucked up ACPI implementation that caused problems with Linux. Acer never kept the drivers or BIOS updates flowing once the 8200 line came out.
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post #10 of 12
2/27/07 at 4:46pm
The base/cheapest Dell Inspiron 6400 works really well with Ubuntu!!!

Intel 3945 Wireless: Gnome Network Manager (wireless connection utility)
Resloution: 915resloution (fixes the 945 resloution)

Apart from that everything else works! Look on the ubuntu forum for "dell inspiron 6400 how to" and it will give you some instructions on fan control.

Hope it helps.

Nick.
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post #11 of 12
3/2/07 at 1:52am
One suggestion... Why not just go to a compusa or other computer retailer and see if they'll let you boot up a live disc on a laptop?
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post #12 of 12
3/8/07 at 6:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by katorga
My wife needs a new laptop. I am looking for something in the $500-1000 range with a 15" screen that supports linux with the LEAST amount of hassle. - Nvidia or Intel graphics required, I've had too much trouble with ATI in the past - what wifi card has best support today? - what sound card to look for? - suspend/resume works Any suggestions?
Problem is that you don't know what wireless card the manufacturer installs. The Intel a/b/g cards have great support. My Toshiba has a Radeon 200 Express and Ubuntu supports it out of the box.
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