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Keep in that the XPS units often have Broadcom wifi chipsets while the developer edition units have Intel. Much better Linux driver support for the Intel cards.

Keep in that the XPS units often have Broadcom wifi chipsets while the developer edition units have Intel. Much better Linux driver support for the Intel cards. The Precision 15" now comes in the same chassis as the XPS and has the Intel chipset (and other goodies)

gshulegaard 11y ago
This x1000. Always get the Precision 15" over the 13"...the hardware is just better suited for Linux. The Sputnik team has to take chassis from other Dell products and support them as manufactured...this is why the XPS 13 DE has Broadcom. I have a XPS 13 DE from last year and I wish every day I would have just ponied up and gotten the 15. But keep in mind that Dell is releasing their drivers into upstream kernels, so if you are on 14.04, you should be using the LTS Enablement stack in order to avail yourself of the latest firmware with stability improvements (this is how I fixed the Broadcom Null pointer bug). https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack You don't have to use the LTS Enablement Stack if you installed with newer service pack .isos. The 15" also has Thunderbolt which is a must if you want to have a reasonable docking solution for a Linux laptop.
- suvelx 11y ago
  So thats what LTSE is. Saw it in the compatibility table for the TB15 thunderbolt dock. Which, I really can't tell if it'll work or not. Really need to plug a 4k monitor into it.
  - gshulegaard 11y ago
    Yeah, LTSE is how you can keep upgrading your kernel while staying on the LTS releases of Ubuntu. Granted you are limited to the kernel versions of the previously released Ubuntu version and there is a slight delay between when a new version is relased and when it becomes available to LTSE, but overall I have found the stability to be good. From what I found out (if I remember correctly), I have great confidence that Thunderbolt docks should work well with Linux kernel 3.19+. But take this with a grain of salt since I ended up with the 13 DE and therefore only have a mDP and couldn't try a Thunderbolt dock.
suvelx 11y ago
Can confirm. Have the Precision 5510. With the 4.4 kernel, it more or less works fine. Last I checked, I was getting ~5hrs on battery. Which is pretty shit-hot for a linux laptop. One gripe so far: Since I updated the BIOS, the entire thing performs like a Netbook-Hype-era Atom CPU when there's no AC power.

gshulegaard 11y ago

This x1000. Always get the Precision 15" over the 13"...the hardware is just better suited for Linux. The Sputnik team has to take chassis from other Dell products and support them as manufactured...this is why the XPS 13 DE has Broadcom. I have a XPS 13 DE from last year and I wish every day I would have just ponied up and gotten the 15. But keep in mind that Dell is releasing their drivers into upstream kernels, so if you are on 14.04, you should be using the LTS Enablement stack in order to avail yourself of the latest firmware with stability improvements (this is how I fixed the Broadcom Null pointer bug). https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack You don't have to use the LTS Enablement Stack if you installed with newer service pack .isos. The 15" also has Thunderbolt which is a must if you want to have a reasonable docking solution for a Linux laptop.

suvelx 11y ago
So thats what LTSE is. Saw it in the compatibility table for the TB15 thunderbolt dock. Which, I really can't tell if it'll work or not. Really need to plug a 4k monitor into it.
- gshulegaard 11y ago
  Yeah, LTSE is how you can keep upgrading your kernel while staying on the LTS releases of Ubuntu. Granted you are limited to the kernel versions of the previously released Ubuntu version and there is a slight delay between when a new version is relased and when it becomes available to LTSE, but overall I have found the stability to be good. From what I found out (if I remember correctly), I have great confidence that Thunderbolt docks should work well with Linux kernel 3.19+. But take this with a grain of salt since I ended up with the 13 DE and therefore only have a mDP and couldn't try a Thunderbolt dock.

suvelx 11y ago

Can confirm. Have the Precision 5510. With the 4.4 kernel, it more or less works fine. Last I checked, I was getting ~5hrs on battery. Which is pretty shit-hot for a linux laptop. One gripe so far: Since I updated the BIOS, the entire thing performs like a Netbook-Hype-era Atom CPU when there's no AC power.