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I was waiting for the new Macbook Pros as I need to buy a new laptop, and was going to give my old Macbook Pro (2014 model) to my wife. But given that they have

by blowski 10y ago

I was waiting for the new Macbook Pros as I need to buy a new laptop, and was going to give my old Macbook Pro (2014 model) to my wife. But given that they have nothing of value (I don't care about gimmicks like the new touch bar), I've decided to abandon Mac and go back to Linux. I'm just a typical web developer, running a bunch of virtual machines, and an IDE. Any recommendations? I saw the Dell XPS 15 for around £1,300: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B018FSX9GA/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B018FSX9GA/ Any others? I'm not a Linux diehard, so I'd probably go with Ubuntu.

aesthetics1 10y ago
The XPS machines (both the 13 and the 15) are excellent. I haven't found anything else that compares across the board.
- blowski 10y ago
  I had an XPS 13 in 2008, and was really happy with it. The quality was much higher than most of the Dell laptops I've seen. Do you know how well they work with Linux?
  - aesthetics1 10y ago
    They work excellent with Linux. Dell actually sells a "Developer Edition" of the XPS line with Ubuntu pre-installed.
    - blowski 10y ago
      Seems like the Developer Edition is EOL in the UK at least. I'll look for some reviews about the standard edition.
      - Brakenshire 10y ago
        There was a new update a month or two back, I think they're just waiting for it to filter through to the UK.
      - nikon 10y ago
        I thought this too, I then found this link which brings you to the Ubuntu XPS editions: http://pilot.search.dell.com/xps%2013%20ubuntu http://pilot.search.dell.com/xps%2013%20ubuntu
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
        blowski 10y ago
        Does sound like a great spec - but only available in the US right now. I'm in the UK.
        djdmngz 10y ago
        It's available in the UK. We've moved the XPS 13 Developer Edition to be in the same place as the Windows version. One side affect is that this (well, the internal details of how that's done in our catalog) makes it easier for us to change up the Dev Ed configs. If you go to http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd and scroll to the right ("Next" button) you'll see them.
- acron0 10y ago
  +1 The XPS is a fantastic line
up_and_up 10y ago
I have heard good things about https://system76.com/ https://system76.com/
soyiuz 10y ago
I would also recommend Lenovo Thinkpads, which are quite popular with Linux folks. The X and T in particular give a lot of bang for your buck. I am also eying Thinkpad 13 as a great beater machine replacement for my aging x230.
- blowski 10y ago
  How easy is it upgrading the RAM? I like the look of T560, but it only comes with 8GB.
  - lorenzhs 10y ago
    Iirc they come with some soldered-on RAM (4 or 8 GB) and an empty SO-DIMM slot, so you can stick another 16GB in there for a total of 20 to 24GB
- BlackjackCF 10y ago
  Are Lenovos still a good go-to? I've just seen them fall apart pretty quickly amongst my friends. Just wondering if the build quality has gotten better...
  - BrandonM 10y ago
    I got the 1st gen Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, and it didn't hold up great. The balance of weight, power, battery life, and Linux support were huge for a traveling programmer. By the end of year 2, though, I had replaced a broken screen, and the battery life was down to 30-60 minutes (from about 6 hours). I decided to give them another chance on the 4th gen X1 Carbon, and I've been very happy so far. The build quality seems much better, and they've nixed some of the annoying "innovations" from the 1st gen one (ironically including a touch bar at the top; they reverted to normal keys). That said, I've only had this one for about 5 months, so I might change my mind by the time another year or 2 passes.
  - soyiuz 10y ago
    Not all Lenovos. Stick to the mature strains like Thinkpad X2xx and T4xx. They are built like tanks.
matwood 10y ago
Good luck with HiDPI. It is very application dependent, so I would check what you typically use. From what I have tried and read, macOS handles HiDPI and multi-monitors much better than any other OS out there right now. I'm so used to HiDPI just working on my MBP that I never even realized it was an issue on the other OSes until I started thinking about switching.
- Szevth 10y ago
  This is false. My Ubuntu desktop handles 4K DPI scaling perfectly, while attached to a 1440p with normal scaling as well. On the other hand my 2012 MacBook scales extremely weird when connected to a 4K display through HDMI.
  - matwood 10y ago
    This is why I said it is very application dependent. How does MySQL Manager work on your Ubuntu desktop for example?
- easytiger 10y ago
  > multi-monitors much better than any other OS out there right now. No it doesn't. OSX in fact has a completely innane behaviour when a MBPr is connected to an external monitor. Meaning you have to mirror or put it in clamshell mode. You can't extend the monitor ontot he laptop screen. Works perfectly well in Linux for me.
  - matwood 10y ago
    Huh? I have 2 external monitors (connected using DP) and my laptop running as 1 large desktop right now. Both externals are 1920x1200 running off a rMBP. Dragging windows around scales properly and mostly works. Last time I tried this on Linux it was a mess, particularly when moving windows from the HiDPI to the normal and back.
  - blowski 10y ago
    How do you mean? I'm connected from my Macbook Pro to two (non-Apple) external monitors (one on thunderbolt, other on HDMI) and they extend just fine - no mirroring or clamshell mode. If anything, clamshell mode is the buggy one - it has a tendency to go into or come out of sleep mode when I don't want it to.
kejaed 10y ago
I'm curious, what is driving the need for a new laptop from a 2014 version?
- WUMPUS_SHOOTER 10y ago
  I'm wondering this too. I'm using a 2010 version with a new battery and SSD installed, and besides that everything is working fine. I would like a Retina on that but I don't see the huge problem
  - blowski 10y ago
    I looked at this option, but started to think it was good money after bad. The repair shop I got a quote from said around £400 for the upgrade, and it just doesn't seem worth it.
- blowski 10y ago
  I don't need a new one, but my wife does as her one is the Macbook Pro from 2009 and is now extremely slow, and the battery lasts about 20 minutes. So I was going to buy a new one for me, and give her my current one. As you say, the 2014 is a great model - I'm using it right now, and it's plenty sufficient for everything I do.
  - sotojuan 10y ago
    You could get your wife a refurbished MacBook. They're pretty cheap.
    - blowski 10y ago
      I did look at this, and I found that they weren't cheap at all. The Macbook Pro 13 2012 model is around £800.
  - kejaed 10y ago
    Ah the hand-me-down train, I know it well. Brothers and nieces supply the demand for a generation or two old iDevices and gives me a bit of a way to cut into the purchase price of the new shiny.
macmac 10y ago
I really like the XPS 15 and use it as my dev machine. I would consider the 141ppi screen. It is excellent value and works well with all existing apps.
ryanqian 10y ago
I like this price :)

by blowski 10y ago

aesthetics1 10y ago

The XPS machines (both the 13 and the 15) are excellent. I haven't found anything else that compares across the board.

blowski 10y ago
I had an XPS 13 in 2008, and was really happy with it. The quality was much higher than most of the Dell laptops I've seen. Do you know how well they work with Linux?
- aesthetics1 10y ago
  They work excellent with Linux. Dell actually sells a "Developer Edition" of the XPS line with Ubuntu pre-installed.
  - blowski 10y ago
    Seems like the Developer Edition is EOL in the UK at least. I'll look for some reviews about the standard edition.
    - Brakenshire 10y ago
      There was a new update a month or two back, I think they're just waiting for it to filter through to the UK.
    - nikon 10y ago
      I thought this too, I then found this link which brings you to the Ubuntu XPS editions: http://pilot.search.dell.com/xps%2013%20ubuntu http://pilot.search.dell.com/xps%2013%20ubuntu
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      - blowski 10y ago
        Does sound like a great spec - but only available in the US right now. I'm in the UK.
        djdmngz 10y ago
        It's available in the UK. We've moved the XPS 13 Developer Edition to be in the same place as the Windows version. One side affect is that this (well, the internal details of how that's done in our catalog) makes it easier for us to change up the Dev Ed configs. If you go to http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd and scroll to the right ("Next" button) you'll see them.
acron0 10y ago
+1 The XPS is a fantastic line

up_and_up 10y ago

I have heard good things about https://system76.com/ https://system76.com/

soyiuz 10y ago

I would also recommend Lenovo Thinkpads, which are quite popular with Linux folks. The X and T in particular give a lot of bang for your buck. I am also eying Thinkpad 13 as a great beater machine replacement for my aging x230.

blowski 10y ago
How easy is it upgrading the RAM? I like the look of T560, but it only comes with 8GB.
- lorenzhs 10y ago
  Iirc they come with some soldered-on RAM (4 or 8 GB) and an empty SO-DIMM slot, so you can stick another 16GB in there for a total of 20 to 24GB
BlackjackCF 10y ago
Are Lenovos still a good go-to? I've just seen them fall apart pretty quickly amongst my friends. Just wondering if the build quality has gotten better...
- BrandonM 10y ago
  I got the 1st gen Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, and it didn't hold up great. The balance of weight, power, battery life, and Linux support were huge for a traveling programmer. By the end of year 2, though, I had replaced a broken screen, and the battery life was down to 30-60 minutes (from about 6 hours). I decided to give them another chance on the 4th gen X1 Carbon, and I've been very happy so far. The build quality seems much better, and they've nixed some of the annoying "innovations" from the 1st gen one (ironically including a touch bar at the top; they reverted to normal keys). That said, I've only had this one for about 5 months, so I might change my mind by the time another year or 2 passes.
- soyiuz 10y ago
  Not all Lenovos. Stick to the mature strains like Thinkpad X2xx and T4xx. They are built like tanks.

matwood 10y ago

Good luck with HiDPI. It is very application dependent, so I would check what you typically use. From what I have tried and read, macOS handles HiDPI and multi-monitors much better than any other OS out there right now. I'm so used to HiDPI just working on my MBP that I never even realized it was an issue on the other OSes until I started thinking about switching.

Szevth 10y ago
This is false. My Ubuntu desktop handles 4K DPI scaling perfectly, while attached to a 1440p with normal scaling as well. On the other hand my 2012 MacBook scales extremely weird when connected to a 4K display through HDMI.
- matwood 10y ago
  This is why I said it is very application dependent. How does MySQL Manager work on your Ubuntu desktop for example?
easytiger 10y ago
> multi-monitors much better than any other OS out there right now. No it doesn't. OSX in fact has a completely innane behaviour when a MBPr is connected to an external monitor. Meaning you have to mirror or put it in clamshell mode. You can't extend the monitor ontot he laptop screen. Works perfectly well in Linux for me.
- matwood 10y ago
  Huh? I have 2 external monitors (connected using DP) and my laptop running as 1 large desktop right now. Both externals are 1920x1200 running off a rMBP. Dragging windows around scales properly and mostly works. Last time I tried this on Linux it was a mess, particularly when moving windows from the HiDPI to the normal and back.
- blowski 10y ago
  How do you mean? I'm connected from my Macbook Pro to two (non-Apple) external monitors (one on thunderbolt, other on HDMI) and they extend just fine - no mirroring or clamshell mode. If anything, clamshell mode is the buggy one - it has a tendency to go into or come out of sleep mode when I don't want it to.

kejaed 10y ago

I'm curious, what is driving the need for a new laptop from a 2014 version?

WUMPUS_SHOOTER 10y ago
I'm wondering this too. I'm using a 2010 version with a new battery and SSD installed, and besides that everything is working fine. I would like a Retina on that but I don't see the huge problem
- blowski 10y ago
  I looked at this option, but started to think it was good money after bad. The repair shop I got a quote from said around £400 for the upgrade, and it just doesn't seem worth it.
blowski 10y ago
I don't need a new one, but my wife does as her one is the Macbook Pro from 2009 and is now extremely slow, and the battery lasts about 20 minutes. So I was going to buy a new one for me, and give her my current one. As you say, the 2014 is a great model - I'm using it right now, and it's plenty sufficient for everything I do.
- sotojuan 10y ago
  You could get your wife a refurbished MacBook. They're pretty cheap.
  - blowski 10y ago
    I did look at this, and I found that they weren't cheap at all. The Macbook Pro 13 2012 model is around £800.
- kejaed 10y ago
  Ah the hand-me-down train, I know it well. Brothers and nieces supply the demand for a generation or two old iDevices and gives me a bit of a way to cut into the purchase price of the new shiny.

macmac 10y ago

I really like the XPS 15 and use it as my dev machine. I would consider the 141ppi screen. It is excellent value and works well with all existing apps.

ryanqian 10y ago

I like this price :)