5 ms·

In last few days, I actually wanted to order powerful laptop from System76. I want laptop with strong GPU (e.g. Nvidia) that will run Linux very well. Aside fr

In last few days, I actually wanted to order powerful laptop from System76. I want laptop with strong GPU (e.g. Nvidia) that will run Linux very well. Aside from System76, can anybody recommend powerful laptop fully compatible with Linux? Of course, I can buy any laptop with several GPUs and install some Linux distribution. But I don't want to spend 4000 USD and then discover that some hardware isn't supported. P.S. This time, I really don't understand why my comment is being downvoted.

acomjean 8y ago
I've looked into linux laptops for a bit. It seems there isn't a great resource about which laptops work well with linux and which don't. There are so many models, I imagine that is the problem. From my poking around a bit, It seems the Dell xps series (it can come with linux preinstalled), many ThinkPads and some HP machines play nice with many distributions. Wifi cards can (still) be a bit of a pain point.
metabagel 8y ago
I have a System 76 Galago Pro, which I absolutely love. However, the battery died, which required warranty replacement and a firmware update. But, I’m still happy with my purchase. The laptop’s features all work well under Linux, which may or may not be the case for other vendors. The only other gripe I had was that the screen was almost unreadable when I received the laptop due to tiny desktop fonts, which I was able to fix somehiw, perhaps through GNOME settings.
opencl 8y ago
Dell sells several workstation models with powerful GPUs and Linux preinstalled. If you don't need CUDA specifically AMD has much better Linux drivers than NVIDIA these days. http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-laptop_us http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-lapt...
- sliken 8y ago
  AMD has much better drivers? Which? The open source ones? The binary blob ones? Compared to which nvidia drivers? I've been tracking this for some time and whenever I look the nvidia binary driver is the gold standard, intel is close, and amd's binary blob is a distant (and problematic) 3rd. So bad game reviews on linux often put a "doesn't work" in the AMD column.
  - theyinwhy 8y ago
    I recommend phoronix as source for anything linux graphics driver related: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=category&item=Display+Drivers https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=category&item=Display...
shkkmo 8y ago
Can I recommend the Dell precision 5520? Dedicated GPU, up to 32gb ram and sold with Ubuntu.
uvtc 8y ago
I buy from ThinkPenguin and am very happy with them, but I don't know how their GPUs compare to other systems. They sell fully-compatible systems. I don't recall where I first heard of them, but I see they're listed at https://www.gnu.org/links/non-ryf.html https://www.gnu.org/links/non-ryf.html .

acomjean 8y ago

I've looked into linux laptops for a bit. It seems there isn't a great resource about which laptops work well with linux and which don't. There are so many models, I imagine that is the problem. From my poking around a bit, It seems the Dell xps series (it can come with linux preinstalled), many ThinkPads and some HP machines play nice with many distributions. Wifi cards can (still) be a bit of a pain point.

metabagel 8y ago

I have a System 76 Galago Pro, which I absolutely love. However, the battery died, which required warranty replacement and a firmware update. But, I’m still happy with my purchase. The laptop’s features all work well under Linux, which may or may not be the case for other vendors. The only other gripe I had was that the screen was almost unreadable when I received the laptop due to tiny desktop fonts, which I was able to fix somehiw, perhaps through GNOME settings.

opencl 8y ago

Dell sells several workstation models with powerful GPUs and Linux preinstalled. If you don't need CUDA specifically AMD has much better Linux drivers than NVIDIA these days. http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-laptop_us http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-lapt...

sliken 8y ago
AMD has much better drivers? Which? The open source ones? The binary blob ones? Compared to which nvidia drivers? I've been tracking this for some time and whenever I look the nvidia binary driver is the gold standard, intel is close, and amd's binary blob is a distant (and problematic) 3rd. So bad game reviews on linux often put a "doesn't work" in the AMD column.
- theyinwhy 8y ago
  I recommend phoronix as source for anything linux graphics driver related: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=category&item=Display+Drivers https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=category&item=Display...

shkkmo 8y ago

Can I recommend the Dell precision 5520? Dedicated GPU, up to 32gb ram and sold with Ubuntu.

uvtc 8y ago

I buy from ThinkPenguin and am very happy with them, but I don't know how their GPUs compare to other systems. They sell fully-compatible systems. I don't recall where I first heard of them, but I see they're listed at https://www.gnu.org/links/non-ryf.html https://www.gnu.org/links/non-ryf.html .