3 ms·

I want to run a laptop brand. There is simply none normal laptops left on the market for pro users.

Karsteski 5y ago
How do you feel about system76 laptops? I've been eyeing their products in case I need a laptop in the future. As open source as they can be, down to the firmware. A bit on the expensive side but I would be okay with that to support a company that seems to be working towards bettering the industry.
- baybal2 5y ago
  System 76 are just various rebranded OEMs with official Linux support. I'd say the are nothing spectacular in parts choice, nor engineering. Very cost-centric like virtually all OEM space is.
  - Karsteski 5y ago
    So what would you be looking for in a laptop then? > Very cost-centric like virtually all OEM space is. I'm not sure what you mean by this to be honest
    - baybal2 5y ago
      I am saying that it's a very cheap design with everything, but key specs cut to a minimum.
pjmlp 5y ago
Depends on the budget I guess, https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-p/c/thinkpadp https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-p/c/t... https://www.asus.com/Laptops/For-Creators/ProArt-StudioBook/ProArt-StudioBook-One-W590/ https://www.asus.com/Laptops/For-Creators/ProArt-StudioBook/...
- baybal2 5y ago
  I am sceptical of ASUS's current claims in high-end. They tend to come, and go from a niche. I recently saw their two screened laptop, build quality was superb, as was the rest of hardware BOM, and original engineering. For Lenovo, I see the same disease that claimed Dell before The "PRODUCT MANAGEMENT." They had an excellent XPS line, and then they started to slice stuff off it every new model. Now it's very bog down commodity hardware underneath: 1. Low spec memory 2. Qcomm low-end WiFI/bt which bugs out even in Windows. 3. Low-end SSD 4. Batteries going down from 68Wh to 52Wh in the 13th 5. Panel went from top tier one, to noname low-end ISP with <300nits brightness. Only 4k panel now is above average for the class. 6. Testing, and engineering down the drain: mutual RF interference kills WiFi, BT, PCIe, TB, USB3. For Lenovo, it's of course not the ThinkPads of old. For P15 line is experiencing the same "fade," like a decision to fit P15s with 3 cell battery.
wly_cdgr 5y ago
Aa someone who's been using a Surface Book, I gotta disagree. Battery is a bit shit but otherwise it is equal or superior to my MBP in every way. It is also the only pro-grade laptop I've ever used that doesn't get hot. You can actually use this thing on your lap
- baybal2 5y ago
  SB is an interesting design, but more of a statement from MS "that we can." The prime majority of laptops of the market don't come with original engineering. It's almost always outsourced to no-name Taiwanese engineering shops, which largely copy-paste designs for internals, and mechanical engineering for every brand around. SB simply doesn't look to me it went through any of such design shops, and the engineering school feels very American (it's "one and done" assembly, they tried very hard to use less fasteners, and subassemblies.) At the same time they repeated the same mistakes that Taiwanese had 20-15 years ago.
  - unknown_error 5y ago
    Mistakes like what? I'd love to learn more.
    - baybal2 5y ago
      1. Extremely huge, irregular shape, multilayer PCB 2. Complete lack of modularity, serviceability, and odd assembly order. This means minor changes will need mobo redesign. And defect found after test, or on return equals scrapping the unit. 3. Custom mechanical parts used liberally 4. Too many programmable ICs 5. Extremely wasteful use of case space to work around rigidity issues.
      - unknown_error 5y ago
        Ah, thanks for explaining! Sounds like pitfalls of going with a custom design. Do you think it's a necessary tradeoff? Are other laptops with custom designs subject to the same internal engineering mistakes?

How do you feel about system76 laptops? I've been eyeing their products in case I need a laptop in the future. As open source as they can be, down to the firmware. A bit on the expensive side but I would be okay with that to support a company that seems to be working towards bettering the industry.

baybal2 5y ago
System 76 are just various rebranded OEMs with official Linux support. I'd say the are nothing spectacular in parts choice, nor engineering. Very cost-centric like virtually all OEM space is.
- Karsteski 5y ago
  So what would you be looking for in a laptop then? > Very cost-centric like virtually all OEM space is. I'm not sure what you mean by this to be honest
  - baybal2 5y ago
    I am saying that it's a very cheap design with everything, but key specs cut to a minimum.

pjmlp 5y ago

Depends on the budget I guess, https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-p/c/thinkpadp https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-p/c/t... https://www.asus.com/Laptops/For-Creators/ProArt-StudioBook/ProArt-StudioBook-One-W590/ https://www.asus.com/Laptops/For-Creators/ProArt-StudioBook/...

baybal2 5y ago
I am sceptical of ASUS's current claims in high-end. They tend to come, and go from a niche. I recently saw their two screened laptop, build quality was superb, as was the rest of hardware BOM, and original engineering. For Lenovo, I see the same disease that claimed Dell before The "PRODUCT MANAGEMENT." They had an excellent XPS line, and then they started to slice stuff off it every new model. Now it's very bog down commodity hardware underneath: 1. Low spec memory 2. Qcomm low-end WiFI/bt which bugs out even in Windows. 3. Low-end SSD 4. Batteries going down from 68Wh to 52Wh in the 13th 5. Panel went from top tier one, to noname low-end ISP with <300nits brightness. Only 4k panel now is above average for the class. 6. Testing, and engineering down the drain: mutual RF interference kills WiFi, BT, PCIe, TB, USB3. For Lenovo, it's of course not the ThinkPads of old. For P15 line is experiencing the same "fade," like a decision to fit P15s with 3 cell battery.

wly_cdgr 5y ago

Aa someone who's been using a Surface Book, I gotta disagree. Battery is a bit shit but otherwise it is equal or superior to my MBP in every way. It is also the only pro-grade laptop I've ever used that doesn't get hot. You can actually use this thing on your lap

baybal2 5y ago
SB is an interesting design, but more of a statement from MS "that we can." The prime majority of laptops of the market don't come with original engineering. It's almost always outsourced to no-name Taiwanese engineering shops, which largely copy-paste designs for internals, and mechanical engineering for every brand around. SB simply doesn't look to me it went through any of such design shops, and the engineering school feels very American (it's "one and done" assembly, they tried very hard to use less fasteners, and subassemblies.) At the same time they repeated the same mistakes that Taiwanese had 20-15 years ago.
- unknown_error 5y ago
  Mistakes like what? I'd love to learn more.
  - baybal2 5y ago
    1. Extremely huge, irregular shape, multilayer PCB 2. Complete lack of modularity, serviceability, and odd assembly order. This means minor changes will need mobo redesign. And defect found after test, or on return equals scrapping the unit. 3. Custom mechanical parts used liberally 4. Too many programmable ICs 5. Extremely wasteful use of case space to work around rigidity issues.
    - unknown_error 5y ago
      Ah, thanks for explaining! Sounds like pitfalls of going with a custom design. Do you think it's a necessary tradeoff? Are other laptops with custom designs subject to the same internal engineering mistakes?