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The prices are still way too high. You're better off buying a Dell XPS on sale, I saw one for about 800$ the other day with 32 GB of ram. Dell has committed t

The prices are still way too high. You're better off buying a Dell XPS on sale, I saw one for about 800$ the other day with 32 GB of ram. Dell has committed to actual Linux support. I don't feel like paying a Linux nerd tax when most Windows laptops are fine. Lenovo seems to have the best support here. Otherwise enjoy the adventure in driver land!

bityard 6mo ago
I love cheap secondhand Dells and have been running them for decades. But it's absolutely the case that their build quality has been going steadily downhill for a long time, even for their business line laptops. This laptop looks to be more in line with a MacBook in terms of build quality, with a price to match. It's being sold as a Linux laptop, what makes you think there will be driver issues?
- 999900000999 6mo ago
  I’m not convinced here. All the lower scale manufacturers have to charge more to make a profit. Plus most just white label an existing brand. The other feedback in this thread isn’t great. As for drivers, I meant for Windows laptops running Linux. But that’s pretty rare now.
- delamon 6mo ago
  Lenovo sells ThinkPad T-series laptops as “Linux-supported.” However, if you happen to buy an AMD version of one of these laptops, you may be surprised by how poorly the Wi‑Fi works. It’s been several years since the T14 Gen4 was released, and yet the Wi‑Fi is still not stable.
agloe_dreams 6mo ago
Not just 'way', These prices are downright absurd and anyone who buys one is either giving a donation or an idiot. $2000 for the very cheapest first-gen Core ultra CPU is nuts. You can buy a used, faster XPS 15 OLED 4K for literally $1000 less. Like, Dell sells refurbished the Precision 5560 with the 11850H, 4K OLED, same ram and storage amounts, and a bonus Nvidia dedicated GPU for $560. Did I mention that the ram isn't soldered?
- ar-nelson 6mo ago
  I thought that sounded good, so I looked it up. I can find Dells with 1920x1080 screens for ~$560, but the 4K ones, even refurbished, are closer to $2,000. But maybe I just wasn't looking in the right place?
  - agloe_dreams 6mo ago
    Dell's own refurbished site. The precision 5560 is in their hot deals.
kokada 6mo ago
I think there is a very specific niche that this notebook is target for, and this definitely doesn't seem for you, the kind of person that having a cheaper laptop is more important than some of the unique features than this one or a Framework 13 Pro have. For the unique part of this laptop that AFAIK a Dell XPS won't have is the Coreboot BIOS, that also probably means better support in the long term for BIOS updates. To be clear, this is also not a laptop for me (but I did pre-order a Framework 13 Pro), but saying "nerd tax" or "anyone who buys one is either giving a donation or an idiot" like the other comment is just focusing in one part (the price) and not looking at the other.
- 999900000999 6mo ago
  The Framework pro is much more competitive price wise. I’m actually interested, but I’ll let you review it first. The framework doesn’t support Coreboot though. Different markets have different price ranges. Linux nerds have money, thus, this starts at 3500$ Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX 2.1GHz Processor; NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 12GB GDDR7; https://system76.com/laptops/serval-ws https://system76.com/laptops/serval-ws Same CPU and GPU, as a gaming laptop, 2199 https://www.microcenter.com/product/691610/legion_pro_7_16iax10h_oled_16_gaming_laptop_computer_-_eclipse_black;_intel_core_ultra_9_275hx_21ghz_processor;_nvidia_geforce_rtx_5070_ti_12gb_gddr7?storeid=131 https://www.microcenter.com/product/691610/legion_pro_7_16ia... It’s not like System 76 is developing special Nvidia drivers or anything. Keep in mind most of these niche laptop brands, aside from Framework, just resell hardware. You definitely can get a better deal if you put in the work.
  - moltopoco 6mo ago
    system76 does not develop special Nvidia drivers, but they do work on integrating GPU switching etc. in the Linux desktop: https://github.com/pop-os/system76-power/ https://github.com/pop-os/system76-power/ I don't think this is necessarily about Linux nerds. For any kind of work laptop, time saved tinkering easily worth the extra $$$.
    - 999900000999 5mo ago

bityard 6mo ago

I love cheap secondhand Dells and have been running them for decades. But it's absolutely the case that their build quality has been going steadily downhill for a long time, even for their business line laptops. This laptop looks to be more in line with a MacBook in terms of build quality, with a price to match. It's being sold as a Linux laptop, what makes you think there will be driver issues?

999900000999 6mo ago
I’m not convinced here. All the lower scale manufacturers have to charge more to make a profit. Plus most just white label an existing brand. The other feedback in this thread isn’t great. As for drivers, I meant for Windows laptops running Linux. But that’s pretty rare now.
delamon 6mo ago
Lenovo sells ThinkPad T-series laptops as “Linux-supported.” However, if you happen to buy an AMD version of one of these laptops, you may be surprised by how poorly the Wi‑Fi works. It’s been several years since the T14 Gen4 was released, and yet the Wi‑Fi is still not stable.

agloe_dreams 6mo ago

Not just 'way', These prices are downright absurd and anyone who buys one is either giving a donation or an idiot. $2000 for the very cheapest first-gen Core ultra CPU is nuts. You can buy a used, faster XPS 15 OLED 4K for literally $1000 less. Like, Dell sells refurbished the Precision 5560 with the 11850H, 4K OLED, same ram and storage amounts, and a bonus Nvidia dedicated GPU for $560. Did I mention that the ram isn't soldered?

ar-nelson 6mo ago
I thought that sounded good, so I looked it up. I can find Dells with 1920x1080 screens for ~$560, but the 4K ones, even refurbished, are closer to $2,000. But maybe I just wasn't looking in the right place?
- agloe_dreams 6mo ago
  Dell's own refurbished site. The precision 5560 is in their hot deals.

kokada 6mo ago

I think there is a very specific niche that this notebook is target for, and this definitely doesn't seem for you, the kind of person that having a cheaper laptop is more important than some of the unique features than this one or a Framework 13 Pro have. For the unique part of this laptop that AFAIK a Dell XPS won't have is the Coreboot BIOS, that also probably means better support in the long term for BIOS updates. To be clear, this is also not a laptop for me (but I did pre-order a Framework 13 Pro), but saying "nerd tax" or "anyone who buys one is either giving a donation or an idiot" like the other comment is just focusing in one part (the price) and not looking at the other.

999900000999 6mo ago
The Framework pro is much more competitive price wise. I’m actually interested, but I’ll let you review it first. The framework doesn’t support Coreboot though. Different markets have different price ranges. Linux nerds have money, thus, this starts at 3500$ Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX 2.1GHz Processor; NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 12GB GDDR7; https://system76.com/laptops/serval-ws https://system76.com/laptops/serval-ws Same CPU and GPU, as a gaming laptop, 2199 https://www.microcenter.com/product/691610/legion_pro_7_16iax10h_oled_16_gaming_laptop_computer_-_eclipse_black;_intel_core_ultra_9_275hx_21ghz_processor;_nvidia_geforce_rtx_5070_ti_12gb_gddr7?storeid=131 https://www.microcenter.com/product/691610/legion_pro_7_16ia... It’s not like System 76 is developing special Nvidia drivers or anything. Keep in mind most of these niche laptop brands, aside from Framework, just resell hardware. You definitely can get a better deal if you put in the work.
- moltopoco 6mo ago
  system76 does not develop special Nvidia drivers, but they do work on integrating GPU switching etc. in the Linux desktop: https://github.com/pop-os/system76-power/ https://github.com/pop-os/system76-power/ I don't think this is necessarily about Linux nerds. For any kind of work laptop, time saved tinkering easily worth the extra $$$.
  - 999900000999 5mo ago