3 ms·

System76 unveils the 14.1" Galago UltraPro, Haswell+Iris *nix-friendly ultrabook

23 points by ronjouch 13y ago

ronjouch 13y ago
Not as sexy as an Air but okay, 1080p screen, and so far the Haswell+IrisPro combo is unmatched by other manufacturers (even Apple). Plus you get System76's lovin' for Ubuntu.
gohrt 13y ago
Kind of a janky hardware experience compared to something like a Mac, but where system76 shines is that they'll let you load up on RAM and HD at retail cost, instead of extorting an extra $50-$100 for each upgrade. What matters a lot in a laptop, that the indies and low-rent mainstream PC manufactures fail at is: * heat management and fan nose. * keyboard feel and trackpad feel * durability to minor bumps and shakes * display color-fidelity and brightness and contrast * light-sensitive display auto-brightness * backlit keyboards. * battery life. I'd like to know how system76 machines fare in these regards.
- kunai 13y ago
  System76: * Heat management and fan noise -- manageable, and generally run cool without too much fan noise. * Keyboard feel and trackpad feel -- marginal to average at best. A Clevo keyboard is absolutely dreadful if you've been spoilt by ThinkPad keyboards and only slightly less dreadful if you've been spoilt by Mac keyboards. The trackpad is absolutely dreadful if you've been spoilt by the TrackPoint, and just as dreadful if you've been spoilt by a MacBook trackpad. * durability -- definitely solid. The materials don't feel as great, but they're just as durable. * display color-fidelity and brightness and contrast -- Should be pretty good; but if you need color calibration, shell out the extra for an OS X machine. * light-sensitive display -- No. * backlit keyboards -- Not sure, will have to recheck. * battery life -- Marginal. 2-3 hours is usually what you're going to get out of these machines, although Haswell might change that in this particular model.
aidenn0 13y ago
Still no 1200 line monitor in the system76 laptop line :( That's the only thing keeping me married to Dell.
ijl 13y ago
I'm looking for similar system builders after being disappointed with ThinkPads lately. Can anyone recommend more machines or companies like this?
- ronjouch 13y ago
  www.zareason.com comes to mind
  - MichaelGG 13y ago
    15", yet 1366x768 display? That's exactly the kind of crap I'm ditching ThinkPad for doing.
    - ronjouch 13y ago
      Agreed. I didn't say ZaReason built good hardware, I just suggested a "similar system builder". But they're not my cup of tea either. It must be hard to do what System76/ZaReason do. They probably don't do much design, and merely buy existing designs, leaving little space for incremental improvement and cooperation with manufacturers. I hope they progressively get closer, and ultimately get close enough to influence the design.
  - ijl 13y ago
    Thanks.

23 points by ronjouch 13y ago

Not as sexy as an Air but okay, 1080p screen, and so far the Haswell+IrisPro combo is unmatched by other manufacturers (even Apple). Plus you get System76's lovin' for Ubuntu.

gohrt 13y ago

Kind of a janky hardware experience compared to something like a Mac, but where system76 shines is that they'll let you load up on RAM and HD at retail cost, instead of extorting an extra $50-$100 for each upgrade. What matters a lot in a laptop, that the indies and low-rent mainstream PC manufactures fail at is: * heat management and fan nose. * keyboard feel and trackpad feel * durability to minor bumps and shakes * display color-fidelity and brightness and contrast * light-sensitive display auto-brightness * backlit keyboards. * battery life. I'd like to know how system76 machines fare in these regards.

kunai 13y ago
System76: * Heat management and fan noise -- manageable, and generally run cool without too much fan noise. * Keyboard feel and trackpad feel -- marginal to average at best. A Clevo keyboard is absolutely dreadful if you've been spoilt by ThinkPad keyboards and only slightly less dreadful if you've been spoilt by Mac keyboards. The trackpad is absolutely dreadful if you've been spoilt by the TrackPoint, and just as dreadful if you've been spoilt by a MacBook trackpad. * durability -- definitely solid. The materials don't feel as great, but they're just as durable. * display color-fidelity and brightness and contrast -- Should be pretty good; but if you need color calibration, shell out the extra for an OS X machine. * light-sensitive display -- No. * backlit keyboards -- Not sure, will have to recheck. * battery life -- Marginal. 2-3 hours is usually what you're going to get out of these machines, although Haswell might change that in this particular model.

aidenn0 13y ago

Still no 1200 line monitor in the system76 laptop line :( That's the only thing keeping me married to Dell.

ijl 13y ago

I'm looking for similar system builders after being disappointed with ThinkPads lately. Can anyone recommend more machines or companies like this?

ronjouch 13y ago
www.zareason.com comes to mind
- MichaelGG 13y ago
  15", yet 1366x768 display? That's exactly the kind of crap I'm ditching ThinkPad for doing.
  - ronjouch 13y ago
    Agreed. I didn't say ZaReason built good hardware, I just suggested a "similar system builder". But they're not my cup of tea either. It must be hard to do what System76/ZaReason do. They probably don't do much design, and merely buy existing designs, leaving little space for incremental improvement and cooperation with manufacturers. I hope they progressively get closer, and ultimately get close enough to influence the design.
- ijl 13y ago
  Thanks.