Looking at new and inexpensive laptop for Linux use.
Hi all, I am considering replacing my old broken screen laptop (Pent 350 & 256MB) with a replacement. Does anyone recommendations on $400 to $600 laptops for Linux with a regular 15" or so screen and at least 2-4GB RAM. I am going with a low-spec (and low cost) as I have used the laptop an hour or two a week in the past as for daily use my eyes prefer my desktop's 24" widescreen LCD. In this price range I am mostly finding Netbooks and the occasional low end Acer (newegg). I could handle the speed of a netbook but my older and poor eyes would protest (and the additional RAM cost makes them spendy-ish for what you get). Any recommendations for a new, regular 15" or so standard notebook on the cheap for Linux use (prob. Ubuntu or KUbuntu)? I am thinking my concerns here and hardware compatibility and cost. Thank you, Joel
HI Joel, There are a lot of off-lease IBM Thinkpad T42s on various retailers for ~300. Some Thinkpad models haven't fared so well, but, if I recall correctly, the T42 is pretty solid. I had a used Thinkpad 600x running Linux for almost 6 years, so a decent Thinkpad can last quite some time. Also, I find T-series Thinkpads easy to fix, since almost everything replaceable has its own faceplate on the bottom and Ebay is full of parts. Driver support for older laptops tends to be better than for brand new ones, as well. If you do want a new Linux model with minimal hassle, Dell sells Inspiron 15n with Ubuntu for ~600. We have been quite happy with our Ubuntu Dell Mini 9 for the past year and half. -Adam On Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 12:48 PM, joel d <joelgroup@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi all,
I am considering replacing my old broken screen laptop (Pent 350 & 256MB) with a replacement.
Does anyone recommendations on $400 to $600 laptops for Linux with a regular 15" or so screen and at least 2-4GB RAM. I am going with a low-spec (and low cost) as I have used the laptop an hour or two a week in the past as for daily use my eyes prefer my desktop's 24" widescreen LCD.
In this price range I am mostly finding Netbooks and the occasional low end Acer (newegg). I could handle the speed of a netbook but my older and poor eyes would protest (and the additional RAM cost makes them spendy-ish for what you get).
Any recommendations for a new, regular 15" or so standard notebook on the cheap for Linux use (prob. Ubuntu or KUbuntu)? I am thinking my concerns here and hardware compatibility and cost.
Thank you,
Joel _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug@mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug
I know I am gonna get shot for this one. I use an HP G60t series laptop (G60t-243cl). I bought it off eBay (refurbished) for $450. It loves Linux, hates Windows XP (yes I downgraded). I've got everything working on it including the Webcam which is luckily UVC-based. There's no bluetooth on it so I don't have to worry about that (don't really care for that feature). There's also no Firewire (which was a big let down AFTER buying it). 3 USB ports. If you go for a GXX series HP, you might have some good luck. I also use a 24" LCD with my laptop with the HDMI output (it also has VGA). Even audio works through HDMI (pick nvidia HDMI codec in kernel + Conexant Audio for HD)! :) Not going to get shot for this one though: I use Gentoo. joel d wrote:
Hi all,
I am considering replacing my old broken screen laptop (Pent 350 & 256MB) with a replacement.
Does anyone recommendations on $400 to $600 laptops for Linux with a regular 15" or so screen and at least 2-4GB RAM. I am going with a low-spec (and low cost) as I have used the laptop an hour or two a week in the past as for daily use my eyes prefer my desktop's 24" widescreen LCD.
In this price range I am mostly finding Netbooks and the occasional low end Acer (newegg). I could handle the speed of a netbook but my older and poor eyes would protest (and the additional RAM cost makes them spendy-ish for what you get).
Any recommendations for a new, regular 15" or so standard notebook on the cheap for Linux use (prob. Ubuntu or KUbuntu)? I am thinking my concerns here and hardware compatibility and cost.
Thank you,
Joel _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug@mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug
-- Tatsh www.tatsh.net ddrtist@gmail.com
We just bought a Lenovo G550 from newegg for $499. This has a T4400 dual-core Penitum (2.2 ghz) and it has 4 GB memory with a 15.6" screen. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146706 This unit comes with Windoze7. It looks good & everything works fine so far. Arrived here one day after placing the order. We bought this unit for my roommate's auntie, so unfortunately, we can't do a test install of a Linux distro to report on, but probably you could wipe it and install any flavor of Linux. Would probably run fairly fast if you keep the bloatware to a minimum. At least one person reports that he has this unit set up in dual boot with Ubuntu 9.10: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-laptop-and-netbook-25/lenovo-g... Note: 3 years ago when I was in the laptop-buying mode, I originally orederd a Lenovo. At the time, their customer support team was in a foreign country (startc with Ch--) and I was not happy with customer interface. So I went with the Dell at that time. Don't know anything about Lenovo's customer support teams now, though. I have a Dell Inspiron 15n here with similar dual processor, also 15.6 inch screen. Mine came with Ubuntu pre-installed, but it's been running Debian Lenny for quite a while. My Inspiron 15n has less RAM than the Lenovo above, but runs fine in Lenny. You'd be welcome to come out to the house & have a look. Good luck Liz J 2010/1/29 joel d <joelgroup@gmail.com>:
Hi all,
I am considering replacing my old broken screen laptop (Pent 350 & 256MB) with a replacement.
Does anyone recommendations on $400 to $600 laptops for Linux with a regular 15" or so screen and at least 2-4GB RAM. I am going with a low-spec (and low cost) as I have used the laptop an hour or two a week in the past as for daily use my eyes prefer my desktop's 24" widescreen LCD.
In this price range I am mostly finding Netbooks and the occasional low end Acer (newegg). I could handle the speed of a netbook but my older and poor eyes would protest (and the additional RAM cost makes them spendy-ish for what you get).
Any recommendations for a new, regular 15" or so standard notebook on the cheap for Linux use (prob. Ubuntu or KUbuntu)? I am thinking my concerns here and hardware compatibility and cost.
Thank you,
Joel _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug@mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug
I've had my Dell Inspiron 8200 for I don't know how many years now, and I'm still happy with it. I've installed Win2000, WinXP, Win7, debian, Ubuntu, and FreeBSD on it without any significant trouble. It still seems fast enough to me. The 1600x1200 resolution on a 15" screen may be hard for some people to read, and the the USB 1.1 ports are slow. You'd probably be better off buying something new, but I can verify that several flavors of Linux work fine on this model. -- Rich Sent from Southborough, Massachusetts, United States
participants (5)
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Adam Keck -
E Johnson -
joel d -
Richard Klein -
Tatsh