Comments on: Need New Linux/KDE4-friendly Laptop http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/ kinda like batman, but with a wife and 3 kids Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:03:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jason 'vanRijn' Kasper http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-57852 Jason 'vanRijn' Kasper Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:34:05 +0000 http://movingparts.net/?p=495#comment-57852 Heya Uniks, Hm. Okay, thanks for the hint. I've added that and thus far, it seems to be working better. What's weird is that that option is not actually listed anywhere in /usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/README.txt. Heya Uniks, Hm. Okay, thanks for the hint. I’ve added that and thus far, it seems to be working better. What’s weird is that that option is not actually listed anywhere in /usr/share/doc/NVIDIA_GLX-1.0/README.txt.

]]> By: Uniks http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-57746 Uniks Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:37:07 +0000 http://movingparts.net/?p=495#comment-57746 Yellow, I have R61 (Quadro NVS 140M) and I had also problems with kde4 and composite. Finally I solved this issue by putting BackingStore" "false" to xorg.conf. Since then whole kde4.2 work stable. Yellow,

I have R61 (Quadro NVS 140M) and I had also problems with kde4 and composite. Finally I solved this issue by putting BackingStore” “false” to xorg.conf. Since then whole kde4.2 work stable.

]]> By: Jason 'vanRijn' Kasper http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-54789 Jason 'vanRijn' Kasper Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:48:12 +0000 http://movingparts.net/?p=495#comment-54789 Oh, one other thing... The most compelling thing I read in the comments was the battery life issues. Apparently, Linux is much nicer to Thinkpad batteries than it is to other brands? Is there any research with hard numbers on this? Or is there anything that can be done or is being done about it? I'd love to pick up a relatively cheap Dell or something, but if Linux is going to beat the snot out of the battery and make me replace it in a year, that's just unacceptable and sad. =:( Oh, one other thing… The most compelling thing I read in the comments was the battery life issues. Apparently, Linux is much nicer to Thinkpad batteries than it is to other brands? Is there any research with hard numbers on this? Or is there anything that can be done or is being done about it? I’d love to pick up a relatively cheap Dell or something, but if Linux is going to beat the snot out of the battery and make me replace it in a year, that’s just unacceptable and sad. =:(

]]> By: Jason 'vanRijn' Kasper http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-54788 Jason 'vanRijn' Kasper Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:46:07 +0000 http://movingparts.net/?p=495#comment-54788 Wow, awesome, thank you everyone for your suggestions!! I need to set some time aside this weekend and look through all of these. To those who suggested that the Thinkpad is the ideal Linux laptop, I get what you're saying, but my current laptop (the T61 Thinkpad) makes me very sad and I just can't get KDE4 compositing to be stable on it. And by that, I mean that if I reboot and start X and use KDE4 with full compositing, it is blazingly fast and smooth and perfect. For about a half day. Then, X starts getting slow. And moving and resizing windows will often cause X to start flickering and shaking and if I don't kill off kwin and/or plasma, my laptop will hard crash. This is not stability that I can live with, and currently, I have to use KDE4 without any desktop effects, which frustrates me to no end. Anyway, thanks again to all who commented! I'm looking seriously at the Dell and system76 laptops, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be tempted by the Macbooks. Wow, awesome, thank you everyone for your suggestions!! I need to set some time aside this weekend and look through all of these. To those who suggested that the Thinkpad is the ideal Linux laptop, I get what you’re saying, but my current laptop (the T61 Thinkpad) makes me very sad and I just can’t get KDE4 compositing to be stable on it. And by that, I mean that if I reboot and start X and use KDE4 with full compositing, it is blazingly fast and smooth and perfect. For about a half day. Then, X starts getting slow. And moving and resizing windows will often cause X to start flickering and shaking and if I don’t kill off kwin and/or plasma, my laptop will hard crash. This is not stability that I can live with, and currently, I have to use KDE4 without any desktop effects, which frustrates me to no end.

Anyway, thanks again to all who commented! I’m looking seriously at the Dell and system76 laptops, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be tempted by the Macbooks.

]]> By: thomas http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-54688 thomas Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:26:17 +0000 http://movingparts.net/?p=495#comment-54688 I'm thinking about getting one myself! The DELL E5400 is really nice for what you pay; 14.1" with 1440x900 should be good! The only bad thing is the Intel GMA 4500MHD, which I only heaar bad things about when it comes to 3D. I think it runs KDE4 composited well enough, but I'm not sure (someone with this card and KDE4 care to share?). However, it has nice linuxdrivers and is very battery-friendly so I just might get this! I’m thinking about getting one myself! The DELL E5400 is really nice for what you pay; 14.1″ with 1440×900 should be good!

The only bad thing is the Intel GMA 4500MHD, which I only heaar bad things about when it comes to 3D. I think it runs KDE4 composited well enough, but I’m not sure (someone with this card and KDE4 care to share?).

However, it has nice linuxdrivers and is very battery-friendly so I just might get this!

]]> By: Jacob http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-54672 Jacob Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:20:27 +0000 http://movingparts.net/?p=495#comment-54672 Didn't want to start brandbashing - but can confirm HP trouble - 4 machines handed in 11 times - several issues with power, gpu, sound and screen. Had fantastic laugh watching the new MSoft-youtube-thing - there's no way that add would sell a HP to anyone I know. Didn’t want to start brandbashing – but can confirm HP trouble – 4 machines handed in 11 times – several issues with power, gpu, sound and screen. Had fantastic laugh watching the new MSoft-youtube-thing – there’s no way that add would sell a HP to anyone I know.

]]> By: Blissex http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-54642 Blissex Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:29:03 +0000 http://movingparts.net/?p=495#comment-54642 I am quite happy with my Toshiba U300. It is small and light, the screen is very good, and with a 9 cell battery it lasts 6-7 hours. Just about everything that matters works well even with older GNU/Linux setups. It is also fairly cheap, even if it is not quite as physically robust or as small as the "corporate" laptops from Dell, Lenovo or Toshiba itself. I am quite happy with my Toshiba U300. It is small and light, the screen is very good, and with a 9 cell battery it lasts 6-7 hours. Just about everything that matters works well even with older GNU/Linux setups. It is also fairly cheap, even if it is not quite as physically robust or as small as the “corporate” laptops from Dell, Lenovo or Toshiba itself.

]]> By: atomopawn http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-54640 atomopawn Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:52:35 +0000 http://movingparts.net/?p=495#comment-54640 Having just purchased two new laptops, here are my suggestions: 1. I second the comment above that you should NOT purchase an HP. I don't think I've ever had a worse system than the Compaq Presario V3000Z that we just had to replace. It overheated all the time, had other major issues and failed just after the one year warranty with multiple inscrutable and unsolvable hardware issues. 2. Avoid the Dell Studio 15. Most of them work fine in Linux, but some of them come with a flat panel that has issues with the currently Xorg Intel drivers. The latest development branch of the driver solves the problem, but if you find yourself needing to use a distro with an older version (for instance, from a Live DVD or install CD) you will get a lovely white on white screen with rainbow stripes. The Dell XPS M1530 we got instead has worked wonderfully. Having just purchased two new laptops, here are my suggestions:

1. I second the comment above that you should NOT purchase an HP. I don’t think I’ve ever had a worse system than the Compaq Presario V3000Z that we just had to replace. It overheated all the time, had other major issues and failed just after the one year warranty with multiple inscrutable and unsolvable hardware issues.

2. Avoid the Dell Studio 15. Most of them work fine in Linux, but some of them come with a flat panel that has issues with the currently Xorg Intel drivers. The latest development branch of the driver solves the problem, but if you find yourself needing to use a distro with an older version (for instance, from a Live DVD or install CD) you will get a lovely white on white screen with rainbow stripes. The Dell XPS M1530 we got instead has worked wonderfully.

]]> By: zak89 http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-54617 zak89 Sun, 05 Apr 2009 03:22:00 +0000 http://movingparts.net/?p=495#comment-54617 I'd recommend considering saving a few bucks and going with a laptop with an Intel Integrated graphics chip. If your not interested in heavy gaming, that is. I have found that, with a couple minor tweaks (you can find them at the KDE forum) I can get good, if not excellent KWin (or compiz) effects, and the stability is amazing. I have two different PCs with Intel graphics and they both work like a charm, though not quite as smooth as OS X Aqua effects. Otherwise, be aware that Compiz and KWin are not equal, and just because you get good performance with one is no guarantee for the other. I have a Dell Laitude D531 with an ATI Radeon card, and while it runs compiz like a champ - cube, wobbly windows and all - it won't run KWin effects to save its life. I just use compiz as the WM for KDE4 and it works fine. The problem is probably in the proprietary drivers; I believe I had better results with an older version of the driver, but unfortunately I never took note of which one, and I am not inclined to try them all out and see. So be aware; Google is your friend. And, like others posted, I can't recommend Dell enough. I have my sites on either a Studio 15 or an XPS M1530; both have excellent linux support and are fabulous machines. I have used Dells almost exclusively and have never had a problem with them. I’d recommend considering saving a few bucks and going with a laptop with an Intel Integrated graphics chip. If your not interested in heavy gaming, that is. I have found that, with a couple minor tweaks (you can find them at the KDE forum) I can get good, if not excellent KWin (or compiz) effects, and the stability is amazing. I have two different PCs with Intel graphics and they both work like a charm, though not quite as smooth as OS X Aqua effects.

Otherwise, be aware that Compiz and KWin are not equal, and just because you get good performance with one is no guarantee for the other. I have a Dell Laitude D531 with an ATI Radeon card, and while it runs compiz like a champ – cube, wobbly windows and all – it won’t run KWin effects to save its life. I just use compiz as the WM for KDE4 and it works fine. The problem is probably in the proprietary drivers; I believe I had better results with an older version of the driver, but unfortunately I never took note of which one, and I am not inclined to try them all out and see. So be aware; Google is your friend.

And, like others posted, I can’t recommend Dell enough. I have my sites on either a Studio 15 or an XPS M1530; both have excellent linux support and are fabulous machines. I have used Dells almost exclusively and have never had a problem with them.

]]> By: Jeffery http://movingparts.net/2009/04/04/need-new-linuxkde4-friendly-laptop/comment-page-1/#comment-54610 Jeffery Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:37:28 +0000 http://movingparts.net/?p=495#comment-54610 A few pointers: -as pjn said, don't buy HP. I've had even worse experiences than what was mentioned there... repeatedly. e.g. botched repairs three times in a row... - I've only ever once had an nVidia card, so I can't really speak to them in general. However, aside from the odd artifact, I've had no issues, and it was dead simple to set up, even on Arch Linux. I have had a lot of experience with ATI, and from what I've seen, their binary driver is far, far, behind nVidia's (my desktop hangs HARD if I even try to use it at all - over 5 driver releases - and previous computers have had random glitches, lockups, etc.), and the FOSS drivers don't support 3D/compositing on anything halfways recent. - Also, as a minor note, Alps touchpads are annoying in Linux. This shouldn't be a major decision factor, but if you can, get one with a Synaptics touchpad. Cheers A few pointers:
-as pjn said, don’t buy HP. I’ve had even worse experiences than what was mentioned there… repeatedly. e.g. botched repairs three times in a row…
- I’ve only ever once had an nVidia card, so I can’t really speak to them in general. However, aside from the odd artifact, I’ve had no issues, and it was dead simple to set up, even on Arch Linux. I have had a lot of experience with ATI, and from what I’ve seen, their binary driver is far, far, behind nVidia’s (my desktop hangs HARD if I even try to use it at all – over 5 driver releases – and previous computers have had random glitches, lockups, etc.), and the FOSS drivers don’t support 3D/compositing on anything halfways recent.
- Also, as a minor note, Alps touchpads are annoying in Linux. This shouldn’t be a major decision factor, but if you can, get one with a Synaptics touchpad.
Cheers

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