Narrowing Down Linux Laptops
I spent some of today looking at options within the world of laptops for a replacement for my HP Pavilion 6008cl, as previously mentioned here.
I did get over to check out the HP website for newer business-grade laptops, but their interface is horrific. I gave up after trying to configure three different laptops, and being given their ridiculous user interface. Note to HP: Take a look at Dell’s laptop configurator and learn something about customization.
I also took a deeper look at Acer and Averatec, neither of which had the combination of RAM / CPU / Screen / Price / nVidia Video card that I’m looking for.
One of the most interesting aspects of the laptop world is the ASUS Whitebox laptops. Apparently, you choose an ideal laptop “barebones”, and then build it out, like you would a desktop. This particular vendor, GenTech, seems to have a large portion of the market, and many of the systems are linux compatible.
Finally, I revisited the Dell laptops that I had mentioned earlier, and immediately ruled out the 640m as having too small of a screen, and too pricey for the features. Over at CNET, I checked out their user opinions and reviews of the E1505 (Inspiron 6400), as well as the D520 and the D820 (both of which are used by Emperor Linux’s Rhino series). It appears that the ideal laptop, with the best mix of price, compatibility, features, and screen is the D820. I’m also checking out the possibility of the M65, which appears to have the same specifications.
Some notes on the D820 running under Linux can be found here (Fedora Core 5), and here (Ubuntu Dapper 6.06). I will probably run Fedora Core 5 on the laptop.
I was able to configure exactly what I wanted on Dell’s configurator, but the total cost to me would be well over $2,000. I wanted to stay closer to $1,500 … so I took a look at Dell’s Outlet store, which has similar models for around $1,200 – but they are missing a number of the key features that I would like. As a result, I will need to watch their inventory on a daily basis.
I also remembered that eBay sellers tend to sell Dell laptops, as part of Dell’s VAR program. Conveniently, many sellers are selling the laptop configuration that I’m looking for, at between $1,400 and $1,700. A serious discount over Dell itself. Now, I just need to locate an external widescreen that can duplicate the 1680x1050 or the 1920x1200 screen that Dell put on the D820 laptop.
It looks like I’ll need a new 21” to 24” widescreen monitor to compliment the laptop!
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