Ask HN: Ubuntu-friendly laptop comparable to MBP Retina?

6 points by eegilbert 11 years ago | 11 comments

Hi folks,

I've been wanting to jump to an Ubuntu-based laptop for a while now, but I can't find anything that beats (or is comparable to) a Retina Macbook Pro. I tried a Lenovo X1 Carbon and was underwhelmed.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

cik 11 years ago |

I'm using a Sager - you should check them out! The best part is that you custom order it - the way you want it. I configured mine at reflexnotebook.ca and couldn't be more thrilled with the results, three months into it.

Out of the box all of my hardware is supported, though I'm running Mint 17 (same base). The keyboard is a pleasure to type on, though the laptop is a bit weighty. The trackpad is great under linux, something that was sorely lacking on every single other machine I've tried (System76, IBMs, Dells, everything!). Even the function keys are recognized - which was a pleasant surprise over my System76.

_em_ 11 years ago | |

i did this mistake of making a custom laptop from powernotebooks.com. The laptop by itself was a treat however, it was heavy as shit + battery was poor (9 cell battery). The biggest problem i faced was that the laptop wasn't that portable. Imagine carrying ~9 lbs of laptop + a huge charger.

After this, I decided to buy rMBP and to be honest, i am sitll not sure if i am happy with my decision. the biggest issue i am facing is software compatibilities. There aren't much softwares (that I use) are available. Granted its amazing for prorgrammin, but some leisure tasks take forever to finish.

canterburry 11 years ago |

I am also a long time Lenovo ThinkPad fan who switched to Ubuntu. Eventhough I am successfully running 14.04 on my T520 right now, I too have been looking for a Mac alternative. So far, here is my potential line-up:

Razer: http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade

Dell XPS 15: http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-15-9530/pd?oc=fncwx1602h&model_...

tucosan 11 years ago |

I was in a similar situation. As a long time thinkpad user, the first thing I did was check out Lenovos current thinkpad lineup and was also very disappointment by the hardware and screen quality. After several weeks of comparisons I simply decided to buy an rMBP, and I couldn't be happier. EDIT: Installing Ubuntu shouldn't be a problem on an rMBP, but you'll probably run into issues where you'll have to fiddle with font-size settings.

poseid 11 years ago | |

agree - those lenovo laptops feel poorly in graphics. heard that Acer or HP do better nowadays, but have not checked.

forgotpasswd3x 11 years ago | | |

I don't think I could ever buy an HP laptop. They sold junk for too long for me to give them another shot.

edent 11 years ago |

Have you considered just running Ubuntu on a MBP?

I've successfully run it on a non-retina machine, and currently have a 2013 MacBook Air running 12.04 (I'm too lazy to update).

The installation is fairly simple and just about everything worked out of the box.

thelogos 11 years ago |

I haven't been able to get any linux distro working on rmbp. It just boots up to a black screen.

nodata 11 years ago |

Why were you underwhelmed? What are you looking for exactly?

lixardz 11 years ago |

Uh.. What the actual #%&@ ?? no no suggestions you're not going to be happy with anything.

You need to ask yourself why you want this.. You have to realize you aren't going to ahve the same level of display. Switching to Ubuntu you are going to have to make a lot of consessions.

What is that you like about the Macbook Pro Retina? The display? the weight? the size? Go find a laptop with the specifics you like and install ubuntu on it.

brudgers 11 years ago |

If you want a MacBook pro buy a MacBook pro. The "beats or comparable to" game is a fucking waste of time, because people assign different values to different features, including brand name, weight, battery life, computational power, screen size, keyboard layout, upgradeability, warranty support. hardware certification, etc. etc.

Dell Precision mobile workstations such as the m6800 are Ubuntu Certified. [1]

The m6800 can be provisioned with:

+ Spare batteries.

+ Raid 5 over three drives

+ Blu-Ray [limits hard disks to 2]

+ Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4940MX (Quad Core Extreme 3.10GHz, 4.0GHz Turbo, 8MB 57W, w/HD Graphics 4600)

+ GPU: Nvidia® Quadro® K5100M w/8GB GDDR5

+ 4G LTE mobile broadband

+ Hardware crytpography accelerator

+ Intel vPro Management

+ Ram: 32GB (4x8GB) 1600MHz DDR3L

+ 5 Years 24 x 7 Support with Next Business Day Onsite Service.

+ 5 Years accidental damage service

+ 5 years data recovery service

+ A 17" Display

And of course Ubuntu pre-installed and supported by the hardware manufacturer. [2]

The complete list of Ubuntu Desktop certified hardware is available. [3]

[1] http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cupmws...

[2] http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/hardware/201305-13528/

[3] http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/