New notebook ideal for a penguin
 

I'm going to buy my first notebook and I'd like to use it especially for Linux, but for Window$ as well.
I have some ideas, however I'm a bit worried about choosing the correct stuff in order to avoid annoying hardware issue.

Here are my ideas:
- processor:AMD Athlon 64
- distro: Debian
price: must be less than 1200€

1)yes, I'm not precise, but....are these good ideas or would you change anything?
2)I don't have a clue about other components, because it's 3-4 years since I last bought a computer... any advice?
3)Could you give my a site where to find quick lists to compatible hardware ideal for Linux?
4)What HW would you advice?
5)Where I can find "real modems"? I mean...not winmodems?


thanks for you attention

I am interested in this topic too .. any suggestions

Buy a generic barebones system, rather than a brand name ... Hardware will be a established, and when something breaks, you don't need to worry about proprietary hardware. I have a DFY30 model ... Everything for both Linux and Windows worked out of the box.

here is a good resourceNo OS Laptops

It's not a quick list but it is a good place to startTuxmobile.

Unfortunately I don't know about where to find a real modem.

From personal experience, avoid SIS based video like the plague!

My laptop has SIS video. No problem. When I installed Xorg 6.9, I decided to try the Vesa drivers to see if I could coax a little higher screen density out of it, but no luck. Worked as good as the SIS drivers, tho. I don't think I ever changed it back.

Tuxmobil is a good resource, as is http://www.linux-laptop.net/

Personally I have an IBM T40 which I wouldn't trade for the world

Thanks, that's useful!

but..what about using 64 bit distros? have they got any particular issue I should know? or it's generally ok?

I heard somewhere they have....:confused:

Generally 64-bit distros may have problems depending on what kind of programs you run. If the program hasn't been ported to 64-bit because it is proprietary or for some other reason, you might have difficulty. But I think that you can run that kind of software in 32-bit mode without a problem. Anyway, most of the software for Linux works fine in 64-bit mode.

IMHO, you probably won't need 64-bit power, since it really doesn't make a huge amount of difference for the end user. 64-bit really makes a difference when crunching numbers and addressing larger amounts of memory (like more than 4GB). So it depends on your needs...

I would recommend a Lenovo laptop, as they seem to work well with Linux (not sure about modems), and they have some of the best support and reliability ratings out there. I have an IBM Thinkpad T30 that runs Linux without a single problem.

For some basic specifications, you might want to make sure you get at least the following:

• Intel or AMD CPU, running at least at 1.4 GHz
• 512MB RAM or more... more is always better :)
• 40GB hard drive at least. 80 or more if you can afford it
• NVIDIA graphics if you can... they are better supported under Linux than ATI

Other than that, I would just go for the most your money can afford you. For a distro, I would suggest Ubuntu , SuSE, or Linspire if you are new to Linux, otherwise Gentoo or Debian are good choices.

here are some other questions:
1)I don't need to worry about ethernet and lan hardware, avoiding usb stuff naturallu, do I?
2)I should buy wireless as well, any advice?

thanks a lot

Most of the laptops in the market nowadays come with built in ethernet and wireless, so I don't think you'll have to buy that separate. Just make sure that it has 802.11g wireless built-in, and you shouldn't have a problem. However, Linux support for some wireless options isn't that great, so you might want to try to find out exactly what kind of wireless (i.e., manufacturer) is built in to it. You can see a list of supported cards at http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/ Just make sure your laptop has one of the supported cards and you'll be fine.
My T30's Cisco Aironet card works flawlessly under Linux.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean about avoiding USB, maybe you could clarify?

AMD 64 or Intel Core Duo .. Which is better for me. I am looking to get a laptop and the applications I run are generally engineering ones such as Matlab, Maple and SolidWorks. And of course I want to run Debian, Ubuntu or some flavor of linux.

Aside: anyone have experience with hp dv5000 series and linux .. do hp and linux play well together as far as hardware compatibility?

thanks

Dell, baby :)

www.emperorlinux.com - adverise in Linux Format and sell laptops with fully configured distros, custom kernel, wireless, non OSS stuff and u can choose what distro u want.

You're probably looking at Sager if you want the dual-core chips. PCTorque.com has a couple of models... the 9750 has the AMD X2 chips as well as nice 17" screens and nVidia GeForce Go 7800.

They also have a 9890 which has similar specs but is Intel based (though I don't think they're dual core intel chips, but I'm not sure.)

There are a couple of newer models also coming out, one with a 19" monitor (I believe that's the 5950).

From what I've heard, Sager is pretty well supported in the linux world, so you probably won't have too much trouble with hardware.

I'm looking at a couple of these myself... just trying to figure out how much I want to spend and what I need vs. what I just really want. :-)

dell do have pretty good compatiblity when it comes to their laptops but i wouldn't wish their tech support on hitler, basically you have to hope that it doesn't break, which it will!!

if you can afford it go IBM all the way!!

as an after thought have you considered emporer linux, order on the net or by phone and it's preinstalled (do i sound like a commercial?)
never tried them but they look good, might be a way to go