I purchased a Sony Vaio last week from Circuit City. It was the display model with the following specs I have found:

Intel C2D 2.0 GHz
2.0 GB RAM
Intel X3100 video
250 GB 4200RPM HDD
Centrino standard wifi, I believe the 4695abn?

The price was $680. Long story short, while the machine runs ok, I was unaware of that the HDD was only 4200 RPM, I didn't even know that 4200RPM drives were made, I assumed 5400. Also, video performance is OK, but I have found that the intel 4500MHD is better. I also found that the MFG date of the system is 6/2007, so it is nearly 1.5 years old. I plan on returning it for a refund, but I still want a laptop.

I have narrowed it down to these choices, is any one a better buy than the other? All have centrino, so C2D processor and wireless that should work well with linux, 5400RPM HDDs, and intel 4500MHD integrated graphics.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y530-5243U, $829

HP Pavilion dv5-1159se, $849 - $50 mail in rebate = $799

Toshiba Satellite A305-S6872, $749. Only 3GB RAM compared to 4 on other 2, 250GB HDD compared to 320GB on other two, and for some odd reason, the touchpad doesn't have the scroll functions on the side that I thought all laptops came with these days.

So, does any one seem like a better idea than the other? The Toshiba is almost ruled out because of the touchpad, and less RAM and HDD space while only being marginally cheaper than the other two.

I would suggest searching for each model in Google along with the keyword Linux.

and if you want even better performance you could always look for a 7200 RPM drive for your laptop..
Keep in mind Dell sells laptops with Linux installed, and black friday is coming up.. the sales are on..
http://bfads.net/Dell-Home

I like my HP DV7-1020us. Everything on it works great under 64bit Fedora 9. Not out of the box but after a few updates and modify a few things. I myself perfer Nvidia over ATI these days. Might check this post. http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...-p8400-686439/

Brian

Don't omit Dell from your shortlist if you are looking for good hardware compatibility with Linux.
There are plenty of disgruntled laptop owners around who are having hardware problems with Linux, so tread carefully.

Look here for a review of the Dell Vostro 1710:
http://blog.ptpbs.com/?p=37

Alternatively Dell's Inspiron range may be more suitable for you.

I actually went for the pavilion. So far, all the Linux distros I have tested on it work out of the box with the exception of wireless. So far, only Fedora works straight away with the Intel 5100 series card. All kernels after 2.6.26 should work with it (Fedora 10 is 2.6.27). I really want to get Arch working, but the img I copied to my usb stick to install only has 2.6.25, as does OpenSUSE (surprisingly this is the first time ever that SUSE has ever correctly found and configured a display...EVER!).

I guess that all there is left to do is wait until distros update to newer kernels.


I do like the Dells, but I wanted something I could try in store. In the end, the HP narrowly edged out the Lenovo, mostly because of the keyboard.

These days, you can get at least one distro to work just about out of the box on any computer. I've had laptops, and sent girls to college with laptops, and will only buy HPs or Dells. Everything else (including work laptops have problems with hardware failure, batteries, and those darn charging adapters breaking. I've seen alot of posts having to deal with configuring HP and Broadcom drivers, but I learned alot about linux on my HP laptop, and have the best looking Debian system out there now. Everyone I show the features to are amazed, especially with all the free software and widgets that I can customize.

I am using HP Pavilion dv5 series. I have almost tried every distro on it and i didn't face any compatibility or hardware recognition issues. The only pit fall was its 1GB RAM which i have upgraded to 2GB and it works fine for me.

Actually HP has designed different series for different type of users i.e. Home entertainment, Gaming and high multimedia intensive etc. Just go through HP website and you shall learn more.

I did spend couple of months searching on line, asking Friends and reading reviews and i have purchased HP Pavilion at the end. HP Pavilion notebooks carry "best design award" as well. Hp looks good and performs better. I have no regrets so far!

claudius you should have no problem with the Intel 5100 or the 2.6.26 kernel you just have to have the kernel source installed for the running kernel and build the module source from the maker of the Intel stuff. Then copy the firmware file to its needed place and load module. It will work just requires work to do since not in the 2.6.26 or older kernel tree. It was nice that Fedora did enable it when the 2.6.27 precompiled rpm kernel happen. I have never tried it myself to see if it was compiled or not. I just make my own kernels so they are a bit lighter and fine tuned to my hardware.

Brian

Post duplicated for some reason. Sorry

Brian

why not Lenove thinkpad

I bought a Dell Inspiron 2200 about three years ago, price 900 Euro at that time, and since than it has been running with SuSE. The only problem that occured was solved by Dell at once, I appreciate their support and if a new laptop becomes necessary to me, I again would choose Dell.

In general, I'll recommend you the Lenovo IdeaPad. However, it indeed depends on the model itself.

I have a Toshiba Satellite P105 and I had a lot of issues getting Linux to run on it. It had buggy ACPI code which as I understand it, could potentially have caused over heating problems. This required a DSDT recompile. It was a struggle to get things such as sound working properly and Toshiba certainly does not provide any form of support for Linux. In fact, the latest bios update is a complete disaster if you want to install Linux. I have everything I need working with Debian Etch 64 now but it was more of a struggle than necessary - I would not buy a Toshiba again.

Regards,
Stefan

Could you tell me what distro you want to install and version(32 or 64). Also,what will you use your laptop for?Since there are so many variables involved with choosing a laptop,I need this info to give the best advice possible.Finally(sorry so longwinded)all three of the computers have vista pre-installed. If you are dual booting then it's no big deal. If not,your paying 200 bucks extra for your harddrive! I believe 32 bit linux will only use around 3.5gb of ram even if you have 8gb.If you're installing 64 bit it will recognize all of it.(so difference in 3-4 gb may really only be 500mb).

I am installing many distros and I have already purchased the HP (as I stated in an earlier post )

I do need Windows for school (computer science), so I had no issue purchasing Vista pre-installed. I shrunk the Vista partition, and have tried many distros (all 64 bit) and most worked great. Currently my main use OS is Ubuntu 8.10 64 bit, with a 'playground' 10 GB Arch partition, and Vista on a small partition. I booted Vista about 3 times in over a week, mostly just to download the latest Ubuntu to install.

98% Ubuntu, and I have had no need to really use Windows yet. Most of my current programming assignments are simple and I've just been using geany, but I will need it later when I have Windows specific programs that I have to write.