Laptop purchase advice - linux compatibility/performance
 

I have narrowed down to two choices:
gateway, p8700 2.53ghz + nvidia geforce gtx 260M
or
lenovo, i7 720QM 1.6ghz + nvidia geforce gt 240M

i plan on installing slackware 13 on it, and am curious as to how well the two GPU's are supported. nvidia's linux drivers do claim to support both of them, but i haven't found anything about how well either actually perform under linux

also generally wondering which of the two will perform better. as in, how well optimized for quad-core CPU's are most linux applications? and which of the two processors will seem more responsive and less likely to show lag if running multiple applications concurrently

thanks for any advice as i cannot seem to decide

Haven't looked at either of those specifically.

However, Gateway is now part of Acer.
Lenovo purchased the PC business from IBM

I have had laptops from both.
My experiences are that Lenovo has done a great job of continuing IBM's reputation for quality and durability as well as good design.
The Gateways have not been in the same market, I think they are more budget minded and are willing to compromise for a better price.

Just something to keep in mind when buying, are you planning on buying again in 3 or less years or will you keep it longer.
Short term, go with the Gateway for the price advantage. Long term, go with the Lenovo for quality build and the best laptop keyboard I have ever used.

Bob

I plan on keeping it in use for two years at least before upgrading. My last two laptops have been gateway and have not had any problems.

I am mainly debating whether the better processor in the lenovo outweighs the better GPU, higher resolution, extra hard drive bay, and larger screen of the gateway

I mean, I would really like a quad-core, but the rest of the gateway is a lot better. Aside from compiling/video encoding, will I really benefit a lot from the i7?

The Lenovo with the i7M will give better battery life than the p8700.

Larger screen means bigger and heavier if you are carrying it around. Is this a desktop replacement which you will use at a desk or table and not really portable. Extra HDD will also add weight if portable, if desktop then external hd are cheap and convenient.

As far as performance goes, I don't see anything much about multicore performance gains anymore, just like 64 bit versus 32 bit. The gains exist and are measurable, but in the real world most users don't ever use their machines capabilities to the point where we see it. You will see a difference when compiling/video encoding, how much do you do that?
The i7 is a newer architecture than the p8700 and you might see some gains due to cache, fsb, and mobo specs.

Lots of factors to consider, hope these help you to define your options better.

Bob

Primarily stationary. Not too much compiling or encoding, but I will be doing some. I am leaning towards the Gateway at this point, thanks for the advice.