So the article on the main page regarding Dell's laptop got me thinking I need a new laptop for development. I'm currently still using a 2008 Lenovo X61 when I'm away from my desktop. I initially chose this laptop back then as it would be pain free when it came to drivers, and that it was.<p>I'd like something a little bigger - perhaps 14"? Ideally quad-core, and can handle 16GB of RAM as that would allow me to replace my desktop with it.<p>Anything fit the bill?
I've ran Linux on probably 15 different Dell laptops over the past 10 years. My current is a Precision M6500. It has a 15" LCD at 1920x1200. Probably something like that available now.<p>I don't really use it mobile very often, but everything works well enough. I always get a discrete Nvidia video card and use their proprietary driver.
I am using a 17" Sony Vaio Z series with and SSD and 1920x1080 screen for a long time. Quite happy with everything. Sony laptops work better than expected with Linux, though this is by chance rather than Sony's support. Next I ll check one of the ultrabooks and Dell XPS Sputnik
Other than some Macs, the screens all suck. I am fond of Lenovo other than the screen resolution - matte is important to me. I swapped my 2007 vintage T61 for a T430s. Everything works fine out of the box. I did replace the DVD drive with another battery since this model doesn't have the stick out batteries like other models do.<p>The specs are a dual core/quad threaded i7-3520M, 16GB of RAM, 500GB 7200rpm spinning disk and a 250GB mSata SSD stick. I got the version with a Thunderbolt port although I haven't tried using it. IIRC you have to get the i7 and no Nvidia to get Thunderbolt. Memory, drives and msata are cheaper anywhere other than Lenovo.<p>For Lenovo stuff I highly recommend the forums at notebookreview.com.
I've had positive personal experiences and anecdotes from others about the Intel Core i7.<p>I haven't seen a laptop that's expandable to 16GB. But I also don't usually look higher than the middle of the market when I'm laptop shopping, so you may be able to find one if you're willing to pay a paying premium price for it.<p>Don't be afraid of a machine with a too-small hard drive or memory. Upgrades for both are cheap. CPU, GPU, and monitor, on the other hand, are usually difficult or impossible to upgrade in a laptop.<p>If you don't have a specific use for a graphics card, consider going with a machine which only has integrated graphics. It will save you a lot.
I would personally recommend a Samsung Series 7 15.6" laptop. It has a super thin bezel around the screen so it form factor is more like a 14" laptop. It is less than an inch thick, and is very portable. Mine has an 17-2675QM quad core in it, and it is expandable to 12gigs of ram(4 gigs is soldered on the motherboard). It also has a radeon 6750m in it. But most importantly, it has a 1600x900 MATTE display. I run only ubuntu 12.10 on it, and it does take some configuration out of the box to get set up right, but a quick google search is all it took. Few minor things don't work on mine, but overall I am extremely happy with it.
I'm running a Lenovo L520, i7, 16GiB RAM, SSD and it flies along. Linux Mint (& Ubuntu) work out of the box, and it has a fantastic keyboard and matte screen.<p>My only gripe is that there's no USB 3.
I know this is a weird suggestion, but the best combo for me is a Macbook (air or pro) with Parallels running a Linux VM full screen.<p>Performance is shockingly good, you don't have to worry about drivers, and you still get access to a bunch of nice OSX things inside the VM (Retina res, keyboard shortcuts for volume, Mountain Lion's speech dictation, etc)<p>Plus, you get that sweet sweet Apple build quality.
You could get a 13 or 15" Macbook Pro (Not retina) and install Linux on it. (I use OSX with Macports which is fine for my needs but the fresh install of Linux is still an option). I really like the Apple Hardware although I am becoming gradually less enthusiastic about their attempts to make OSX more like iOS.
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/11/dell-releases-powerful-well-supported-linux-ultrabook/" rel="nofollow">http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/11/dell-releases-powerfu...</a> This Dell seems very nice.