[2bluesc]

As a previous gen System 76 Galago and now a proud Dell Precision 5510 owner, I wish them luck!

I traded my previous gen System76 Galago Pro after 2-3 years of being disappointed with build quality, battery life also piss poor BIOS support for a company priding themselves on supporting the hardware (i.e. UEFI had to be hacked in from the identical Clevo, next to no options, no TPM, etc). We need more competitors in this area for the Linux fanbois (admittedly myself most of the time) who try to provide solutions to Macbook "refugees".

The Dell XPS 15 / Precision 15 are amazing machines and for the first time in years I have a laptop I can recommend without reservation since the Thinkpads fall from grace (the Carbon was close but doesn't have a real processor processor last few times I checked, just the U series). I hope this new System76 Galago approaches the Dell level of quality and I welcome the competition. From what I've seen, they are aimed in the right direction.

For those interested in more details on the laptop, here's an interview with a System76 person at SCaLE 15x by the Linux Action Show discussing the new Galago and hinting at more details:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMbQoNz2GP8&t=21m18s

[windexh8er]

I will say here that the 5510 is a far cry from a perfect machine. Dell replaced mine 4 times over 6+ months where I went weeks to a month at a time with an unusable machine. First machine would shut off whenever the laptop was moved while running. They "fixed" that machine over 1 week, got it back and it did the exact same thing. First replacement machine was different specs than the unit I sent them and it also had a blemish on the display panel even though it was brand new. After arguing with Dell for over a month regarding this machine they replaced it with another that would crash randomly, but reliably over the course of the day. Machine was sent back, "fixed" and returned over multiple months 3 times. Finally replaced again after letting the machine sit and collect dust for months after buying a replacement.

Dell has horrible support and while the product is "pretty" and feels well built - it is, IMO no better than anything else on the market today. I would NOT recommend a 5510. In fact there are many horror stories in their forums around it. Which is probably why they dropped it so fast for the 5520.

It is a great machine when it works right, but YMMV on quality.

[brudgers]

In the US, Dell Precisions have a three year next-business-day onsite warranty (after remote diagnosis). Curious where you are located.

[Freak_NL]

Four year plus owner of a Gazelle here. The only thing that is 'wrong' with it is the battery (dead). Since I use the laptop on power exclusively this doesn't bother me. I could have replaced it though. All in all it is a very powerful and very nice laptop.

Every time I look at a future replacement for this one I get stuck with this dilemma:

System76.com:

+ I know that the laptop I buy will work with Linux; no painstaking research needed

+ configuring the laptop the way I want it is a breeze. 32GiB RAM? No problem

- Import tariffs and shipping costs (I live in the EU)

- So-so build quality

Dell:

+ Local representation, no tariffs

+ Easier to get support here in the EU

- Minimal configurability

- Actually finding an XPS with Ubuntu in their shop

This last point seems trivial, but I just can't figure out why Dell's website is so completely unusable and stuck in the nineties! Searching for the XPS with Ubuntu gives me a list of XPS laptops that differ in subtle ways. Some I can configure bits of, some are a fixed configuration. There is no simple way to filter their offerings, and on-line I find references to XPS configurations that mysteriously aren't available in the Netherlands — what a mess.

Compare that with System76 to see the huge disparity there.

[2bluesc]

> - Actually finding an XPS with Ubuntu in their shop

Problem is that you're looking for XPS, I think they only do XPS + Ubuntu under their Sputnik program. If you look-up the Precision line, Ubuntu 16.04 from the factory is an option with a $101.50 discount over Win10 Pro. [0]

[0] http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=xctop5...

[brudgers]

What is offered online probably varies by country. But the Precisions are supported on Linux in the US.

[windexh8er]

Not true:

http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/campaigns/xps-linux-lapt...

[mrweasel]

>- So-so build quality

That's really sad, because I think most of us who want to buy Linux/BSD capable laptops also want excellent build quality (and honestly don't mind paying for it).

[Freak_NL]

Certainly. I do think that this metal-body Galago will be fairly sturdy though; System76 is simply getting better at it.

This too is part of my dilemma; I want to support a company that simply sells me a GNU/Linux laptop. There is always the alternative of spending days browsing reviews and anecdotes from people who bought some laptop with Windows on it and then installed Linux to find out if all the hardware works. It's a waste of time, and not necessary if I can buy a laptop that comes with Linux out of the box.

[db48x]

My Gazelle has also worked out really well. I do need another new battery for it though.

[schmichael]

I had a similarly bad experience with System76 build quality. Back to Thinkpads for me.

That ethernet port they show broke after relatively light usage. I can't believe they haven't fixed that design flaw yet. I guess wired connections are rare enough maybe no one notices.

The screen rubbing on the keyboard when closed and causing bright spots was definitely the worst part for me. I don't want to have to be dainty with a laptop.

[shmageggy]

Regretful galago owner here on a permanently plugged in laptop with a broken Ethernet port and a bunch of little felt pads lining the sides of my screen to prevent rubbing. Hopefully the new ones are better.

[Zooper]

Exact same set of problems on mine here; Space key feels like it's giving out now too, and this is with the replacement keyboard.

[pilif]

> The screen rubbing on the keyboard when closed and causing bright spots

back in the days (before 2006 when I moved to apple), this was a common issue with IBM Thinkpads. Fun to see this still happening in the PC world.

[mstefff]

Same situation. Had a System 76 Lemur Ultra for 3 years and hated it after 6 months. The battery had to be replaced every 10-12 months. The build quality was appalling. Everything was falling apart. The finish and keys were coming off. HDMI never worked. WIFI problems every day. It was really a piece of garbage. I'd be embarrassed to sell those.

Just got a Dell XPS 13 for about the same price I paid for the System 76 piece of junk. It's an amazing computer.

[sxldier]

> Just got a Dell XPS 13 for about the same price I paid for the System 76 piece of junk. It's an amazing computer.

How's your battery life? And with what kind of usage?

[dman]

Does dell offer a quad core processor without pulling in an Nvidia GPU? That is what ticks me off about their models. Upgrading to a quad core processor also requires upgrading to the 4k screen which requires an Nvidia GPU which makes battery life abysmal. Surely there are some users out there who want fast compile times, but dont want to do any graphics and want to maximize battery life?

[dijit]

Since nobody replied; yes they do.

At least my Precision 5520 had the option not to include the GPU, and even if you get it you can do hardware switching so battery life is unaffected essentially.

[barake]

You can buy the Precision 5520 with a quad i5 and no Nvidia GPU. Be sure to pick the larger 97Wh battery!

http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetails/precision...

[INTPenis]

I have no issue with Thinkpad X230 for Linux. It's thicker than an "ultrabook" but it's still my go to choice for portable laptop.

I prefer having an actual ehternet port rather than a movable part one.

The dual battery is also pretty neat, one is replaceable.

Many of my co-workers have either the Carbon or the Yoga, I've only seen one with Fedora installed but as long as Fedora works out-of-box on it then the Yoga seems to me like a great work laptop too.

[green7ea]

I have a Yoga 2 Pro and a T420s (when the Ts still had nice keyboards). The T420s is a much more enjoyable machine for development work. This is mostly due to the screen being matte. This reflectivity of the screen affects me much more than the resolution (1600x900 vs 3200x1800). Another important factor is the amazing original IBM keyboard with the red knob. I have to agree with grand-parent that Lenovo's quality has gone downhill in recent years.

I have ArchLinux and Ubuntu on both of them and they both work fine after a few HiDpi scalling tweaks on the Yoga.

*edit: I forgot to mention that the T420s has built in ethernet and a hardware switch to turn off the wifi (bios level, not physical) which are two other features I enjoy.

[INTPenis]

Actually meant x260. Why can't I edit?

[mediaserf]

The deal-breaker on the Dell Precision 5510 for me was the keyboard layout. I work on the command line and I need the pipe key on the right side of the keyboard and directly above the shift key. I have a new Thinkpad P50 and I am happy with that.

[thom]

I'd be interested in people's views on these two product lines, as they're more or less what I'd settled on as a shortlist for my next machine.

[dijit]

My precision 5520 has a pretty standard ANSI layout, idk what the ISO varients look like though.