[bproven]

If you can get something preloaded with Linux it is probably best. System 76 or the Dell precision line of laptops are good options. In the case of dell I would go precision over XPS - I believe you get better support and a better tested product with the business line. I have an XPS and have had a few QA issues with it. However, once I got it sorted it has been great running Ubuntu - but it was a ..... journey to say the least ;)

EDIT: another good option is probably XPS 13 Dev editions that give you ubuntu preloaded as well

[mmanulis]

I switched to Dell Precision Develop Edition 15" at the start of the year. It comes preloaded with Ubuntu 16.04.

I have really enjoyed this machine and don't miss my MacBook Pro at all.

The machine worked great out of the box, I made a few minor changes to how I like to work.

The two major changes I made were:

* Install a libinput and get rid of synaptics driver * Install the latest kernel

I run with a bunch of proprietary drivers (nvidia, intel, etc.) and don't have any problems

The only thing that I miss having is Sketch. But I just run a small Windows VM and use PS when I need it.

Majority of my time is spent in Chrome/Firefox, Terminal, gVim and Slack, so I don't miss anything Mac-specific.

If you're looking for help on how to get yours configured, there are plenty of guides if you search for: Dell XPS 15 Ubuntu or variants of that.

[krutzger]

How well does the precision work out of the box? I would prefer to run standard Ubuntu with no modifications or proprietary drivers of possible.

[mmanulis]

It works fine except for the touchpad, hence the switch to libinput.

Keep in mind, it comes with a bunch of stuff enabled by Dell and using their own repos.

I upgraded the kernel as I'm using the WD15 dock and the thunderbolt firmware/drivers are flaky on older kernels and will lock up the system.

If you've never ran Linux as your primary machine, be prepared for occasional snags, especially around suspend.

Overall, it's an easy system to fiddle with with lots and lots of online resources and how-to's.

[godot]

I have been thinking about getting a XPS 13 and getting Linux on it too. Currently, I repurposed a very old laptop (heavy and poor battery life) by installing CentOS Linux on it, and it runs great and I can do productive dev work on it (just can't carry it anywhere since it's too heavy). Curious, are the issues you had with the XPS bad enough that you'd recommend getting a different line (like Precision) over it? I remember the XPS is lighter and had better battery life, but I might be wrong.

Also, I know most workstation Linux users prefer Ubuntu over other flavors, but I personally usually stick with the Redhat family (like CentOS) since I just know its commands and names better. Is there anything (features) I'm missing concretely, by not using Ubuntu?

[bproven]

Some of the issues I had with 9550 XPS:

- battery swelling

- fan spinning on high speed for no apparent reason (not due to CPU load)

- random wakeups while sleeping (happened in my bag once and the laptop almost overheated :( ). This was eventually fixed via BIOS updates

- lots and lots of BIOS updates to fix all kinds of issues- at least 1-2 every month since its initial release. Although I am glad they are being fixed

- OEM wifi card (broadcom) was a POS in both Linux and Windows (Windows came with the box). I replaced with Intel card and life has been great.

The above may not be a problem in current XPS (9660 I think), but I really don't know. The XPS forums I have been to seem to filled with people with issues and instead recommending Precisions if you are OK with a less gaming based GPU. Plus you get business support and not the craptastic consumer support. If I were to do it again and wanted a 15" I'd definitely go with 5520 precision.

RE: XPS size and weight vs Precision -> If you stick with 5000 series it is almost the same box. If you bump to 7000 series you are getting into supersize land (but you can also fill it with more goodies that of course weigh more). The only downside is that all precision laptops are 15" - if you want smaller form factors you would need to go XPS (e.g XPS 13).

RE: Ubuntu v RH variants - it doesn't matter. Go with what is comfortable and familiar to you. AFAIK Ubuntu may have a more desktop/laptop friendly setup unless you go with Fedora (which is pretty much equivalent to Ubuntu non-LTS versions).

One final thing: the one thing that the Dells have over the Macbooks is user serviceable parts. IN the 15" models, you can replace SSD, WiFi, battery, memory very easily AND without compromising weight or size. I really wish Apple would get off the thin -> super-thin -> paper-thin? ride and offer this kind of modularity again. Hell at minimum allow replacement of SSD, memory.... but that is another rant for another time :)

[delhanty]

Thanks - v. informative.

Do you know how well Dell Precision does for international warranty and support?

[bproven]

I have no idea - you would have to check with Dell Support

[sq_]

In response to the second part of your comment, I don't think so, aside from new features that might be present in newer kernels than the Redhat family distros provide.