Hacker News Reader

I like System76, and my two previous work laptops came from them (both served me for over four years each; I only had to replace the last one due to a hard to diagnose RAM issue), but I can't recommend them to anyone outside of the US. By now they really should have gotten into bed with an EU distributor to handle warrantee, customs, and shipping, because it's just too costly and too much of a hassle to deal with System76 with an ocean in between.

I'm using a Dell XPS 13 pre-loaded with Ubuntu now. I had to order it by telephone because the option to configure it with 32GB of RAM and Ubuntu wasn't available on their website (in this respect Dell really sucks with their localized web shop, but at least you can contact them within the EU), but no hassle with customs and shipping, and warrantee isn't limited to the US standard of one year by default, but the EU mandated standard of two years. If it breaks down, I can get a replacement within a week; that's just impossible with overseas commerce.

Wow, thanks for posting this - a System76 is on my shortlist, but it's coming straight off now; I had no idea I'd have to ship it across the Atlantic if there was a problem!!!

Curious - is your XPS13 touch screen or 4k? I called and they insisted the XPS13 only had 32GB RAM options for touch or 4k screens. I don't want either of those things, so im SOL i guess.

Nope; just a normal 1920×1200 non-touch anti-glare screen.

I got this one in July 2021 though, so Dell probably changed everything again. This is an XPS 13 9310 (BN93209C) with 32 GB RAM onboard and Ubuntu Linux 20.04 (current LTS) pre-installed.

Having that code — BN93209C — to give to the telephone operator helped, although I don't know if it is still useful now. Dell seems to be really into limiting their offerings depending on the country you are in.

I got a System76 Serval WS laptop running Ubuntu 2 1/2 years ago and have been happy with it. I used it a lot pre-Covid when I was traveling more. It also updated well, although I always wait two months post-release before upgrading Ubuntu.

I bought a System76 Thelio desktop running Ubuntu in July, and I am typing on it now. I am very happy with it. One nice thing about it is I know the various parts of the system will have decent drivers for Linux. I did get an Nvidia 12 GB GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card with it - that is one area (Nvidia) where support could potentially be problematic, but I have had no problems thus far. The upgrade to Ubuntu 21.10 went smoothly. I also bought a 27" inch monitor with it, and working from home, it beats my old 19" inch monitor by a long shot, especially if I am doing git merges or something.

The first System76 laptop I bought was in 2014, and I have helped other people buy them, and I feel they have gotten better over time - the machines are better.

I like how much of the system is open, if I want to change something I can just drop down and do it - to the desktop layer, to the userspace level, to the kernel level. People have caveats, and I have run into them, but workplaces have had me run Windows or MacOS, and those systems have caveats as well. The ability to be able to look at the code and change it is something I like.

I think the point is that most modern laptops don't offer good linux support (which are without a doubt have the best developer experience, aside from ~debatable~ macOS'es). Either they lack good driver support or need you to hack config files/kernel params. So yeah, I still type for "developer laptops" or "laptops with good linux support" when I'm searching new computers, and no, a basic off-the-shelf Dell Inspiron (or any other "piece of junk") doesn't cut it

Depends which kind of developer, there is a big world out there beyond UNIX CLI and daemons with Web UI.

There are basically two requirements I have for Linux hardware: an Intel wireless card, and a non-Nvidia GPU. I haven't really been let down so far by sticking with only those two requirements, aside from some teething pains with Lenovo's AMD ThinkPads.

System76 actually _does_ have good Linux kit. They work hard to make sure it actually works (usually in the firmware), they don't just slap Linux on some white box odm and ship it.

I think ergonomics / general slickness goes a long way for a dev laptop, not just pure horsepower. Form factor, keyboard etc. Everyone has their preferences with these things :)

I am one of those people that don't care what something looks like, as long as I can plug it into my docking station and occasionally use it stand-alone. However, I can see your ergonomics and "general slickness" point as I've had some work laptops in the past that had the worst keyboard layouts or the touch-pad was placed weirdly or I had to do the Contra cheat code on the keyboard to incant the proper spell to get it to startup properly. I work on a personal laptop that is ~3 years old and I don't think I'll need to replace it ever, since I can replace parts and it's faster than I will ever need for my use cases.

Prior to buying my Thinkpad X1 Nano I considered a System76 laptop, but decided against it mainly for a few reasons:

- Many reports of spotty QC in their machines

- Display panel being 16:9 instead of 16:10 or something taller

- Uninspiring design

- Mediocre specs for price

- Barrel power connector instead of USB-PD

Regarding your last paragraph, I generally agree, but there is at least one exception: If you need lots of RAM and nothing else, then many consumer laptops won't do the job.

Oh yea, that is so true. I wish I could get a cheapo processor with like 32GB or 64GB of RAM. The only choices you have are to get a cheap laptop with a minuscule amount of RAM and the exact amount of processing and hard drive space you need, or to buy some $4000 beast with the amount of RAM you need, but too much of everything else.

If I could replace my System76's keyboard with a layout that I like, then I would have zero complaints.

I <3 System76

I wish that Pop!_OS installed with some sort of hibernation setup by default.

What happens when such a niche manufacturer's hardware breaks down as a warranty case? I strongly prefer vendors or OEMs who have strong support. I am not terribly impressed by the overall quality of my current laptop by German reseller Schenker/XMG but they, as an alternative to the big enterprise suppliers like Dell or HP or Lenovo have a stepped up support game as well (it reflects in their relatively higher prices vs quality they sell).

This is also the reason why I'm sceptical ordering things like the "Framework Laptop". If it's a hobby expense it's an alright expense and risk, but for productivity, I need assurances, and part of that assurance comes from a track record, which not all niche vendors have (with me).

> What happens when such a niche manufacturer's hardware breaks down as a warranty case?

My System76 laptop came with a year of warranty I think, and I never used it. I think there were 2 and 3 year extensions available when purchasing, but I never buy the warranty for anything. However, 3 years after I purchased it I emailed support for a software question and got a great response from them and they spent a good amount of back-and-forth (emails) time helping me diagnose the issue and resolving it, even outside of the service window. That's just my experience, YMMV.

I've had fantastic existence with System76 support, with caveats:

0. They are Colorado business hours

1. They don't send someone to your location to fix stuff.