If you wanted a portable video editing workstation or a gaming machine you can take with you wherever you go, you’d be hard pressed to find more impressive specs from any manufacturer, let alone one that ships with Linux-compatible hardware like System76. So I mentioned to System76 that I wanted to test the Oryx Pro and compare it to the Dell XPS as a “developer” laptop. Frankly, the company was a little hesitant, pointing out that the two aren’t really – aside from both shipping with Ubuntu installed – at all alike. And soon after the Oryx Pro arrived, I really understood just how different these machines area.
System76 has really become a household name in Linux circles for great machines with fantastic out-of-the-box Linux support.
“hef” instead of ‘href”
link for readers until fixed:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/11/system76-oryx-pro-review-lin…
Edited 2016-11-23 22:23 UTC
Correct Link:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/11/system76-oryx-pro-review-lin…
Wow, 1999 is calling, it want’s its laptop back.
Over an inch thick for a laptop circa 2016, that’s a freaking brick.
I’ll stick with a MacBook Pro at half the weight, or maybe something like a Lenovo Thinkpad or Dell XPS at half the size and weight and price.
Yep. It might be one of the best laptops with Linux pre-installed… but I’m never going to buy a laptop on the basis of which OS it comes with, because the first thing I’m always going to do is wipe it and reinstall.
And there are much better laptops that don’t come with Linux pre-installed, but still are well supported by Linux.
Delgarde,
Manufactures know that many linux users do not buy linux laptops. Ironically this behavior keeps linux sales numbers down and discourages manufactuers from investing strongly in linux.
Not judging you, I do the same thing because most linux laptops are prices as niche items…windows laptops are more competitive whether I like it or not.
I for one do not care at all. I used to lug around a Toshiba Satellite A70, which was an inch and a half thick and almost ten pounds, and I still only consider that the upper-end of what is acceptable.
I’d rather have an inch-thick laptop that is affordable than an ultrabook.
Same here, the ultra/light laptops limit what type of expansions will fit inside them. Example: many ultra lights can not take standard size SSDs so if I want to up install a larger SSD I can’t.
The latest move to solder in memory means I can upgrade memory on some models.
I even had some light models wanting to move while I try to use them outside because of a strong gust of wind.
And considering some of the hardware mods I make to my machines, I want something with size/volume.
Earl C Pottinger,
I’m just glad when consumers have choice. The worst scenario is when all manufacturers are following some fad and we end up having to choose something we don’t really want.
Maybe the same could be said of elections.
I have the older Bonobo Extreme it’s a 17 inch and it’s huge but while I am only 6 foot tall my hands are fairly large so I like to say it’s me sized. I have never been comfortable using a laptop under 14 inches for me it’s like using a netbook and a netbook looks like a children’s toy.
What I consider a reasonable desktop replacement would be very hard for smaller people to carry so in my opinion the more options the better.
Or just get a Librem from https://puri.sm …those are ultra-light and yet pretty powerful laptops made to run Linux.
If they would offer a laptop in an aluminum enclosure like Razer (TM) more people would buy System 76 laptops.
No matter how you think about Apple: having a MacBook Pro as a workhorse raises the bar… a lot!
And no, I’m not talking about the thin magnesium enclosures like HP is using, or the stuff ASUS is using.
IMO only the Microsoft SurfaceBook comes close in build quality.
And maybe Razer; if they would offer a UNIX OS for non gamers… the new 17″ laptop looks awesome. The only downside is Microsoft Windows. Doing typography related work on a Windows machine kills your eyes
BTW: patiently waiting for the next iteration of the Pixel laptop
I have to say that I’m not that impressed with the build quality of my Razer Blade Stealth. It is certainly better than most laptops, but compared to a Macbook it feels cheap.
Yes, it is aluminum unibody, but that is where the similarities end. The bottom panel is very thin, to the point of being easily dented. The screws are not aligned very well and the precision you see in Macbooks isn’t there at all. There is a slight but noticeably flex in the top of the keyboard, not enough to bother me but it is there. I am also not a fan of the anodizing they do, it is a fingerprint magnet and it scratches easily. I have the QHD version, and the screen – while comparable in size and resolution to my Macbook 12, is no where near as good. I’m sure the 4k version is better, but it seems like overkill in a laptop of this size.
I dropped a Macbook 13 once and while it did show some slight damage on the corner it hit on, the dent if the floor looked worse. I’m pretty sure if I dropped this thing it would just fly apart.
I’m not dissing the Razer – it is a pretty nice laptop and I’m happy with it for what I use it for (and for the price). I’m just saying – Apple’s stuff is in a class of their own when it comes to build quality. Maybe the larger Blade and Blade Pro are better – haven’t seen those personally.
On a positive note, I do like the fact that it is rather cheap and I can upgrade the SSD and Wifi if I want to. I wish the same were true of the RAM – I would forgive all it’s build issues (which are relatively minor) if the RAM was easily upgraded.
Mostly unrelated gripe: 16:9 is a stupid display ratio for laptop’s smaller than 15 inches (unless you can eliminate the bezel like Dell has – which makes up for it somewhat). Apple and Microsoft get this – I don’t understand why almost no one else has.
Yeah, because soldered in components is awesome.
Also seems they are fairly prone to weird issues (swelling batteries for one co-worker, and dead RAM that is expensive to replace because of aforementioned soldering of components.)
I’ve got a zenbook, and I’d rather have that than a MacBook Pro.
If the bar is noise and whining. Otherwise no. MacBooks except for the old pre-retina Pro models, are not made for work, and will literally whine loudly if you make them work.
Edited 2016-11-25 18:42 UTC
The onyx is a 15 inch machine it is better compared to the Dell Precision 15 5510; which has an Ubuntu option and allows up to 32 gb of ram; but isn’t a boat anchor!
He doesn’t compare it to the XPS 13 directly – it is a completely different beast of a laptop, but since that is the machine he reviewed a month or so ago, it makes sense to mention it in places.
Actually, he does compare it to the XPS13 and MacBook whenever he mentions size/weight/performance which is basically the entire review!
This is just one of many “workstation” laptops. It has all the specs, ports, performance and weight you would expect. It is slightly expensive, but if you are dead set on getting a Linux “Luggable” instead of a desktop this would be a good (but really nothing special) machine to get.
Edited 2016-11-24 13:05 UTC
https://www.entroware.com/store/
They seems to sell some reasonable priced Linux laptops too, I really like the look of the Apollo.
Core i5 and 8Gb would be 589 pounds, SSD options seem to be unreasonably priced unless you swap it out yourself.
1.5-2 hours of battery life? What year is it? As if poor battery life isn’t already a major issue on GNU/Linux laptops (compared to Windows on the same hardware), the System76 guys just had to put GNU/Linux inside a beast of a system.
Also, no word on switchable graphics. My spidey sense tells me it is not supported, hence the OS cannot even take advantage of the full hardware in the machine.
I ‘ll pass.
Edited 2016-11-24 14:30 UTC
As I never use the numeric part of a keyboard, I bought myself a tenkeyless keyboard for the desktop, but I would love to have that option in a laptop too. Does anyone know of a laptop that has an option of a tenkeyless keyboard?
Most laptops 15inch and lower have “tenkeyless” keyboards and some 17inch too. Do you mean WITH a tenkey? That’s a bit rare, though some laptops like my Lenovo Z70-80 do have it.
Edited 2016-11-24 15:56 UTC
Most laptops 15″ and above are going to have a number pad. That’s just the trend these days, and it’s terrible.
A made in 2016 15″ laptop without number pad can be purchased from Apple, Dell, or Samsung.
https://system76.com/laptops/bonobo
Look at the lower right corner, 5th picture, it’s a little opened.
These machines are designed as portable workstations rather than laptops. They don’t need to be thin, light or have a long battery life.
Am I the only one who doesn’t like alu bodies?
They are cold for the wrists.