system 76 lemur vs xps developers

[RankAmateur]

just starting on my computer science degree, and im looking for a laptop to replace my 2009 imac, so literally a chromebook would be a step up for me. but im wanting something thats good good specs, is durable, and isnt windows. i also kinda suck at making installation disk, so  i started looking into different companies that ship with linux and im liking system 76 lemur for value and upgradability, but ive never seen one of their laptops before or seen a lot of reviews for them, and seen dozens of reviews raving about the xps 13, so that seems like a good safe option, but if i can get the specs i want for about 600 buck less in a good quality laptop, why pass that up? -{ 8 gig ram, dualcore i7, 250 ssd, at least usb 3.1 and sdcard reader}

 

so should i go with the lemur or xps?

or if you have some other option..

 

 

[ChuckMaurice]

I think System76 are repacking Clevos so they are good, but definitely not as high-end as Dell XPS line. Maybe someone will have more info on some System76 specific laptops.

If you are studying computer science, I definitely recommand you get a 14" or 15" laptop for more comfort. But AFAIK the XPS Developper edition don't come in 15" size. The "classic" XPS 15 is really great though, but you'll have Windows. Maybe not a bad idea to have both Linux and Windows if some of your computer science classes require you to study Microsoft-specific technologies (.NET...). And as Dell is packing the 13" version with Ubuntu, hardware support on Linux should be excellent on the XPS line anyway.

 

Why do you "suck at making installation disk" ? That's not complicated, and there is plenty of software that are doing that for you. I used to do this via Unetbootin which was sometimes buggy but the recent "Rufus" is pretty good. Also Lilo USB Creator.

[RankAmateur]

well i tried making a bootable media for ubuntu 16.04 to run on my mac, it kept giving me this no bootable disk found error or something. i hadnt heard of rufus, ill check it out thanks!

and you do make a good point about windows and the 15. ill look into it

[ChuckMaurice]

16 hours ago, RankAmateur said:

well i tried making a bootable media for ubuntu 16.04 to run on my mac, it kept giving me this no bootable disk found error or something. i hadnt heard of rufus, ill check it out thanks!

and you do make a good point about windows and the 15. ill look into it

Linux on Mac is tricky, because Apple built Bootcamp for Windows but you can't use that, and Macs don't like things others than MacOS or Bootcamp. I suggest you read Mac-specific instructions for Ubuntu (you will also need something called rEFInd to bypass the boot loader).

Also boot media creation on Mac is not as "automated" as on Windows, so you'll have less problems using Windows software such as Rufus to create the media.

I assure you Linux on Windows PCs is much more straightforward. The only thing to mind is UEFI, but mainstream Linux distributions support it better now.

[RankAmateur]

 

On 3/24/2017 at 3:45 AM, jldjul said:

Linux on Mac is tricky, because Apple built Bootcamp for Windows but you can't use that, and Macs don't like things others than MacOS or Bootcamp. I suggest you read Mac-specific instructions for Ubuntu (you will also need something called rEFInd to bypass the boot loader).

Also boot media creation on Mac is not as "automated" as on Windows, so you'll have less problems using Windows software such as Rufus to create the media.

I assure you Linux on Windows PCs is much more straightforward. The only thing to mind is UEFI, but mainstream Linux distributions support it better now.

youre absolutely right it is a lot easier. i found a walktrhough on ubuntus forum page to install it on the exact  xps 15 config i bought. and yeah that sounds about right. apple makes good stuff but its so locked down and horribly expsenive. i got my xps 15 for 1100 dollars and this config with a mac is closer to 2300 usd.

thanks for your help man! 

[ChuckMaurice]

18 hours ago, RankAmateur said:

 

youre absolutely right it is a lot easier. i found a walktrhough on ubuntus forum page to install it on the exact  xps 15 config i bought. and yeah that sounds about right. apple makes good stuff but its so locked down and horribly expsenive. i got my xps 15 for 1100 dollars and this config with a mac is closer to 2300 usd.

thanks for your help man! 

That's why I'm considering (well, it's not about considering anymore, I'm basically one click away from checkout) replacing my trusty Macbook Pro Retina with a XPS 15. I like Apple laptops and I definitely think I'll loose some build quality and durability if I drop them, but if I wanted to stay with Apple, a laptop with specs that match my needs would cost me 3000€ (around $3200) in France. With Dell, for "just" 1800€ I still have a 4K screen and 512GB SSD, with a better CPU and GPU.

Also, USB3. Damn you Apple. If you don't want to be competitive anymore, you don't deserve my money. Especially if you continue to add a 20% tax for Europe..

 

Nice to see you got your XPS 15. Don't hesitate to tell me more about it, I haven't got the chance to see it in person even if all the reviews I read decided me on this particular model.