So I’m looking for a Linux laptop to replace my trusty old 2013 Macbook Pro which is now EOL. I could use some faster hardware anyway. I looked at the Adder, and it seems like it has almost everything I want. Open firmware, good documentation, etc. However there’s just one little thing…
The display. My MBP has a 2560x1440 display and I love it because when I’m coding in CLion, Intellij or whatnot I have lots of screen real estate. But the Adder only goes up to 1080p. I could go all the way up to a Bonobo, but I really don’t want to lug around a 17" laptop anymore. I’m getting old.
So, my question is this… anyone moved from a Retina display back down to 1080p and had major problems with it? Any fellow coders miss the extra screen real estate? Or am I worrying over nothing?
I was worried about the same thing, also used to MBP and other high resolution displays. I bought a 1080p pangolin from S76 and had to return it because of the resolution. You will not like 1080p if you are anything like me. Reading words just feels blurry and it puts extra strain on your eyes making me feel dizzy.
I ended up getting a framework laptop because S76 didn’t have any high resolution models available at the time. Also didn’t really need a dGPU in a laptop which is usually what their 4k screen options come paired with. Im hoping S76 in house laptop has a higher resolution, I’ll probably get that when it releases.
I recently struggled for the past 1.5 months trying to figure out if there was a Linux laptop out there that I could get that would tick all the boxes; excellent display, compute power, some graphics performance for simulation-based stuff, etc., good battery life. It was indeed a struggle, though System76 is getting there. You might consider the Oryx Pro. It’s a bit smaller than the Bonobo, resolution is a bit better than the Pangolin, but I still think it would be tough to justify over something with much better resolution like a new Macbook Pro. If you absolutely want to stick with a linux machine that has great overall performance with a great display, I think TUXEDO’s InfinityBook series could be a good consideration. I realize that’s not a System76 machine, but could be worth looking at.
I ended up getting the new MBP…but I’m excited to see what System76 does with the Virgo project.
Tuxedo Computers and Slimbook have 3k displays as an option, might worth a look.
Unless you mostly use an external display for your work, you will notice a significant downgrade in terms of screen quality.
FYI they gate part numbers behind their “service desk” - My fan is broken and its been 72 hours with not even a single reply from their service desk.
Luckily there are 3rd parties out there who have some of the part numbers.
Be warned, System76 does not make laptop part numbers public, and this can really burn you if your laptop breaks. Having to wait 72hours+ just to get a part number, or the even the option to buy a new part from them really leaves a bad taste.
Imagine if your laptop fans break, and you have to wait over a week just to get a replacement part quoted. Not cool, not user freedom.