Laptop suggestions?

[Jeremy Chadwick]

On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 10:39:22PM +0800, Zamri Besar wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 10:34 PM, Frank Mayhar <frank at exit.com> wrote:
> 
> > My old Dell Inspiron 5160 has developed problems that I can't fix, sigh,
> > so it's time to replace it.  I'm hoping for some good suggestions from
> > this list (cc'd to hackers for the exposure, I know everyone doesn't
> > read -mobile).
> >
> > My criteria:
> >      * 3D acceleration.
> >      * MiniPCI wireless (don't care which card, I'll replace it
> >        anyway).
> >      * At least 15" screen.
> >      * Decent power consumption.
> >      * Plays well with FreeBSD 7-stable.
> >
> > Nice to have:
> >      * Dual core.
> >      * >4GB memory.
> >      * Working suspend/hibernate mode (and no, I'm not holding my
> >        breath).
> >
> > So, suggestions?  BTW, if I get a decent response I'll summarize it for
> > the list, along with the one I chose and my experience after
> > ordering/installing it.
> >
> >
> 
> If cost is not a big problem, then IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad Series (I prefer
> T-series) is the best from my past experiences. And you may check following
> articles for further tips/advices:
> 
> http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/articles/laptop/index.html
> http://laptop.bsdgroup.de/freebsd/
> http://tuxmobil.org/mobile_bsd.html
> 
> and off-course, freebsd-mobile archive:
> http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-mobile

And if you go with Lenovo, be aware that their T60/T60p/T61/T61p series
(and possibly the X-series) are known to sport very high temperatures.
Some people have reported temperatures of nearly 90C on their GPU (when
idling), which has a direct effect on the overall temperature of the CPU
(due to close proximity) and so on.  This requires the fan to be on at
almost all times (usually low-speed mode).  Others have it worse (the
laptop literally shutting off in the middle of operation):

http://unix.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/FreeBSD/stable/2008-06/msg00020.html

Many of these laptops emit a strange high-pitch electrical noise which
fluxuates in frequency and amplitude; of course, a lot of people can't
hear it, which is good for them.  This was tracked down to some power
saving features listed in the BIOS (of both the CPU and the chipset),
which you can disable:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_with_high_pitch_noises

Be sure to look at http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:T60p,
specifically the very bottom of the page.  You'll notice a very large
number of problem entries.  A lot of them have no real response from
Lenovo.

Draw your own conclusions.

-- 
| Jeremy Chadwick                                jdc at parodius.com |
| Parodius Networking                       http://www.parodius.com/ |
| UNIX Systems Administrator                  Mountain View, CA, USA |
| Making life hard for others since 1977.              PGP: 4BD6C0CB |