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Quixzlizx posted:If you search hard enough, sometimes you can find some convoluted workaround to reach the old features MS wants to strip out of their UI. This is the other reason I've kind of decided to abandon windows. I've always been pretty ambivalent about windows but even with the goofy kid gloves "settings menu" they give you, you could always drill down to the actual settings menu. With every release they make it harder to do so and I just don't have the mental energy to dig through the latest iteration of how they've decided to hide it behind whatever they're calling a wizard these days Get off my lawn
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Jan 5, 2024 23:30
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About every three or four years since the Clinton Administration I've had a go at Linux, but it's never stuck for long because I am not in any way shape or form a programmer and Linux has always functioned as an OS by programmers for programmers. But now that pretty much everything runs through browsers anyway, when I installed Mint on a laptop a few months ago I was delighted to discover that it actually just works and does the poo poo I want it to do. So now the Windows machine is pretty much strictly for gaming and Excel. Which is a great relief since I'll soon be forced to 11 and want nothing to do with it.
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Jan 6, 2024 00:24
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Yeah Debian 12 was released last summer, this last fall I went through and installed it on all my laptops and desktops so everything was consistent I've been very happy with it. Mint is based on Ubuntu which itself is based on Debian, so that doesn't surprise me in the least Steam's windows/Linux compatibility thing is impressively good which means any game made before 2015 works out of the box and 85% for most indie titles in the last five years. That number goes up to 95% for stuff developed on unity The days of WiFi drivers not working on laptops is long long over, thank God. I hated dragging out the spare Ethernet cable to try and bootstrap the online drivers stuff Debian 12 has support through 2028 so hoping to not have to install another version of Linux on my thinkpad anytime soon (blew the doors off the support window last year for kbuntu 20.04 when I installed it summer of 2020) Hadlock fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Jan 6, 2024 |
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Jan 6, 2024 00:40
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Hadlock posted:Steam's windows/Linux compatibility thing is impressively good which means any game made before 2015 works out of the box and 85% for most indie titles in the last five years. That number goes up to 95% for stuff developed on unity Red Dead Redemption worked way better on Linux than on PC. I do have occasional troubles with things crashing the nvidia driver though; based on what I've seen, I would recommend if you're going for a gaming laptop for linux, try to go AMD (makes sense because steam decks are using an AMD GPU, so the support is gonna be better). On my previous laptop, with Windows, I *also* had nvidia driver related crashes, so even this may not be a ding against Linux laptop gaming. The one real ding is that getting the GPU drivers set up correctly in the first place is a bit of a chore.
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Jan 6, 2024 01:06
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Though, I would argue that if Linux is now "good enough" for daily use because everything is in the browser, you might as well just buy a Chromebook and free yourself the burden of managing anything (obviously only if you aren't going to Linux to escape Google altogether.)
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Jan 6, 2024 01:15
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bull3964 posted:Though, I would argue that if Linux is now "good enough" for daily use because everything is in the browser, you might as well just buy a Chromebook and free yourself the burden of managing anything (obviously only if you aren't going to Linux to escape Google altogether.) But again, the downside is you need someone computer literate to spend an hour or two setting up the Linux install to get you started. Once it's set up, it's better and easier than a Chromebook, and my wife says less "argh how do I [blank]" now than she did with the Chromebook. Edit2: battery life, of course, is where a chromebook will win this contest. roomforthetuna fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Jan 6, 2024 |
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Jan 6, 2024 01:22
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roomforthetuna posted:On my previous laptop, with Windows, I *also* had nvidia driver related crashes, so even this may not be a ding against Linux laptop gaming. The one real ding is that getting the GPU drivers set up correctly in the first place is a bit of a chore. Yes, this is exactly the part that makes the whole thing a complete no-go for a filthy casual like myself.
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Jan 6, 2024 01:30
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my next GPU purchase has a good chance of being an AMD, nvidia is just too insane price wise for what i got out of it / the games i play, and i too tire of windows BS so the added compatibility would be nice thinking of grabbing a framework and eGPU enclosure because lol this wouldn't be for a bit, although its entirely possible i migrate my current GPU to an eGPU enclosure and still get a FW13/16 if i make the irl location move i'm contemplating
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Jan 6, 2024 01:38
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roomforthetuna posted:and in 3 years the Chromebook would be like "gently caress you no more updates for you buy a new one" because Google. Right now, anything released post 2021 has 10 years of update support.
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Jan 6, 2024 01:55
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I went with an Nvidia GPU most recently simply because they are the gold standard for cuda/ai stuff/LLM/AI image generation etc and want access to that even if just to touch it and stay abreast of that stuff The fact that the steam deck has an AMD is a drat good point that gaming on Linux is/will always probably be better on AMD, I hadn't thought of that, great point My next laptop will probably have an AMD now
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Jan 6, 2024 02:46
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I like to put ChromeOS on old laptops, they have more than enough horsepower.
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Jan 6, 2024 03:32
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Steam Deck is AMD but it's their APU not GPU, so it's very feasible you could have perfectly good drivers for one and stinky ones on the other.
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Jan 6, 2024 04:51
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Oh hey, I just fixed my linux nvidia crashy woes too - apparently it's the "hybrid mode" drivers that are leaky and crash. Switching to "always use the nvidia" performance mode doesn't run any noticeably hotter, and fixes all the crashes I had been experiencing. Presumably a little worse for battery life would be the cost of that mode, so I'll switch it back to hybrid mode if I take it traveling. And the switch wasn't even some crazy command-line shenanigans, it was just run the nvidia app and select "prime profiles -> performance mode", basically the exact same sort of thing you'd have to do in Windows.
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Jan 6, 2024 06:20
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roomforthetuna posted:But again, the downside is you need someone computer literate to spend an hour or two setting up the Linux install to get you started. Once it's set up, it's better and easier than a Chromebook, and my wife says less "argh how do I [blank]" now than she did with the Chromebook. Okay, I'm going to start off with a disclaimer that I haven't installed Linux on my new laptop yet, or any laptop at all for a couple years, but I've done a lot of installs on desktops during that time and it takes me no more time than doing a Windows install would, often less. Actually, definitely less because they don't inevitably include waiting for a poo poo-ton of Windows Updates to run and restart and tell me not to turn my computer off and poo poo. OpenSUSE KDE spin, both point-release and rolling release, has gotten to a really slick and speedy install process. I mean, I'm so familiar with it that I might be taking some things for granted that make it go faster, but the idea that Linux is difficult or demanding is largely not the case anymore.
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Jan 6, 2024 08:37
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Hadlock posted:Debian 12 has support through 2028 so hoping to not have to install another version of Linux on my thinkpad anytime soon (blew the doors off the support window last year for kbuntu 20.04 when I installed it summer of 2020) in my 15 years of sysadminning professionally i've had it fail an upgrade once, and it was my fault because i was doing stupid things to apt on that machine, and i could boot it externally and fix it, though arguably it took longer than a reinstall would  also for anyone trying out linuxes: have a separate home partition, the system partition will live just fine with like 60gb and then partition the rest for /home that way if you want a different distro for whatever reason, or just want to reinstall, you keep all your settings and poo poo. on windows it's kinda a chore to do this but on linux just having a home partition you don't format and choosing the same username will do it Truga fucked around with this message at 08:52 on Jan 6, 2024 |
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Jan 6, 2024 08:49
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CaptainSarcastic posted:Okay, I'm going to start off with a disclaimer that I haven't installed Linux on my new laptop yet, or any laptop at all for a couple years, but I've done a lot of installs on desktops during that time and it takes me no more time than doing a Windows install would, often less. Actually, definitely less because they don't inevitably include waiting for a poo poo-ton of Windows Updates to run and restart and tell me not to turn my computer off and poo poo. If it was possible to get laptops pre-installed with Linux, with the drivers already set up, and if Steam on Linux preconfigured with Proton rather than for some reason making that a thing you have to actively do, I genuinely believe that at this point most people would be happier with that than with Windows.
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Jan 6, 2024 14:38
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Hey folks. Apologies if this is in the wrong thread, but I work for Amazon corporate as a video editor and I've been given a $4000 budget for a new laptop. I'll mostly be using DaVinci Resolve and some Adobe After Effects. The only hitch is that I have to order from this specific vendor, Insight, and they don't have a ton of stuff in stock and I need to make a choice in the next day or two. For video/content creation I'm used to using Apple hardware, but I've also been a PC gamer for two decades and am totally at home in Windows too. For my budget, here are the top three contenders. 1. MSI Vector GP78 - Core i9 13980HX, RTX 4090, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD https://www.insight.com/en_US/shop/...Windows-11-Pro/ 2. Apple 16" MacBook Pro - M3 Max 14-core cpu 30-core gpu, 36GB RAM, 2TB SSD https://www.insight.com/en_US/shop/...SD-Space-Black/ 3. Apple 16" MacBook Pro - M3 Max 16-core cpu 40-core gpu, 48GB RAM, 1TB SSD https://www.insight.com/en_US/shop/...1TB-SSD-Silver/ Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
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Jan 9, 2024 23:18
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For productivity the MBP is going to be the best. I'd probably lean more toward the 48GB of RAM. MSI Vector is fine but I wouldn't pick one for my work laptop. Failure rate will be higher and that machine will have a ton of heat I am not super comfortable it will be able to handle. I'd suggest either: https://www.insight.com/en_US/shop/...32-GB-1-TB-SSD/ (which the 32GB may be low depending on what kind of video editing you're doing) or if you REALLY want that 4090 https://www.insight.com/en_US/shop/...B-RAM-2-TB-SSD/ is going to be a more reliable laptop than the MSI (though not as much as the Thinkpad P1). For your actual job the macbook is going to be the best, but you won't be able to goof off and game on it nearly as well.
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Jan 9, 2024 23:25
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Lockback posted:For productivity... Thank you for the fast reply! Sadly those are both out of stock and I have to pick something in stock. I probably won't be doing much gaming at all on it to be honest.
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Jan 9, 2024 23:28
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Either of those MBPs will be the best laptop you've ever used.
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Jan 9, 2024 23:30
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Lockback posted:Either of those MBPs will be the best laptop you've ever used. Fuckin' A. Thank you!
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Jan 9, 2024 23:40
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I'm in need of a new laptop for gaming (BG3 being the most "intense" game) and basic AI stuff (learning). Does this look like a good deal? It's right at the limit of my budget but willing to spend a bit more if there's something else better. https://www.microcenter.com/product/663735/lenovo-legion-pro-5-16-gaming-laptop-computer-platinum-collection-onyx-grey
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Jan 10, 2024 03:47
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bsaber posted:I'm in need of a new laptop for gaming (BG3 being the most "intense" game) and basic AI stuff (learning). Does this look like a good deal? It's right at the limit of my budget but willing to spend a bit more if there's something else better. So great pick but a little overpriced. The 4070 is barely faster than the 4060. The 32GB won't help you with BG3 at all, though maybe help you with AI. I'd suggest: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3048601488...23216ece0cb0INT And use the extra money on potentially a bigger SSD and then the rest on a cloud account for better AI results. But if you really do like that $1500 one its a very solid machine. I can't find a better 4070 deal but honestly the 4070 is not that much faster than the 4060 and for BG3 the 4060 will do fine. The 4080 is the next big jump on laptops.
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Jan 10, 2024 03:57
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Lockback posted:So great pick but a little overpriced. The 4070 is barely faster than the 4060. The 32GB won't help you with BG3 at all, though maybe help you with AI. That one is sold out but a similarly specc'ed Omen 16 is available new at Best Buy for $1,199: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-ome...p?skuId=6536973
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Jan 10, 2024 04:09
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Lockback posted:So great pick but a little overpriced. The 4070 is barely faster than the 4060. The 32GB won't help you with BG3 at all, though maybe help you with AI. Ah good to know. change my name posted:That one is sold out but a similarly specc'ed Omen 16 is available new at Best Buy for $1,199: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-ome...p?skuId=6536973 Thanks for the suggestion, I'll take a look at it.
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Jan 10, 2024 04:22
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change my name posted:That one is sold out but a similarly specc'ed Omen 16 is available new at Best Buy for $1,199: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-ome...p?skuId=6536973 Omen is a step down from Legion, they're kinda the in-between Legion/ROG and things like TUF/MSI. That ebay link just went OOS, it might come back. OR you can order straight from Lenovo https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/legion-laptops/legion-pro-series/legion-pro-5-gen-8-(16-inch-amd)/82wm001jus I prefer the Ryzen CPU anyway, 1TB SSD again. You might get another $100 if you sign up for their newsletter. I'd prefer this above the Omen. It's getting closer to that Microcenter deal when you factor in the extra RAM + 4070. I think this is a slightly better deal but its pretty close. My shipping thing said they'd get it to me by Friday.
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Jan 10, 2024 05:01
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Lockback posted:Omen is a step down from Legion, they're kinda the in-between Legion/ROG and things like TUF/MSI. Lol I was just about to ask about the build of the HP. I currently have a Legion and like the construction. Might go for the Lenovo direct one. Thanks!
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Jan 10, 2024 06:12
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hello everyone, i'm looking for a slim/light/cheap laptop to replace a pixelbook that is starting to die specific requirements: - integrated gpu is fine; no gaming necessary, but it would be super duper if i can stream to it via steam (this is very low impact i think?) - windows preferred, just to support a bunch of weird legacy poo poo i have around. i'll either dual boot linux/windows or just run linux in windows since that's so low effort now - 11-14" i think? 1080p is fine, i don't care about touchscreen or 2-in-1 or anything like that, though i'm not against it - battery life and longevity would be priorities, i'd like this to be an everyday do whatever laptop that lasts 5-ish years - nothing crazy in terms of software. web browsing, low impact dev work, run ableton with an external audio interface. i think an i5 would be fine(?) - a good mix of ports, with at least one usb a and c i haven't paid attention to the laptop market for several years, but back in the day i would have been shopping for a lenovo thinkpad. i'm local to a microcenter that has refurb'ed x1 carbon 14" w/ i7 8650U, 16gb ram, 256gb ssd for $400. that seems like a good fit to me, is that wrong? the price is right
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Jan 10, 2024 07:18
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the milk machine posted:
That's pretty old for $400. Consumer laptops in general have gotten a lot better so the OP saying there's only one good brand is pretty out of date. However, while your budget is decent you do need to look out for cheap junk at that level. However, in particular if you value battery life a new laptop is probably going to be much better. This new HP for $350 is going to be faster and use less power, and I believe will not have much issue running Linux https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-full-hd-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-7520u-16gb-memory-256gb-ssd-natural-silver/6554442.p?skuId=6554442 This Vivobook will run Linux. It's more expensive online but in store looks like it's $499 or less. https://www.walmart.com/ip/ASUS-Viv...d=9383&sharedid Brickseeker link to see price in store: https://brickseek.com/walmart-inventory-checker?sku=5023779612 (I think you may need to create an account now on brickseek) That thinkpad is probably fine, it's just your pushing 6-7 years old and especially if thats the original battery then there's a lot of question marks with that.
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Jan 10, 2024 16:01
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that's a fair point; i don't mind replacing a battery if need be, but i don't think i realized that thinkpad is that old. thanks for the suggestions, i'll keep shopping!
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Jan 10, 2024 17:52
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Not that anyone was asking, but yes, a 14" M3 MacBook pro will survive a worst case scenario fall from waist height on to it's corner on top hard concrete
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Jan 10, 2024 20:11
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roomforthetuna posted:Oh hey, I just fixed my linux nvidia crashy woes too - apparently it's the "hybrid mode" drivers that are leaky and crash. Switching to "always use the nvidia" performance mode doesn't run any noticeably hotter, and fixes all the crashes I had been experiencing. Presumably a little worse for battery life would be the cost of that mode, so I'll switch it back to hybrid mode if I take it traveling. This hasn't changed in like 15 years and it's the kind of issue that completely takes the wind out of my Linux sails
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Jan 11, 2024 14:03
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Tiny Timbs posted:This hasn't changed in like 15 years and it's the kind of issue that completely takes the wind out of my Linux sails I would definitely go Radeon next time, by all reports it's a lot smoother. I should have checked, I went NVidia because last time I tried to Linux, like 8 years ago, that was the better option. Edit: but reiterating again I have had basically the same kind of problem with NVidia "optimus" things in Windows forever. Laptops requiring you to use brand-specific drivers which they won't update after 6 months, and the generic drivers won't work because optimus, and games being like "gently caress you I'm not even gonna try to start because your drivers aren't new enough".
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Jan 11, 2024 14:27
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?? I don't think any of the major laptop brands are using brand specific drivers anymore. Asus, Lenovo, HP, MSI, etc all just use the bog standard drivers from Nvidia and have for years.
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Jan 11, 2024 16:09
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Yeah, even the mobile 960m in my 8 year old XPS 15 just uses generic Nvidia drivers. I had that issue with my e1505, but that was 17 years ago.
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Jan 11, 2024 17:00
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Vendors absolutely still ship laptops that have weird power/GPU management issues with generic drivers vs. the ones the vendors certify. The ASUS Zephyrus G14 line was incompatible with generic AMD drivers for a very long time, for example.You could coax them into installing but certain power management features wouldn't work or would act fucky. I think it's less of an issue with Nvidia.
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Jan 11, 2024 17:12
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AMD drivers I can't speak to, that's such a small % of the market but yeah, for NVidia it's almost always just the regular drivers.
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Jan 11, 2024 17:33
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My relative is trying to decide between two laptops for work: Lenovo Thinkpad T15 or Macbook Pro M3.
Knowing this I'm leaning towards recommending a Macbook if they are willing to get used to a different OS.
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Jan 11, 2024 18:28
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well excuse me, princess!
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KracKiwi posted:My relative is trying to decide between two laptops for work: Lenovo Thinkpad T15 or Macbook Pro M3. The way it works in most families is the person that makes the recommendations is also responsible for technical support. Even for work devices. That's why I always recommend Apple (computers, phones).
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Jan 11, 2024 18:45
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KracKiwi posted:My relative is trying to decide between two laptops for work: Lenovo Thinkpad T15 or Macbook Pro M3. The MBP M3 will be a better laptop. There is a small learning curve for Mac but its really not too bad. It'll be a annoying couple weeks where you google "How to cut and paste on mac" but then its fine. The MBP camera, screen, mics and speakers are all excellent. If their work has images that have all their software I'd strongly suggest the MBP. I hated the apple line for decades, Apple Silicon completely reversed my opinion.
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