Advice on lightweight laptops for Linux (of course)

[Dan Yasny]

The point here is that they sacrifice a lot of the think* series sturdiness
for the lack of weight and thickness. And you can't upgrade the thing, it's
all a single block you can't take apart. There's also a problem with later
kernels getting mces and panics on overheating because of a bug in the way
the kernel manages pstates - dynamic turbo  mode or whatever intel call it.
The only way around I found is to disable pstates altogether.

On Dec 27, 2016 1:32 PM, "Michael Shiloh" <michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Thanks Dan for your perspective. I'm actually going to teaching in Abu
> Dhabi next September so I'm really glad you brought that up.
>
> In general, I've been hearing good things about the current model (4th
> generation) which I believe came out earlier this year, so I assume
> your model is something prior. Is that correct? On the other hand, the
> current model has only been around for a year, so fewer opportunities
> to fail.
>
> Michael
>
> On Mon, Dec 26, 2016 at 5:02 PM, Dan Yasny <dyasny at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I've been carrying an X1 around for a couple of years now. The battery
> life
> > is great, Fedora support is great, weight and convenience is quite good,
> > except the keyboard is a bit on the weird side when it comes to the
> function
> > keys and the missing insert key, but I've learned to live with that.
> >
> > The downside however is the reliability. In this time I've had the screen
> > replaced, the keyboard replaced and the motherboard/cpu/ram/etc (it's
> all a
> > single block) replaced. Each time it takes a week at the lab (I don't
> have
> > the onsite warranty, and I am in Canada, so YMMV). So if you intend to
> use
> > it somewhere where warranty isn't available, or if you intend to use it
> > longer than the warranty period - stay away. It's expensive enough to be
> > expected to last, but it's quite flimsy.
> >
> > On Mon, Dec 26, 2016 at 6:09 PM, Michael Shiloh
> > <michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Thanks Eli,
> >>
> >> What kind of laptop do you use?
> >>
> >> Michael
> >>
> >> On Mon, Dec 26, 2016 at 2:30 PM, E.S. Rosenberg
> >> <esr+linux-il at g.jct.ac.il> wrote:
> >> > Ever since getting my current laptop that weighs ~1.5kg I said I will
> >> > never get anything heavier again, it's something you can't return
> >> > from.....
> >> >
> >> > Thin and light devices (like the X1 and the T460S) tend to not be very
> >> > upgradeable, it's a price you pay for thin & light... the SSD is most
> >> > likely upgradeable on any model you choose because so far soldered on
> >> > SSDs aren't all that common....
> >> >
> >> > The videos on youtube clearly show that the T460S has at least one
> >> > SODIMM slot, the X1 does not seem to have it.
> >> >
> >> > Regards,
> >> > Eliyahu - אליהו
> >> >
> >> > 2016-12-26 23:37 GMT+02:00 Michael Shiloh <
> michaelshiloh1010 at gmail.com>:
> >> >> Hello everyone,
> >> >>
> >> >> I hope everyone is enjoying a very happy Chanukah.
> >> >>
> >> >> You might recall about a year ago I raised the question of a powerful
> >> >> laptop for Linux. I settled on a Thinkpad W541 and I am thrilled with
> >> >> it ... except for the weight.
> >> >>
> >> >> As I travel more and don't need the power of the W541 all the time,
> >> >> I'm thinking of a lightweight laptop for daily use.
> >> >>
> >> >> It's hard for me to consider anything but Thinkpads: I love the
> >> >> TrackPoint, the keyboard, the solid feel of the devices, etc. Given
> >> >> that, the top two contenders are the X1 Carbon and the T460S.
> >> >>
> >> >> The X1 is about 2.6 pounds and more expensive than the T460S which
> >> >> weighs about 3 pounds.
> >> >>
> >> >> Another big difference is whether the RAM and/or SSD can be upgraded
> >> >> on the X1 (I've seen equally strong claims that they can and can
> not).
> >> >> Some conversations insist they are soldered in, other say that
> perhaps
> >> >> the RAM can be upgraded by the user but is a non-standard form factor
> >> >> that can only be purchased from Lenovo.
> >> >>
> >> >> I think for the extra .4 pounds I'm willing to go with the better
> >> >> price of the T460S, especially if upgrading RAM and SSD is not
> >> >> possible on the X1 (I usually purchase from Lenovo with less storage
> >> >> and upgrade on my own).
> >> >>
> >> >> Any thoughts or advice?
> >> >>
> >> >> _______________________________________________
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> >>
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> >
> >
>
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