Notebook for developers

Question

I am a computer science student with specialization in machine learning and I need a new notebook. I work inside most of the time, but I take my notebook to presentations / collaborative development / lectures quite often.

Past Notebook

I am currently using the Acer TravelMate 5744Z. It has several pain points:

• Only 4 GB RAM
• No SSD
• Weak CPU: I compile LaTeX documents VERY often. So single-threaded CPU power does matter to me.
• Too heavy
• Battery lasts for about 2h (3.7h according to the specs)
• 15.6" screen which I like very much

And some good points

• Everything works out of the box on Linux
• It's VERY silent! (29,6 - 32,0 dB(A) in idle mode, according to notebookcheck)
• Sturdy enough to be put into my backpack without any protective case
• The size of the keyboard is comfortable. I don't need the numpad, though.

All in all, I was happy with that notebook. However, as the battery seems / the power supply unit seems to have problems now. Together with the other issues, I think it is time for a new notebook, as I use it many hours every single day.

Hard Requirements

• Has to be available in Germany
• Has to work with Linux
• Not more than 2000 Euro
• At least 8 GB RAM
• SSD with at least 120 GB
• Not heavier than 2.5 kg (inclusive battery, of course!)
• Battery has to last for at least 5 hours under random web surfing.
• Resolution of at least 1366x768
• Not more than 16" screen, not less than 13.3" (I'm not too sure if I will like small screens, though. And I'm not sure how I can figure that out without buying such a notebook)
• Connectivity
  • WLAN (which has to work out-of-the-box for Linux!)
  • At least 3 USB ports
• Has to be silent under normal work load (e.g. surfing random web pages)

Positive

The follwing is positive, but I don't need it

• +++++
  • D-SUB connector (VGA connector)
  • Good keyboard
  • German keyboard layout
  • SD card reader
  • at least 256 GB of storage
• +++
  • RJ45 slot for network
  • DVD player
  • Matte display
  • NVidia GPU which can be used for machine learning
  • Less than 2.0 kg
  • A review by a developer who uses Linux
• ++
  • USB 3.0 / USB 3.1
• +
  • Aluminium case
  • Backlit keyboard
  • Webcam / microphone
  • Bluetooth
• Neutral / I don't care
  • Numpad
  • Blue-Ray player

Additional information

I think I'm able to add RAM to the notebook by myself. I did so several times with desktop computers. However, if it doesn't make a price difference of more than 40 Euro I would prefer to let it be done by others.

Related question

My notebook (kind of) still works. I could wait for 2 more months without problems. Is there any benefit of waiting? Do prices significantly differ after Christmas? Are there new interesting notebooks being released?

Answer 1

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina display

Positive:

• Available in Germany
• Works with OS X and Linux
• 1649€ with the specs you want
• 8 GB DDR3 RAM
• 256 GB SSD (really fast: over 1.5 GB/s read and write)
• 1.58 kg
• 10 hours of web surfing
• 2560x1600 display
• 13.3-inch screen
• Wi-Fi ac (over 1.3 Gbit/s; I have tested it myself)
• Silent under normal workload
• D-SUB/VGA (via Thunderbolt adapter)
• Good keyboard
• German keyboard
• Backlit keyboard
• SD card reader
• RJ45 (via Thunderbolt adapter)
• Anti-reflective display
• USB 3.0
• Aluminium case
• Webcam / microphone
• Bluetooth 4.0

Negative:

• Only 2 USB ports (extendable via Thunderbolt; never was an issue for me)
• No DVD/Blu-ray player (never needed one)
• No Matte display (anti-reflective)
• No NVIDIA GPU
• No numpad
• No USB 3.1

I don't think there will be any special pricing in the near future. But go to a Media Markt, Saturn, e.g. or look at notebooksbilliger.de or similar for special pricing.

If you have any questions: I am german and own this Notebook (Late 2013). Feel free to ask any questions.

Answer 2

I'm having trouble finding an official Ubuntu Certified or Shipped-with-linux computers with shipping to Germany, so I'm going to reccomend the Lenovo Y50-70.

Lenovo Y50-70 (Amazon.de) !!C- (52.6%)

^{2 potential problems (marked by (~)) Score calculated by number of (+) divided by total possible (+)}

• Available in Germany, via Amazon.de with free shipping (+)
• Is not Ubuntu certified, but there have been multiple people who have successfully installed linux on the Y50-70, though exact hardware configurations may vary (Most models used were using the 860M) and the installation was not always without trouble. (~)
• The DOS/256 GB SSD version linked is €949.00 (++)
• It has 8GB of DDR3 SDRAM, potentially upgradable to 16GB in the future (+)
• Weight is 2.4 kg (+)
• Battery is claimed to last 5 hours. This is probably under Windows, so you may need a battery efficent distro and try to limit display brightness and CPU/GPU voltage (~)
• Model has a 15.6" 1080p IPS display (++)
• 2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0 (+)
• Intel WiFi cards (Wireless-AC 3160) are generally supported (+)
• The fans shut off at low load (+)

^{10/12 The above section accounts for 60% of the total score}

• The GTX 960M has a VGA port (5)
• Keyboard is fairly standard for a gaming notebook this size (3)
• The keyboard is a standard QWERTY layout (0)
• 4 in 1 card reader (5)
• 256 GB SSD (5)

^{18/25 The above each has a maximum score out of 5}

• Apparently, it does have a LAN slot (3)
• There might be an external DVD drive for driver installation, but I wouldn't count on it. No internal ODD (0)
• The 1080p version has a matte display (3)
• Nvidia GTX 960M. Mid range, quite speedy, but not a workstation card. 4 GB VRAM and 80 GB/s, competitive with a Quadro M2000M (2)
• Not light enough (0)
• Someone has reviewed a older version using linux, but it's a rather small addendum (+)

^{9/18 The above each has a maximum score out of 3}

• 2 USB 3.0, no USB 3.1 (+)

^1/2

• Partially Aluminum (0.5)
• Red backlit keyboard (+)
• Webcam and microphone built in (+)
• Bluetooth (+)

^{3.5/4 Total for section 2: 31.5/49 (64%)}