Kubuntu on a notebook?

[kbunt]

Hello, I was wondering if someone could give me their perspective/opinion of Kubuntu (in particular, the more recent versions of Kubuntu) on a notebook, both older ones, think of a refurbished Thinkpad T4x series or Thinkpad T6x series or something of that nature and a newer Thinkpad T400 or T500. It doesn't have to be a Thinkpad, though. It could be a HP dv4 or dv5, Sony Vaio Z, Dell Latitude E6400/E6500 etc. etc.

I am shopping for a new notebook and I recently bought a Thinkpad T41 (but, I installed Mepis 8 on it, sorry! ;-) ).

Oh btw, to any regulars reading or anyone who often frequents the forum, I am totally mellowing out! LOL! I really LIKE Kubuntu now! I think I am becoming more forgiving of the issues or perceived issues. My only pet peeve/complaint that remains is my perception that Ubuntu/Canonical is a bit neglectful when it comes to KDE and Kubuntu. Can I say that? Please? I mean, I still like/prefer KDE and I am liking Kubuntu more and more. I still like other KDE-based distros though so please forgive me for that. :-D I also still like Fedora so I need even more forgiveness.

But, Kubuntu runs so nice on my desktop now and I like what Jaunty looks like so far and I think it has lots of potential. I don't much care for the name but then I am a stickler for some things still, I guess.

Anyway, I appreciate any advice/recommendations regarding notebooks.

Can Kubuntu 8.10/Intrepid run on an older refurbished notebook like a Thinkpad T4x series or should I stick to something that doesn't use much resources? I was mostly concerned about KDE especially KDE 4.2. Maybe I just need to turn the desktop effects off or something?


Anyway, thanks for reading thus far. I'm in a better mood than usual, I guess or just more tolerant with Linux issues....

If I can help anyone with something I think I might have some insight on, I will but I'm still really crappy at Linux, unforunately... Thanks for reading.

[Snowhog]

Re: Kubuntu on a notebook?

On notebook/laptops, you will have three 'concerns' - the amount of installed RAM, the video card/chip set installed, and the brand of NIC.

You are well aware of the issues these three things can present. You will want to review the minimum specifications for any of the Kubuntu versions you are thinking of using, to see of the notebook/laptop you are concidering meets them.

I think the concensus on video cards/chip sets for a notebook/laptop are to avoid if possible, ATI cards/chip sets. nVidia is preferable, and if nVidia isn't an option, then Intel Graphics will be more reliable over ATI. Stay away from an SiS cards/chips.

[kbunt]

Re: Kubuntu on a notebook?

On notebook/laptops, you will have three 'concerns' - the amount of installed RAM, the video card/chip set installed, and the brand of NIC.

You are well aware of the issues these three things can present. You will want to review the minimum specifications for any of the Kubuntu versions you are thinking of using, to see of the notebook/laptop you are concidering meets them.

I think the concensus on video cards/chip sets for a notebook/laptop are to avoid if possible, ATI cards/chip sets. nVidia is preferable, and if nVidia isn't an option, then Intel Graphics will be more reliable over ATI. Stay away from an SiS cards/chips.

Thank you, Snowdog!

Yes, minimum system requirements is probably what I was getting at? I guess the thing is, you can have min. requirements but sometimes even the min. is not really sufficient (ask Vista users? ;-) ).

Let me put it this way. The notebooks or notebook configuration used would be either one or possibly both of:

1) older, refurbished notebook specs:
Lenovo/IBM Thinkpad T41, Machine Type: 2373, 1.7 GHz Intel Pentium M CPU, 14-inch (360 mm) SXGA+ screen, ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 with 32MB , 1GB PC2700 RAM memory, AD1981B AC'97 Audio controller, Integrated Intel Gigabit (10/100/1000) Ethernet Controller
Dell 1397 wireless card (previous owner inserted this card and supposedly, it works now although it's a Broadcom-based card - I might buy an Intel 2200bg wireless card just in case though).
-> note: OWN THIS ALREADY

Possible reference?:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Instal...a_ThinkPad_T41

2) ? Thinkpad T400/T500, switchable graphics (ability to switch between ATI discrete and integrated Intel graphics) and LED backlit screen
Intel® Core™2 Duo processor P8400 (2.26GHz, 3MB L 2, 1066MHz FSB, 25 watt), 14" TFT display with 1440x900 (WXGA+) resolution with LED Backlight (applicable to T400), Intel Integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD and ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 graphics, 2GB PC3-8500 RAM memory standard upgradable to 8 GB, Intel WiFi Link 5300 WLAN controller
or...
Dell Lattitude E6400
Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, DDR2-800 SDRAM (would upgrade to 2GB or 4GB),
14.1" WXGA+ (1440x900) LED Display, NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M3 256MB DDR2 OR Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500
Intel WiFi Link 5300
-> considering buying one of the above newer notebooks

*Open to suggestions....

Thanks, Snowdog, for the info and comments on using ATI! ;-) I read all sorts of perspectives on the ATI cards in Linux but it seems that ATI/AMD cannot keep up with driver updates and both their open source and proprietary drivers are either buggy or have issues compared to Nvidia or Intel even though those cards have their own issues. The 'pro' with ATI cards in Linux is that there is potential but you are constantly waiting for it!

[bitnissen]

Re: Kubuntu on a notebook?

For what its worth I am running II on a Lenovo X61s with 2 GB of memory. It is a bit on the slow side, but for me at least quite acceptable. When running on battery II sometimes disables the desktop effects automagically to improve performance.


But if you have the T41 why not just try it out? If you dont want to wipe it you can use a live USB stick - it is much faster than a CD!


\Bitnissen

[The Liquidator]

Re: Kubuntu on a notebook?

I'm running kubuntu jaunty on a Dell 630m (1.86gh Pentium M processor) with 2 GB RAM. I upgraded the RAM so I could run Win XP as a virtual machine. Based upon that I would say all the machines you specify have enough raw power. Can't really speak about desktop effects as mine only has the weedy intel 915 card which won't run them at all.

The other big thing to watch out for is wireless. If your wireless card is supported out of the box (I know the intel 2200 is because that's what I've got) then you are much less likely to have grief than if you need ndiswrapper, for example (bit obvious that I suppose).

HTH

[jglen490]

Re: Kubuntu on a notebook?

This post is brought to you by Kubuntu 8.04.2 on an IBM T20

[g.]

Re: Kubuntu on a notebook?

Hi,

two weeks ago I got my Dell Precision M2400 without operative system and installed Kubuntu 8.10 from an iso CD.

Currently I have tested 90% of the functionalities and it works perfectly, at least from the hardware perspective (I have some software configuration trouble but nothing dramatic).

Just let me know if you want a complete hardware description.

Best,
g.

[sithlord48]

Re: Kubuntu on a notebook?

look at my laptop (in my sig) everything runs just fine and its a pos, would not even run vista,
its currently running 8.10 (32bit) w/ kde 4.2.2. and compiz. much less of a machine then ne thing u get today

[Pillage Idiot]

Re: Kubuntu on a notebook?

I have three laptops here, an IBM r40e running 8.04 on KDE3.5, a Toshiba TE2100, and a TE2200, both on 8.10, one with KDE4.2.
All of these are ancient, and run ok.
The Toshiba's are a bit slow until they get warmed up, and the nvidia drivers don't play nice on 8.10, so these are both effectless.
The IBM is fine though on KDE3.5. I was going to get rid of this one as there were some major keyboard issues with 7.10 and 8.04.
My kids use them for school sometimes, oldest daughter has just finished high school and hers has done her sterling service. Maintenance free too.
My youngest boy was taking the R40e to school and at times had quite a few kids lining up to play ktux racing etc.

I hope this gives you some idea of just how stone age we can go with linux hardware.
The only concern I have had is with the proprietary graphics drivers in 8.10.
However, this will probably resolve in time. The clean sheet KDE base has I believe shown up some serious flaws in the ATI and nVidia driver coding.

[Mordac85]

Re: Kubuntu on a notebook?

I maintain our hardware lab at work and always try kubuntu on every model we get. Although these are Dell's I haven't have much of an issue hardware-wise, but I'm not pushing it very hard and don't play games or even run Compiz very often. Truthfully, the hardest part is video and the smartcard, but I normally go for the proprietary drivers and.. well, I'm still working on the smartcard issues for our environment. RAM and drive spindle speed are the biggest limiting factors unless you're into gaming.

[kevinc]

Re: Kubuntu on a notebook?

Regarding the specs you mentioned. My dual boot Kubuntu (Intrepid and Jaunty) with similar or lower specs than you mentioned runs rings around similar or better machines with Windows XP or Vista. All of my colleagues have XP or Vista and I'm amazed when helping them with their computer problems how slow they are to start up, close down and especially see a response from almost any application. IMHO the amount of memory is one of the important things and the more is better. As mentioned before, NIC and graphics card too; higher resolution is generally more comfortable to view.