Suse 10.2 On A Laptop...

I have been away from the internet for a very long time, and I come back, and all of a sudden, it seems like, my distro of choice has gone through some major changes and updates. I find myself in need of not only an update, but a cheap laptop.

My main question lies in the new graphical tricks in SUSE 10.2... Are there any reccommended system requirements to have them run smoothly? Most of the laptop installation run-throughs on linux-laptop.net stop detailing how the distro runs after the install bit, so I have little to go off of as far as performance goes.

So, are there any laptops in particular that people can suggest for SUSE 10.2? What is the absolute worst a system can be eqipped and still function smoothly with all the tricks? Where are the places online where I can either customize a laptop build without some version of Windows on it, or buy a cheap, but effective laptop?

And if my questions could've been easily found somewhere on the internet, please redirect me... I'm stealing the internet from some poor bloke in my apartment buulding, and typing this with a Wiimote.

Thanks.

I have been away from the internet for a very long time, and I come back, and all of a sudden, it seems like, my distro of choice has gone through some major changes and updates. I find myself in need of not only an update, but a cheap laptop.

My main question lies in the new graphical tricks in SUSE 10.2... Are there any reccommended system requirements to have them run smoothly? Most of the laptop installation run-throughs on linux-laptop.net stop detailing how the distro runs after the install bit, so I have little to go off of as far as performance goes.

So, are there any laptops in particular that people can suggest for SUSE 10.2? What is the absolute worst a system can be eqipped and still function smoothly with all the tricks? Where are the places online where I can either customize a laptop build without some version of Windows on it, or buy a cheap, but effective laptop?

And if my questions could've been easily found somewhere on the internet, please redirect me... I'm stealing the internet from some poor bloke in my apartment buulding, and typing this with a Wiimote.

Thanks.
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For more info about suse and laptops have a look here. When you say all the tricks, if you mean like the 3d desktop with compiz you will need a fairly fast laptop. For a basic window system such as kde, most newer laptops work. Also there is a lot of info in this thread

/Geoff

After doing much independent research on the subject (and borrowing a friend's laptop for hours on end... a timesaver vs. using the Wii...) I still have questions, and I've found a computer that might be great. The links you supplied were fantastic, sorry about asking for them, but I was dealing with the Wii at the time. In fact, I wrote a reply to your message after you responded, but the connection failed...

I have a laptop in mind, and as this is my first laptop and my first time using SUSE 10.2, I kind of had to puzzle together on notebook paper what precisely I wanted.

The notebook:
ZT Element s10002i - 74
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo ~ 1.8GHZ
SPEC: 1GB of RAM O.O.B., 120 GB HDD, DVD Writer/Reader
VIDEO: nVidia Geforce 8400MG w/256MB dedicated video RAM*
AUDIO: Integrated Realtek ALC 88H*
OTHER: Some tricks, like a webcam, microphone, etc., and no option to have anyhting but Vista installed OOB.

*No specific documentation available detailing performance under SUSE 10.2.

the ZT Element @ newegg

My decision on this notebook in particular was based on the dedicated video memory (to run things like Beryl/Compiz smoothly), the nVidia video card (which has more stable drivers ATM than ATI), the Intel chips (I'm a creature of habit...), and the price. My difficulty is that newegg, and anywhere else I can find this laptop in particular, doesn't have complete system specifications indicating who made what, and what model or version is in the computer, so I can't compare things like the wireless hardware with the compatibility lists available, and since I hope to use the wireless function, the camera, the bluetooth, the microphone, the DVD writer, and a few other things frequently, it's hard for me to settle on anything. I mean, I could always install another distro other than SUSE if it worked better with my hardware, but SUSE is by far my favorite, and I have most experience with Linux operating within it.

New questions:

If I were to get an Intel Dual Core computer, would I still install the x86 version of SUSE? (still not clear on what that actually means [/admitted noob])
Are there really any noticable problems with compatibility of certain programs when running the 64bit version of SUSE? Does Linux run any better/faster under 64bit tech?
Is there any way I can find out what exactly is in the model of laptop I'm buying? Should I look for this stuff or just ignore it for the time being?

Just from reading reviews detailing basic installation, I know that SUSE 10.2 is better equipped to recognize hardware right off the bat during the install, but in the case that YaST doesn't, I know I don't know enough to go through the terminal to troubleshoot and peice it together myself. That's why I'm so hesitant on installing it on untested/unreported hardware.

Thanks for whatever support you can give, I'm excited about the possibilities, but dreading the task of getting things up-and-running.

If it was me, I would not purchase a no name brand laptop, especially if I could not lay my hands on all of the specifications. One could end up spending (indeed wasting) a lot of their time trying to configure something that might, or might not, configure in the end.

IMHO its far better to pay more, and get a laptop with specific hardware that is known to work. I leave the exploring of brand new hardware up to those who:
a. have the patience to sort out the problems that will likely happen with new, possibly incompatible hardware, or
b. have the knowledge to sort out the problems that will likely happen with new, possibly incompatible hardware,
or
c. know of a back up approach that is perfectly acceptable, and won't leave one frustrated with a failed openSUSE (or other Linux) installation. In my case, neither a functioning WinXP nor WinVISTA would be an acceptable backup approach.

One has to place a "value" on one's own time. Now one can rationalize a certain amount of "wheel spinning" as well spent in training/learning, ... but there is a limit to this. I find Linux is complex enough without taking on the task of brand new hardware with minimal to no details on the various peripheries.

Show me a Mac user who doesn't check for Mac hardware compatibility first, and often I will show you a frustrated Mac user. IMHO applying a similar check for hardware compatibility first (before a purchase) applies to Linux (and if the compatibility isn't there, simply do NOT gamble). Looking at the hardware you mention, it occurs to me that this is a gamble.

My problem with spending more is that.... I don't have more. I figured I needed a laptop for my second run at school, and I wouldn't be using it for gaming per-se, so I could run Linux just fine on it and do everything I wanted to do open-source. Part of me wants to do it anyway, even on untested hardware, beause it will be a learning process, and I will have time to try and sort things out. So should I attempt to contact the manfacturer to find out what exactly is in the laptop? I'm appalled at the amount of 'power' the laptop has at such a short price point, but I know they had to either cut corners somewhere, or do something that might compromise the whole journey/foray into SUSE/laptop world. I'm kind of set on this machine based on price vs. power.

Browsing the ztsystems website, I found a drivers page, which lists at least the brands that supplies several components of their laptops/desktops, and none (or very few) of them seem to be off-brands. The list is here. I know this doesn't help very much... I think I'll contact them.

Have you seen the Dell's that come with Linux? Granted its not suse, but that can be fixed easily. http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopi...=dhs&~ck=mn

Yeah. They're still spendy, even though you don't have to shell out a compulsory $200 to get some Microsoft ****. They also assume that Linux users don't need much power, because the affordable notebook is laughable. It warrants a second look, and don't get me wrong, I think it's great that Linux has been clamored for and well recieved by the industry, but they have a way to go for me to be satisfied, i.e. making multiple distros available and making Linux an option for all/most of their product. I'll give it a second look though, and in the meantime I'll wait for the e-mail from ZT.

Yeah. They're still spendy, even though you don't have to shell out a compulsory $200 to get some Microsoft ****. They also assume that Linux users don't need much power, because the affordable notebook is laughable. It warrants a second look, and don't get me wrong, I think it's great that Linux has been clamored for and well recieved by the industry, but they have a way to go for me to be satisfied, i.e. making multiple distros available and making Linux an option for all/most of their product. I'll give it a second look though, and in the meantime I'll wait for the e-mail from ZT.
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I got a Dell 1420n recently (I have yet to put SuSE on it... I know, I know...) and it works really well and goes pretty fast for me. In any case, since you're not gaming you're probably better off not getting separate a graphics card, and going for integrated Intel graphics. Just make sure to get a lot of system memory (I got 2 gig and beryl works just fine). Definitely the bait for me in the case of the Dell was the hardware compatibility. But if you go for something else like this zt thing, make sure to check for every component whether there is a driver or general compatibility. For example, the synaptics touchpad in the 1420 I got did not work correctly at first until I got a recent update. Also check the sound and wireless for sure.

I am not sure what your budget is, but I would have to agree about not buying a no-name-unless you could try one first. Not always possible unless you have a friend with one, in which case you could try the Open Suse 10.2 live dvd to give you some general ideas as to what works and what doesn't. This is not 100% as to what will NOT work though, since an install will usually make something, such as wireless, work that doesn't work from the dvd. I know this from experience as my thinkpad T60 works perfectly with SLED-wireless, compiz,etc.-yet when I try the OpenSuse 10.2 live dvd my Intel 3945 wireless card will not work. However, the live dvd is still a good thing to try-assuming you want to use OpenSuse. I have installed various Suse releases on several older laptops, and I was able to make everything work with a little research. Generally speaking however, getting wireless to work required the greatest amount of effort, but the laptops I worked with did not have built in wireless and I was dealing with add-in cards. I assume that any new one you buy will have built in wireless of course, so you may or may not encounter problems. If you know before you buy it will be easy to see if you have a supported card. The same thing could also be said of getting desktop effects to work. Another option that you might look into would be to buy a good used or re-furbed laptop. You could always do a quick search on one and see if it has a record of linux support. You can find someone who is either running linux, or has tried to run linux on almost any laptop available. I was in your predicament last year. I had an old HP N3210 that I was running Suse 9.2(I think) on. It worked but when I went back to college I needed something with more speed and memory. I almost bought a business model HP because most HP notebooks work well with linux, however I ended up with a basic thinkpad T60-probably the least expensive T60 one could buy- which was still almost twice the price of the HP. I do not regret my choice, but if I had been on a strict budget I would have bought the HP or something comparable. Really though, if you do a little research beforehand you should be able to buy a laptop and be pretty sure that it will run your preferred distro.

I have emailed ZTsystems twice, and still no response as to what is in the laptop I'm contemplating. I went to dell.com and 'built' one of their ubuntu laptops, but it ended up costing much more money to get the features I want, and it left out a few things that I think I would love to use. One example is the impossibiliy to change the video hardware at all; If I buy a Linux-ready Dell, then I'm stuck with a Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100...

After doing a bit more reasearch, to buy any other laptop, I'd be sacrificing a whole load of power to pay more. Honestly, I'd take my chances right at this second if the support line would respond to my request for a hardware list.