Poll: What Machine To Purchase For Review

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It got buried in the lounge and probably won’t really be seen. Prior votes are still accounted for fer me.

Ok lounge, and anyone else who happens upon this post, I’m down to 3 machines to choose from. 2 HP’s, and the System 76 Oryx Pro with a 1070. There will be a link to each machine, a number assigned with them, and the price that I’ll be looking at below.

1: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omen-by-hp-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-12gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-580-1tb-hard-drive-hp-sandblasted-hairline-brushing-and-carbon-fiber/5902586.p?skuId=5902586&cmp=RMX&extStoreId=406&ref=212&loc=1&gclid=CPHU0bD329oCFfSBxQId8cwIfA&gclsrc=ds

~1150 USD

2: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=9SIA7AB6R41478

~1200 USD

3: https://system76.com/laptops

Oryx Pro with 8th series is coming out, optimally with a 1070 and loaded with drives

~23-2400 USD

Now, either way, I’ll be getting one of these. But I don’t exactly care which one as the first two will do anything I want them to do for quite a while, but my concerns are with the Intel ME stuff on the Omen. The System 76 machine will be a replacement for everything, whereas the Omen will be replacing most machines, and the X360 will be just a laptop and will be paired with a System76 Wild Dog Desktop.

I’m personally on the side of the X360, but thats just me. Someone said they wanted a review of it. And after weighing my options, time frame, and how much sooner I can get it, plus my current expenses that I need to get to, the X360 specifically listed there with the 512GB NVME drive and 1TB SSHD is like prime for what I need in that respect. Its a one shot deal, and as a review unit to start I think it could be interesting. My only concerns with the other 2 are that the Omen is a Niche product that not everyone would buy, and the Oryx would more be looking in to a new company, and the level of quality to expect, as well as hardware review.

So, with everything above, each of these 3 machines, even though they have vastly different spec sheets and vastly different levels of hardware quality, will all do what I want. But as a matter of interest in a review, and as a personal reach to those who would be interested in these machines and may want some specific information about them johnny on the spot, what machine would you guys want me to review.

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Again, I don’t care about the specs. If I get the X360, it’ll be maxed on drives and the CPU with the Vega 8 will be great. If I do the Omen, great. If I do the Oryx, then there will be a huge sale of my hardware on the forum.

The floor is yours lounge, and I invite anyone to vote. Don’t be hesitant.

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Voted for #2

I’ve felt the Yoga’s in one of their stores, it feels solid. I would suggest you do the same to see if you like it or not. Since it has better specs (except for graphics) I would say you can get more mileage out of it as its more portable.

I am unsure about the build quality of the Oryx but I had a lemur and the quality was crap. If they’re in the same vein, then beware S76. I do like their stance on free software but they need to produce something of quality before I can really recommend them again.

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I am trusting Lenovo less and less. As for the X360, this is a machine that fits right in where I would use it. Literally fits like a glove. Somewhere between an 8250U and 8500U, or whatever they are, in laptops, which is pretty much the CPU HorsePower I want, and a real GPU, which is the other half of it. Make it ryzen, I’m in trigued, make it vega, I have firepower even at a vega 8, and I config 16GB ram, nvme, and a 1TB storage drive and I’m fuckin set. I’m actually fighting with myself to do 32GB and a 128GB NVME drive with the 1TB drive because the vega uses the ram as swap and I can set the ram speed and amount the vega gets in UEFI. I think its 2666 ram too, so not that bad. Set it up with 4 or 6GB and I’m pretty much set and good to go.

Also touch screen. I really want a touch screen.

Thank you for your input. And if the X360 wins, and a 2700U version comes out in a month and a half, I’ll be doing that instead.

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My concern with the X360 is that the battery is just going to last a whole 30 minutes before it dies. APU + 55.6Wh batter is a recipe for disaster.

I know I have had this discussion with you before, and I know you don’t care too much about battery life, but if you are going to spend this kind of money, I would definitely get something that might last at least half a day.

Why not go with the MSI GS65. It has very similar specs to the Oryx pro, larger battery, thin bezel monitor, and will actually sell for a few hundred bucks cheaper. Its definitely something more people would be looking at getting, so it would be a more popular review AND it would be really neat to see a linux review on a modern MSI laptop.

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That makes sense, although if the battery is serviceable then I’m not sure its that big a deal.

I wouldn’t peg it as low as 30 minutes though. Probably 3 hours under full load?

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I mean all the reviews say 5-7 hours. Thats pretty great to me. Equal to my Y40-70.

Yup. Near as I can hell, aside from the display which is one big assembly, and the CPU being BGA, everything else is serviceable.

You know that makes me wonder if theres a replacement battery thats larger capacity.

Alternatively I’m sure theres USB C battery packs. Or I could plug it in and since it has quick charge it’d take like a half hour to blip back up.

Nvidia driver problems mostly. While, yeah it’d be neat, and maybe more people would look at it, I’m not willing to deal with constant driver problems I already deal with on other linux machines I have.

Also wayland. Just an aside with that, I like wayland.

I mean I’ll look at it, but I’d rather buy an AMD laptop, and if I’m buying Nvidia I at least want to give money to a company I want to support like System76.

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They do have affordable power banks for laptops.

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Well there ya go.

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tadaa

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Hmmmm, thats a little niche lol. I wonder if something like my PNY AD10400 would work.

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Possibly. But I’m just using this as an example.

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pfffft yeah no.

The only time it will get 5 hours is under VERY light workload. I am not seeing anyone saying they get more than 5 hours of battery life and certainly not 7.

I am seeing 3ish hours of youtube playback with a brand new battery. The moment the battery starts to degrade, this thing will constantly be plugged in.

And If the nvidia drivers are going to be an issue, why did you list a laptop with a 1070?

If thats the case, I really got something for you. The laptop below caught my eye a few days ago. The price difference is pretty big and you get the big boy apu. And you actually get a larger battery.

The catch is that I am not sure if the ram and SSD are soldered or not. Hell I don’t even know if the SSD is M.2 or sata.

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Because I’d keep it stock on POP_OS, which ships working, and wait till the current problems got fixed. I’d probably clone the drive just in case too.

Yeah I have trust issues with Acer, at least current ones. Between the bad heat management and the keyboards being… meh? I mean I’ve held the X360 and the Omen, and I’ve played with an older Oryx and liked it. I know that the HP’s are completely serviceable and the S76 definitely is. The 2700U part is whats got me on catch, and I considered adding it to the list earlier, but I just plain have trust issues with Acer. So like I said, if an X360 comes out with a 2700U, I’ll jump on that.

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Acer is really bad when it comes to thermal design. I don´t know anyone who is happy with their Acer notebook.

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Yeah, if HP could get off their ass and release a proper laptop with proper specs for once, that would be nice.

Dell supposedly has laptops with 2700s in them, but they do not have them listed on their site. AMD’s website is showing that the 15 inch inspiron 7000 should have them, but dell is coming up blank.

Maybe its a supply issue and all these companies need more time for manufacturing?

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Or GPP…
Yields on Ryzen are definetly not the issue.

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This current Acer is crap deluxe. Not only with heat buildup, but also poor battery life. Am not happy Jan. Will not buy again.

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If people keepbvoting olyx I’ll have to start that sale now.

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Bump.

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Gonna give this till the end of tomorrow I think. So far x360 is on top, and to be honest the more I’ve been looking at it it makes the mest sense for me rn so I wasbprobs going to getbit anyways lol but still get one of the other 2 if one of them won.

Nah I’ll give it till wednesday on my payday.