looking 4 some expert advise dell 1545

Caper · 02-22-2009, 10:12 AM

hi , looking to put a linux distro on my laptop dell 1545 , am i hope's some1 can help .here r the specs..
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
HARD DRIVE 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)

WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless 1515 802.11 Wireless-N Mini-card
BATTERY OPTIONS 9-cell battery
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Internal (2.1)

LCD Glossy, widescreen 15.6 inch display (1366x768)
GRAPHICS CARD Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD
Network Integrated gigabit 10/100 Network Card
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
.what would be the best distro for this machine out off the box? would like to run a 64 bit distro.thanks

alan_ri · 02-22-2009, 12:03 PM

Mr. Google says that lots of Linux distros would run nicely on that laptop.You can visit a web site on the link in my signature "Distrowatch" and choose the one you like.

Caper · 03-03-2009, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alan_ri

Mr. Google says that lots of Linux distros would run nicely on that laptop.You can visit a web site on the link in my signature "Find a distro" and choose the one you like.

well thanks. i am not a newbie , and yes i MR google it and i do know that every linux distro will run on it, but i guess my question is: does anybody have the x4500hd running to it full capacity , from what i have READ the intel drivers still have a way to go. Also i have read that the wireless can be a b*tch...but i thank u very much for your knowledge and advise , i will make sure that i will come back to this site if ever i need a question answer or not.

alan_ri · 03-03-2009, 10:20 AM

I'd say that you first need to learn how to ask a question.From what you've said in your first post here I think that my answer in post no.2 is adequate and appropriate.
No Linux distro is made for a certain machine ( yours included ).Some of the distros are optimazed for certain processors,architectures,but as I said they are not made for any machine particulalry.
Yes,drivers can be a problem in Linux,so your machine might not be an exception,but that's one of the reasons why web sites like this one exists ,you just have to know how to use them.

Caper · 03-03-2009, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alan_ri

I'd say that you first need to learn how to ask a question.From what you've said in your first post here I think that my answer in post no.2 is adequate and appropriate.
No Linux distro is made for a certain machine (yours included).Some of the distros are optimazed for a certain processors architectures but as I said they are not made for any machine particulalry.
Yes,drivers can be a problem in Linux,so your machine might not be an exception,but that's one of the reasons why web sites like this one exists ,you just have to know how to use them.

thank you again! i guess if i left the specs out then the question would be what r your specs , with specs people can judge and answer instead off making a book of question, these forum's are here to ask and answer and to learn , but with your first answer: we do not need site like this we can just mr google it. with respect all i was asking or not asking could have been answer with the specs that were shown. thank

farslayer · 03-03-2009, 12:49 PM

I believe Ubuntu 8,10 would support that graphics chip out of the box.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag..._x4500hd&num=1

Quote:

In order to use the GMA X4500/X4500HD under Linux, you will need to use the just-released xf86-video-intel 2.4.0 driver for mode-setting, 2D, and video support and then the latest Mesa code for the OpenGL acceleration. The GMA X4500 support was just added to Mesa a few weeks back and isn't even in a released version yet. The next version of Mesa where this Intel support will arrive is Mesa 7.1 and will come in tandem with X.Org 7.4. Even when using released versions of these packages, telling a new user to obtain the needed build dependencies, build the package from source, and then configure the setup manually isn't an ideal situation. When the support you are after isn't even in a released version, the user now needs to go through checking out the latest source-code from the git master of the respective revision control trees. The process of obtaining hardware support via an open-source driver for a brand new piece of hardware isn't exactly easy right now to a new user, especially when it comes to the graphics side of Linux.

Aside from Fedora and a few other distributions, these new packages won't be pushed into most distribution package repositories until they are readying a next major release. For instance, Ubuntu users will need to wait until October with Ubuntu 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex" before the latest Mesa / Intel code appear and thus "out of the box" support for these Intel IGPs.

Caper · 03-03-2009, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farslayer

I believe Ubuntu 8,10 would support that graphics chip out of the box.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag..._x4500hd&num=1

THANK YOU...i am trying to make a box for a family member..i have done alot off reading before i posted here. just wanted a os that would be the least trouble for them if they ever had to reformat..thanks again