Another topic to find out which current notebooks work well with Fedora:
I am seeking a new notebook with roughly the following expectations:
If possible, Intel 14th gen 155H, 165H, 185H, 14500HX, 14650HX, 14700HX, 14900HX (this is Core Ultra 7 & 8, and Core i5/i7/i9)
=>32GB RAM, preferably with LPDDR5X-7466 or DDR5-5600
=>1TB SSD storage
preferably with possibility to integrate 5G
preferably 16", but at least 14", preferably 400 nits or more (at the best, with a high refresh rate)
battery as large as possible
capable to do firmware upgrades without windows (and preferably with experiences that this capability actually works out)
no nvidia
I am aware that it is yet unlikely to find a device that already fulfills these conditions (if at all). Consider it as a rough goal I have, so a direction suggestions may go into. Compromises are inevitable. Feel free to blur the topic with other notebooks that are stable with Fedora: that might be valuable data for others too. I just would restrict this topic to notebooks that are currently still in production.
As it is seems hard to get linux supporting devices with 5g, and since 5g use is increasing, I add what is likely to become my choice in case others are interested in such information too:
I expect I will get the current Dell Precision 3591 in September or October (I wait for a certification to be added):
the Dell support confirmed that the certification of the 5g hardware in Ubuntu is on the way and is planned to be added in September (Ubuntu can not yet be selected with 5g)
the hardware that is then contained in Ubuntu but not (yet?) in the RHEL certification (= 5g hardware → Snapdragon X62, Global 5G-Modem, DW5932e with eSIM compatibility) is already supported by the vanilla kernel (e.g., [1]): the drivers have been added to mhi-next in July 2023 and I have verified that the patch is contained in the current kernel (e.g., [1]). I see no reason why Ubuntu should use own driver patches, so I expect the certification will add testing to that patch. In any case, the available driver in the vanilla kernel allows me to push issues upstream.
People who do not want to have screens that adjust brightness by PWM be careful: the support confirmed that according to their technical documentation, the screens with 250 cd/m² have PWM, but the screens with 400 cd/m² do not use PWM.
Keep in mind that hardware over time can change, so especially with regards to 5g check out if it is still the same and if the certifications comply to what you are about to buy. Also, keep in mind that configurations differ among countries. I can only say this about the configuration as it is available in Switzerland. But if the configuration is available with Ubuntu (which implies a certification of the configuration), contained in RHEL certifications without the “excentric” (5g & such, what is not yet a “standard” to have integrated) hardware drivers while these drivers are in the vanilla kernel, compatibility is likely.
I will add a confirmation & mark the solution if that device works properly with Fedora once I have it, just in case other people look forward to a Fedora device with integrated 5g just like I do
Slight addition: it is interesting (and I am happy) to see that someone (don’t know if that is anyhow linked to Dell? I cannot link the contributor to Dell) is interested in adding Dell-specific drivers to the vanilla kernel (DW5932e is Dell-specific but based on something existing) roughly at the time the hardware is released (not sure if that hardware was already available in July 2023 (?)). It has to be mentioned that this hardware driver derives from an existing hardware driver and is not much more than a reference, but still, someone seems to put an efforts in getting it into the vanilla kernel before (any or just a little?) hardware is available. I thought it’s worth to be observed how that develops over time (so far talks are mostly only about Lenovo).
I have not yet bought the notebook. The certification of the wwan controller is to be done sometime in September. I wanted to wait for that, even if the driver is already in the kernel. Its also about ensuring the notebook to have a model number that allows smooth bios updates and such.
Have you written a bug report? You might involve the maintainer or the contributor [1], but I would first check out in a bug report if the issue can be resolved within Fedora.
