
Tuxedo Book BA15: AMD-only and Linux-preinstalled laptop - jrepinc
https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/Linux-Hardware/Linux-Notebooks/15-16-inch/TUXEDO-Book-BA15-Gen10.tuxedo
======
AmosLightnin
I purchased a Tuxedo laptop last summmer in order to support Linux only
hardware vendors, but sadly it's been one of the worst computers - with the
worst customer service - I've ever used. Sending it back for repairs doesn't
help - they ignore the issues and fail to resolve them. At one point I didn't
get a response for weeks. I'm not sure how their trustpilot score recently
improved from fair / bad to great, but I'm suspicious that they could make
such a turnaround so quickly. Read the bad reviews and they're quite
consistent.
[https://au.trustpilot.com/review/tuxedocomputers.com](https://au.trustpilot.com/review/tuxedocomputers.com)

~~~
DyslexicAtheist
I second this. Bought a notebook from them in 2016 and it was one of the worst
purchases. The fan last around 8-12 months before it craps out. (went through
3 so far) The power supply is fragile, and I had to solder it several times
already. The support ... well I asked them about when they would ship a bios
update for some common vulns - first I got denials that these (Intel ME) vulns
"aren't an issue" because you need physical access to the machine. Once the
news about the vulns hit mainstream media they promised to email me with
updates about their latest updates. After most my colleagues machines from
other vendors had been patched after few months but they still had not shipped
any fix. After 1 year of back and forth and empty promises about "stay tuned"
or "please check our website for updates" I eventually told them to get f'ed.

It seems the people who work there also have little love for the community
they serve. They use the FOSS/Freedom type of branding to sell into a niche of
gullible enthusiasts (like myself) who believe that supporting such companies
makes a difference. The prices don't justify the product. You're better off
building your own system from scratch or buying a more commonly available
brand for 30% less of the price. It's not like they invest some of the money
back into developing replacements for proprietary binary blobs or open
hardware or any of these things. You want to stay away from this company and
the rubbish they're peddling!

~~~
hanklazard
Hmm, these are disappointing reviews ... specs and price look quite good.

I really want a company like this to succeed with Linux first laptops! Maybe
System76 is closer to making it happen? I have really enjoyed pop!_os, so I’m
considering one of their machines for my next laptop.

~~~
zeus_hammer
I have a System76 laptop, a Gazelle 17-inch. See [0] for exact specs.

pop_os! has been fantastic, though it has some ways to go, particularly in the
power management department. Overall, the biggest drawback is definitely the
battery life. If you look around for System76 laptop reviews you'll see that
battery life is a consistent issue. I'm able to get ~1.5-2 hours on integrated
graphics, about 45 minutes using Nvidia graphics.

At first I thought it was just the battery/device itself, (the device is
largely is a rebranded Clevo laptop with System76's firmware and other custom
parts), so I installed Windows on the machine to see what kind of battery life
I'd get under that. Windows was able to get ~6 hours with the same workflow
(mostly browsing, streaming, email) and ~4 hours with the Nvidia graphics.

[0]:
[https://system76.com/guides/gaze14/17b](https://system76.com/guides/gaze14/17b)

~~~
rashkov
Anecdata, but I had a Dell xps 15 with discrete nvidia graphics. Similar
numbers to yours. For my next laptop I got a Thinkpad X390 and this little 13"
laptop gets about 4-6 hours on linux, without any tweaking.

~~~
vbezhenar
They claim up to 17.6 hours in tech specs. Did you check your workflow with
Windows? 4-6 hours is nice, but if you could get full work day with Windows,
it doesn't look that impressive.

------
jacek
This is a rebranded laptop from an ODM [1]. It is also available from Schenker
[2] and was reviewed by the Notebookcheck [3]. It looks really good, but I
would love a few things to be fixed/updated: better 16:10 screen, Ryzen 4000,
more USB-C ports, USB-C charging and dual-channel memory.

___________

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_design_manufacturer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_design_manufacturer)

[2] [https://www.schenker-tech.de/en/schenker-via-15-en](https://www.schenker-
tech.de/en/schenker-via-15-en)

[3] [https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-VIA-15-Laptop-
Review-...](https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-VIA-15-Laptop-Review-a-
lightweight-AMD-notebook.460698.0.html)

~~~
drewg123
And an eraser stick with the option to disable the trackpad in the BIOS. This
is what keeps me coming back to Lenovo.

EDIT: This is not intended as a shameless plug for Lenovo, I just have so many
false touches with trackpads, and I wish eraser sticks were more common,
outside of a diminishing percent of Lenovo and a small percent of Dells.

~~~
hojjat12000
I think you are using the phrase "shameless plug" incorrectly. "shameless
plug" is normally used to advertise _your own_ merchandize. For example, a
Youtuber talking about his/her other Youtube channel shamelessly. However, in
your comment I think you meant to say "a dig" instead of "shameless plug".
"This is not intended as a dig on Lenovo...", or "I'm not trying to pick on
Lenovo..." cheers

~~~
drewg123
What I'm saying is that, because I need an eraser stick, I can only consider
Lenovo (and some Dells). And I wish I had more options.

~~~
smacktoward
I’m in exactly the same boat. TrackPoint 4 life, yo.

What’s extra weird is that the first TrackPoint laptops appeared more than 20
years ago, so any IBM/Lenovo patents on the technology must have expired by
now...

~~~
numpad0
A square trackpad being required for laptops by Microsoft or something.

Also third party TrackPoints don’t have that magical touch, they’re hard or
slippery or drifting more often or combinations of them. Some UMPC models from
Sony, Fujitsu, OQO, Palm ARM laptop prototype had it I think, recently GPD had
it.

------
crypt1d
I really appreciate how descriptive they are in the specs.

` Battery life: (with our optimizations) about 25 hours at min. display-
brightness, without Wifi & Bluetooth, without keyboard backlit, in idle mode
about 13 hours at medium brightness with Wifi, at office work

We're testing battery time always in idle mode, at minimal display brightness,
with keyboard backlight deactivated, WIFI & Bluetooth disabled and without any
further connected devices (USB, LAN, HDMI, VGA etc. unplugged!). This way you
get an information of maximal possible battery life. Starting from this you
can manage your individual battery life depending on your demands and to
influence it e.g. is keyboard backlight unnecessary during daylight. Bluetooth
is also only needed to be turned on, if there's a Bluetooth device connected.
Full display brightness as well is hardly always necessary. `

or their disclaimer about the display panel:

` Modern displays with IPS panels have bright areas along the frame as a
normal characteristic. This has hardly any influence on everyday operation,
not least because the displays are optimized for daylight operation. It can
only be minimized, but not completely avoided, regardless of the manufacturer
and for manufacturing reasons. `

------
LeonM
Just ran the configurator, the price is _really_ good IMO. With memory maxed
out (32GB), a 1TB SSD and WiFi 6 it's only 1099 EUR.

Too bad it's not offered with a 4K display. And personally I would have
preferred a TB3 port over all the I/O that this machine has build-in. When on-
the-go I'm using wireless connectivity anyway, and at my desk I like to use a
TB3 dock with PD as an all-in-one docking solution. Not supporting charging
trough USB-PD is also missed opportunity.

~~~
rz2k
There are tradeoffs with this machine compared to a Macbook Pro. Intel laptops
also have twice as fast USB along with Thunderbolt 3. At 350 cd/m2 and 84%
sRGB the relatively low resolution screen is also going to be darker with poor
color reproduction.

However, in addition to the CPU power, and a sane configuration being half the
price, the weight looks really good. At 1.4 kg (3.1 lbs) it weighs like a 13"
MacBook Pro rather than a 15 or 16 inch one. I've found the difference between
3 and 4 lbs surprisingly noticeable if frequently moving the computer or
commuting with it.

~~~
AnthonyMouse
> There are tradeoffs with this machine compared to a Macbook Pro. Intel
> laptops also have twice as fast USB along with Thunderbolt 3.

On the other hand, this has a builtin HDMI port, ethernet port and the
capacity for internal expansion (unlike the Macbook), so the performance for
external expansion is a lot less relevant.

Who wants to carry around a bunch of overpriced dongles anyway?

> At 350 cd/m2 and 84% sRGB the relatively low resolution screen is also going
> to be darker with poor color reproduction.

I wish somebody would make laptops with high quality screens and low end
everything else. Sometimes that's all you need.

Plus, the low end processors often have the best battery life.

~~~
rz2k
Sadly, the plain MacBook doesn't have a low end price. :)

An upcoming ARM MacBook could be a great machine for a text editor, terminal,
and browser, but I fear there will be new user limitations that block
customizations like Karabiner and Hammerspoon that I would miss too much.

------
rixed
A bit surprised by the amount of negative comments about the company in here,
so I feel that I have to offer a different perspective: I ordered a 14"
fanless linux laptop from them about one year ago and that's one of the best
laptop I ever owned. It's fast, has a great mate screen of the right
proportion, decent backlit keyboard with no crazy layout (which has become
rare recently), better than average trackpad (although nothing like that of a
Mac), good battery. Of course being fanless it is also 100% silent. And it
runs Linux flawlessly (I've run debian and nixos on it).

Only downsides I can think of are the specific charger cord (as opposed to
USB) and its large-ish besel which makes it a bit too large for comfortable
use in planes or trains.

I also interacted with support at the time because I had not heard from UPS
and I remember them as quite quick to answer and friendly.

Overall, I'm afraid this thread might leave readers with an unfair impression
on the company. Maybe not all of their laptop have the same quality? Mine is
actually a Clevo, branded as "infinitybook 14".

------
__roland__
Just as an anecdotal counterpoint to all the negative reviews here: I have a
2015 Tuxedo notebook that is still going strong, and never had any issue with
it. There is quite a bit of fan noise, which I don't hear as I'm typically
using a noise-cancelling headset anyway. The keyboard is rather flimsy and the
build quality is definitely not on par with Dell XPS or a T-series Lenovo, at
least for this model: in my use case (using external keyboard and monitor 99%
of the time) this is not an issue, so I'm (still) quite happy with it. As
others have already said, the pricing is hard to beat and its Ubuntu setups
are well configured.

I also had very positive interactions with their support staff; very friendly
and knowledgeable. I have yet to see a piece of Tuxedo hardware fail, and know
several people who are using their hardware (both laptops and workstations,
which are even nicer and have a much better build quality IMO).

------
nlstitch
I bought a tuxedo laptop for my work but the experience has been very bad. I
WOULD NOT recommend them.

They overturned the screws of the cooling fans with the cooling upgrade I
ordered, and ordering spareparts is a hassle (Takes very long, sending
constant reminders and getting sarcastic responses).

Tried to be smart guy and support FOSS suppliers in the process, but now I get
laughed at at work for having the most ghetto laptop in the office.

------
makerofthings
I have a Tuxedo Infinitybook pro 14 v4, fully maxed out. I love it. It's dirt
cheap and everything works out of the box. I was a little concerned about
moving from Mac to Linux but I can sync my phone, I can print, I can connect
to all my bluetooth devices, external displays work nicely, it sleeps
properly, battery life is Ok...

------
corty
Nice, except for the screen. FullHD is the new "barely adequate". But at least
it is non-glare, not "bathroom-mirror" finish. The latter would be
unacceptable due to workplace regulations here.

~~~
thinkloop
What regulations advise screen reflectivity?

~~~
helldritch
Not the OP, but one example (UK specific but guided by European law) is The
health and safety (display screen equipment) regulations 1992, as amended by
the health and safety (miscellaneous amendments) regulations 2002 [1]

Under the heading Requirements for Work Stations (Reg 3. and schedule):

24 Regulation 3 requires workstations to meet the requirements of the
Schedule, (subject to the proviso outlined below), which sets out minimum
requirements for the display screen, keyboard, desk, chair, work environment
(including working space, lighting, reflection and glare, noise, heat and
humidity), task requirements and software. Requirements are set out in fairly
general terms, eg "The seat shall be adjustable in height". The Schedule does
not contain technical detail.

Paragraph 32 states that anti-glare filters must be provided by workplaces
which use DSE (display screen equipment) which are capable of projecting
glare.

[1]
[https://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/ocs/200-299/oc202_1.h...](https://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/ocs/200-299/oc202_1.htm)

------
openplatypus
> 1x USB 3.2 Gen1 Typ-C (DisplayPort: no; Power Delivery: no)

So close. Why would you release laptop like this in 2020?

------
Already__Taken
Isn't only 1 stick of RAM leaving a lot of perf on the table with these APU's
not having dual channels?

------
clarry
Dang. This looks like something that could replace my aging T460s (which has a
garbage trackpad, and cost over 2000 eur with all its 8GB of RAM; Linux keeps
OOMing and freezing all the time[1]).

Ryzen 4000 series would be nice. 17" would be nice. But 3000 series Ryzen and
15.6" screen is already a decent upgrade over my Thinkpad with i7-6600U..

I'm feeling conflicted because it's obviously not a dream-come-true laptop,
but the price point seems very very reasonable (and if I wait for the perfect
laptop, I might have to wait forever).

[1] [https://lkml.org/lkml/2019/8/4/15](https://lkml.org/lkml/2019/8/4/15)

Just this morning I found my laptop non-responsive and spinning the fan at
full speed. I cut the power. It's probably been thrashing all night. In my
case, "this little crisis" never lasts for just a few minutes, it'll last as
long as I care to wait (I've waited hours and it never recovered).

EDIT: Specs say there's a 9-in-1 card reader, but in photos I only see a micro
SD slot.. what am I missing?

~~~
srazzaque
Odd, I've had nothing but positive experiences with Linux on Thinkpads for 3
machines running (t61p, x220, now an x260).

Not sure what distro you're using, but from what I hear, a lot of the Fedora
devs use Thinkpads, so if you're on a thinkpad, Fedora workstation is likely
to be your best bet (which is what I've been using for quite a while now).

For me right now, the upcoming T14 is the thing to beat, even for a Linux
laptop. Given its got a 4k screen and my anecdotally positive experience with
the Linux/Thinkpad combo. So I don't know if I'll jump onto Tuxedo or
System76.

~~~
rxhernandez
I have a P50 and on:

\- Ubuntu 18.04, I couldn't get the screen back after docking

\- Fedora 31, it would crash at least every other time I brought it up from
sleep. Also crashed after being on Zoom for more than an hour.

Just switched to Arch last night and so far so good (well after disabling
hybrid graphics that is).

------
forty
How are you supposed to plug 2 screens? Graphic card description says it
should be possible, but there is only one HDMI port for video output

~~~
gvjddbnvdrbv
USB-C?

~~~
LeoPanthera
The USB-C ports do not support DisplayPort.

------
baybal2
I very much suspect this is a relabeled Qinghua Tongfang machine.

Almost all OEM laptops with 4 __* Ryzens are made by them.

------
JimmyRuska
Ended up getting an e595 thinkpad with ryzen several months ago, flashed it
with pop-os. Originally there was all kinds of problems; opening chrome would
completely freeze the computer, the computer would not come out of suspend
mode so I had to shut it down, battery life is probably less than 4 hours.
With the latest pop-os everything is fine now.

If I were to do it again I would probably get an intel cpu for any laptop just
because good battery life ended up being much more important than any cpu
power gain for me. I definitely would have spent a little more on getting one
pre-installed with linux just knowing it would have good hardware support.
Older laptops seem to always work great, but anything new always has a chance
of having some hardware issues.

~~~
mikelward
Ryzen 4000 laptops promise to improve battery life to match Intel.

[https://www.anandtech.com/show/15624/amd-details-renoir-
the-...](https://www.anandtech.com/show/15624/amd-details-renoir-the-ryzen-
mobile-4000-series-7nm-apu-uncovered/3)

~~~
ben-schaaf
If you normalize for performance the ryzen 4000 laptops should have
considerably better battery life than comparable intel models, at least while
under load if not idle.

~~~
analognoise
... Who would do that?

Most people want to know how long it lasts on a charge. If it lasted 30
minutes but was the cheapest, literally nobody would say "If you normalize for
cost, it lasts the longest".

~~~
ben-schaaf
How long it lasts on a charge obviously depends on what you're doing with it.
Normalizing for performance gives you the efficiency of the system for getting
work done.

Compiling/testing software is part of my job, so whether a laptop can complete
200 compiles on battery power or 500 is something I care about. If you only
care about how long a laptop can idle for under battery you might as well take
a screenshot, print it out and you've got yourself a couple thousand years of
'battery life'.

~~~
analognoise
Good point, but by context, wasn't GP talking about the same load?

If somebody says "The battery performance is poor" I don't assume they go from
compiling all day to writing in Notepad when making the comparison - I assumed
they meant "For the work the laptop was purchased for".

------
pmontra
Compared to my HP ZBook from 2014:

Pro:

\- No number pad, I really love this. I could finally align the center the
laptop with my body.

\- Smaller footprint, same screen size. Nice to have.

\- Half the weight. Good.

\- Much better battery. Nice to have.

\- Lower price for the same configuration (32 GB / 2 TB.) Good.

Cons:

\- No physical touchpad buttons. I really hate this.

\- Generally awful reviews of the company in the other comments here. Probably
a deal breaker.

I didn't investigate the self serviceability of the hardware and the
availability of spare parts. The ZBook is great about that. I'm also used to
next business day on site repairs from HP for the first 3 years. The last time
the package cost about 100 Euro. That's important. I've got an old spare
computer but I can't do everything there.

~~~
lucb1e
> Generally awful reviews of the company in the other comments here. Probably
> a deal breaker.

There are also good reviews in the thread. I'm sure we can find similar
reviews about any other random laptop brand, except that there you pay the
Microsoft tax and they aren't merely showing little love for techies' issues
but instead never even heard of the word Linux and require that you reproduce
issues on "a normal system like Windows" before they accept it could be their
hardware that's faulty.

I don't have experience with Tuxedo Computers, but this is Germany. The EU
warranty and 'remote purchase' laws ("koop op afstand", not sure how to
translate) are quite excellent (even if the Dutch are better). It might be a
headache to get issues fixed depending on how stubborn they are, but rotten
apple stories about support is not something I'd generally reject European
hardware for.

(I once had a drone from a company that was beyond stubborn, and while I
wouldn't wish that experience upon anyone, I learned a lesson or two and now
feel a lot more confident in dealing with companies unresponsive to warranty
claims: they really don't have many options when you send them registered
snailmail stating your claim and subsequent steps if they don't fulfill or
refute the claim. If someone had told me to start doing that earlier instead
of trusting promises to fix it or call me back or whatever, I'd have saved a
lot of time, but I eventually realized how the game was to be played.)

~~~
gurkendoktor
> The EU warranty and 'remote purchase' laws [...] are quite excellent

There is a large difference between buying as a consumer and
business/freelancer, though. If the laptop is outright terrible, but not
technically _broken_, then there's not much you can do but eat the cost. Even
selling it on eBay becomes complicated because now you have to follow EU law
if a consumer buys it.

Written on a MacBook that I wish I could have returned...

~~~
lucb1e
Yeah, when you buy it for your work without paying taxes on it, you also don't
get the consumer benefits. At least that's how it works in NL: if you buy it
as a work necessity, you don't pay BTW/VAT/GST on it, but then you indeed
don't get the 14 day "I changed my mind" period and I don't know how it works
with the standard 2-year warranty.

In general though...

> If the laptop is outright terrible, but not technically _broken_

Then it depends on whether it is as advertised or, if a certain feature was
not specified, as one may reasonably expect. In an extreme example, a washing
machine that turns out to play annoying music while running is not as one
should expect; or if it was advertised that it would play music but it
doesn't... Finally, it depends on whether you talked to the merchant. Anything
they said can be seen as "as advertised", though of course anything not in
writing would be hard to prove.

So it depends on what you mean by "terrible". It sounds to me like you mean
something worse than some annoyances or that it's a good laptop but doesn't
fit your purpose (assuming that that the merchant did not claim it would do
well for your purpose, if you explained your use case to them). You might have
a case there, if you tell them as soon as you become aware of the defect(s).

Of course, there are also merchants that are simply nice and will let you
exchange it for a product of similar value. I had that with my most recent
laptop: in hindsight, I should just not have let the 14 days expire and I
should have returned it without strings attached. (It was good hardware and I
told myself that, with enough time and customization, I'd be able to work on
Windows again since the Linux drivers didn't work at all. But after 3.5 weeks
I was absolutely _done_ with Windows.) I asked the merchant and they let me
exchange it, but their laptop selection was limited (as with any store), and
while I now got something I'm not perfectly happy with, it's still a lot
better than the thing I initially had.

------
ksec
Not sure if any representative from Tuxedo are reading. There are spelling
mistakes;

 _Another highlight of the TUXEDO Book BA15 is its elegant and durable
chassis, which is partly made of magnesium allow (AZ91D) (display cover as
well as baseunit), while aluminum is used on the bottom panel._

Magnesium "Alloy", and "base unit". And in other places, "videostreaming",

On another note, if AMD have sufficient capacity right at launch for AMD Ryzen
5 3500U to be used by so many ODM models suggests it might not be doing so
well in the Top 5 laptop brand which represent 80% of the market. And if you
exclude Apple, it is close to 90%.

~~~
lhl
A bit confusing since the APUs are offset by a generation, by the 3500U is a
12nm GF Zen+ part that is over a year old at this point (the first models
launched last spring). The new (significantly better) 7nm Zen2 APUs are the
4000 series, which have been trickling out in models since April.

~~~
ksec
Oh my bad. Yes I look at 3000 Series and immediately thought it was the 7nm
Zen 2.

Still wished AMD had not used this marketing naming.

------
Sebb767
I've bought a Tuxedo as work laptop for my parents and they couldn't be
happier. The hardware looks and works great and Tuxedo Linux runs effortless
and does automatic updates.

I'd definitely recommend it.

~~~
pmontra
How does Tuxedo Linux differ from vanilla Ubuntu?

~~~
Sebb767
It's pretty much a reskin only, with relevant software (i.e. modem) installed.
It might be a different WM as well (I don't use Ubuntu Desktop so I can't
compare) , but it's nothing too unusual.

------
aae42
now with 16:10 and ryzen 4000 series

------
Mikeb85
Some bad reviews here, so I'd encourage people to look into some of the AMD
APU laptops from Acer and others. I have an Acer Swift 3 with 2700u APU and it
runs Linux (Ubuntu) flawlessly apart from the fingerprint reader. Suspend,
function keys, everything works well, performance is absolutely unreal for the
pricepoint (paid 900 something CAD when it came out).

------
mikelward
Looks great. Hope they have a Ryzen 4000 model soon.

They say their US keyboard is ISO (tall Enter), not ANSI (wide Enter).
Hopefully that's just a typo. Emailed them to ask.

[https://support.getfreewrite.com/article/44-freewrites-
physi...](https://support.getfreewrite.com/article/44-freewrites-physical-
keyboard-layouts-ansi-vs-iso)

~~~
XelNika
It is probably not a typo, they are aware of the difference. Just read their
support page. [0]

> Unless otherwise stated, TUXEDO always uses ISO standard keyboards. Other
> standards, such as ANSI, are available depending on the model, but are also
> marked as such.

Browsing from the EU, I am not seeing an ANSI option on the linked 15" or
either of the 14" models. It seems they're not capitalising on the enthusiast
developer segment.

[0] [https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/Infos/Help-
Support/Freque...](https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/Infos/Help-
Support/Frequently-asked-questions/Keyboards-Layouts_1.tuxedo)

~~~
mikelward
Darn. Yeah, they confirmed the "US" layout is ISO.

------
blacksmith_tb
Hmm, seems a bit steep, price-wise. I am writing this on a cheap ($500ish USD)
Asus VivoBook w/ a Ryzen 7 3700U and Vega 10 gfx, it runs Ubuntu 20.04 without
any problems. The display is a bit dim, and it really ought to do usb-c pd,
but it was a bargain, so I can't complain too much.

------
t0ddbonzalez
Hard to justify spending €860 on a no-name brand when I can buy a Dell
Inspiron 15 3000 with the same spec for €550.

Ok, it comes with Windows 10 and it doesn't have a backlit keyboard but
neither of those things are deal breakers if I'm saving €300.

------
barbecue_sauce
Can anyone describe how a magnesium chassis compares to an aluminum chassis?

------
Pmop
I just wish laptop designers would stop copying Macbook form factor.

~~~
Awelton
I'm with you. I don't want a knockoff macbook, I want a modernized T420
thinkpad with a huge battery and a good keyboard.

------
illuminated
Id need a sim card slot implemented in order to consider thinking about buying
this laptop. I'm a Thinkpad user and my last and my current laptop are
equipped with one and it's such a convenience to have connectivity on demand
without sacrificing the phone's battery.

In order to actually buy this laptop, I'd really need it to have the
trackpoint. Implemented not like HP does it sometimes, or Dell, but like
Lenovo does it. The response and overall feel of the trackpad is the best
among the options I have tried so far.

Other present specs are more than fine.

------
btwotch
no trackpoint available :-(

~~~
iagovar
Feel you mate

------
eecc
Single channel RAM? What’s this nonsense

------
ThreeFx
Comes with an Intel wifi card if I'm not mistaken. Maybe update the title?

~~~
4cao
It's optional.

------
AlphaGeekZulu
I have to take up the cudgels on behalf of Tuxedo.

Tuxedo is a small company, not far from Munich, Germany. They have specialized
on assembling customized laptops that are guaranteed to work nicely with
Linux. They are owned by Schenker. You can think of them as the Linux
department of Schenker.

I bought a Tuxedo XUX707 almost 4 years ago, which they built to my ridicolous
specs: a desktop (!sic) i7-7700, GTX 1060, 32 GB RAM, 2x 2TB SSHD, 17" 4K
monitor, 1x HDMI, 2x DP. I need a computer that has the performance of a
desktop PC, but that I can take along once in a while if I have to. The
cooling of the Tuxedo is superb, the screen is fantastic, sound is good,
keyboard is ok, touchpad not so much. This "laptop" is bulky and heavy and
makes only 3 hours on the battery and of course it is like this, because the
cooling needs space - the CPU alone consumes up to 65 Watts. Who else would
build you such an unreasonable device, Linux-ready, with a 4 year warranty
(extra option)? I love this beast more than any computer I had before and the
price is unbelievably cheap compared to a Dell or Lenovo or a MacBook with
similar specs.

I run a second 4K monitor connected to one of the 3 video outlets and have
currently 16 USB devices connected. I later added a M.2-SSD-drive (there is
space for one more).

After two years I dropped the computer and the body cracked - not bad, the
computer continued to run nicely.

After three years the GPU developed issues - random black screen on boot,
which disappeared after a couple of restarts. It took me some while to
diagnose the problem and make sure that the NVIDIA card was the culprit. I
contacted Tuxedo support. They answered within 24 hours, had me run a system
report script (which I could inspect before), and sent me the stickers for
free mailing of the device to their headquarter. I asked, if I could send the
device without HDs and SSDs and they were happy with this and told me, that
they make the tests with prepared SSDs of their own. The device was checked,
they confirmed a damaged GPU and decided to replace it as guarantee item
without costs. I asked them, if they would replace the cracked body parts in
the process and that I would pay for this. They agreed. All communications was
per email and with fast response times. Just a summary: they agreed to process
my device with no storage devices, made no trouble because of the cracked body
and quickly deciced to replace a GPU that had random issues. Try this with
Apple!

It got even better: when the device came back, I put in my storage devices and
everything was working perfectly.

The body was completely replaced (two parts) for 60,- Euro. No assembly costs.

They noticed a Kensington adapter in the housing that I had forgotten about,
removed it from the broken part and returned it in a separate bag.

I had no idea that the M.2-slot could be connected to a dedicated heat pipe so
I never installed a heatpad for it. They found, though - although I had
removed all storage devices - from my system report, that I used to have a M.2
device built in (which was not part of the original computer) and put the
missing heatpad in place.

Finally, obviously because of all the nerdy stickers on my cover, they
included a bag with more nerdy stickers and some Linux magazines.

The service procedure was not fast: they check the problem at Tuxedos
Headquarter in Augsburg, then send it to Schenker in Leipzig for the
replacement and assembly, send it back to Augsburg for final quality control
before they deliver the device back to the customer. For me this is not a big
problem: if the computer is away for more than 24 hours, I have to switch to a
backup computer anyway (in this case a Lenovo W520). Tuxedo does not have the
size and logistics for super fast service. But the quality of the service, in
my experience, was stunning.

------
jotm
I hate myself for saying this, but guys, just get someone to fix up the
English around the website. It can't be that difficult. Looks like a great
product, aimed at a specific niche, I think details matter

~~~
weinzierl
It's a small shop in a mid-sized town in southern German - just give them some
slack...

~~~
jotm
I mean, I could rewrite the whole website in a couple of hours at most... I
buy from AliExpress and it always baffles me why most listings are so poorly
written. I've even offered to rewrite them properly but got no replies :D

Sales copy matters when someone views your website, it can increase conversion
by a noticeable margin. And it's easy to fix, just get some American or
British writer, maybe give them a discount on a new machine, I dunno :)

------
rolph
>ATTENTION: To use our store you have to activate JavaScript and deactivate
script blockers! Thank you for your understanding! <

too bad i thought it would be a good place but not from this angle

------
tontonius
2020 might be The Year of the linux desktop

~~~
analognoise
The year of the Linux Desktop will be when Microsoft offers transparent
support for it with WSL.

------
FunnyLookinHat
Getting a 500... anyone have a mirror?

------
analognoise
I stopped buying Linux only computers after buying a System76. I'll never make
that mistake again.

------
lucb1e
Wow, from the EU (no hassle with expensive shipping, either initially or for
warranty) and 830 euros for a laptop that would usually cost me ~1000 because
manufacturers usually force Microsoft tax, a GPU, and a new SSD on you (I
don't want a dedicated GPU but they always have one when the CPU is
reasonable; and I don't want an SSD because I already have my own). This is
pretty neat indeed!

The only nitpicks are:

\- a keyboard with a short left shift which doesn't work as well for my hands
(I worked with it every day for 6 months while writing PHP, i.e. constant
stretching to get to the $ symbol, but couldn't get used to it) and no numpad
despite being a 15" laptop, and

\- the battery can't be taken out. My current laptop (2 years old) has the
same issue and it already lost 25% capacity because I use it as a desktop much
of the time and it's charged at 100% capacity all day long. With my 2012
laptop I'd just pop out the battery at ~40-70% charge: it takes 4 seconds (I
didn't need to look or turn it over) and after 5 years of use the battery
reported having lost 3% capacity. I don't trust that number, that's too good
to be true with 2012 battery tech, but the runtime from 100%-0% was still
about half of what it was originally (and I used the battery daily, either for
standby mode between classes or on the train where I would, of course, have a
deeper discharge cycle than when near a power source).

But compare that to all the plus points that I see that many other reasonably-
priced (<1200 euro) laptops don't always have:

\+ No new SSD, a GPU, or Microsoft tax forced on you (as mentioned)

\+ WiFi 6

\+ reasonably-priced 16 or 32GB RAM option

\+ RJ45 connector without needing an adapter

\+ No Intel

\+ Big battery

\+ The up/down arrow keys are not shoved into a single (split) key! I don't
know who ever thought that was a good idea

\+ Pgup/dn/home/end are nicely reachable. Though I noticed it's actually not a
big deal to have them under Fn+arrow keys, I remember how much I got used to
my Asus EEE 1215n having this layout. While using that laptop, I'd miss the
layout even on a desktop keyboard where the keys are further away.

~ Screen brightness is specified (most of the time, you just have to hope that
the screen is readable in sunlight, though I used to work outside more when I
had a public transport route with switches so it's not very relevant for me
now)

~ USB-C capabilities mentioned, even if both displayport and power delivery
modes are a "no" it's good to know

~ earphones and microphone jack in one. Nice sometimes; super annoying when
you want a separate mic or some other device that uses the mic jack. I should
just find a splitter for that I guess, no getting around that anymore.

All in all, this is a steal and I'm considering getting one just to be rid of
my crappy Lenovo Ideapad (maybe I'll donate it to one of these organisations
that provide kids with laptops for corona-related homeschooling), but I don't
technically need it...

~~~
seltzered_
> \+ Screen brightness is specified (most of the time, you just have to hope
> that the screen is readable in sunlight, though I used to work outside more
> when I had a public transport route with switches so it's not very relevant
> for me now)

Luminance: 321 cd/m² (aka 321 nits)

That isn't bright enough for working outside. Macbooks are 500nits, iPads are
600nits. I'd pay extra for an option that went to 1000nits (HP elitebook
dragonfly / MSI are offering this).

~~~
lucb1e
Good point, I should change that to a ~ instead of a + because it's good that
they mention it even if the value is not what one might hope.

------
throwaway743
For $100 more you could get a laptop with a solid gpu and dual boot it.

