This is a list of reviews of System76 laptop and desktop computers by various authors for five years from 2015 to 2019. This continues the 1st part we published last February. We hope this helps you choose the best branded GNU/Linux workstation for your daily life. Enjoy!
2015
Meerkat by Betanews
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This review is written by Brian Fagioli. Meerkat is not a laptop but a mini PC, that is, just a small desktop computer without monitor, mouse and keyboard. It is an i3 8GB 32GB-SSD with Intel HD 55000 Graphics and Ubuntu 15.04 "Vivid Vervet" preinstalled. He stated that " Out of the box, all of the hardware works -- including Wi-Fi -- making it a superb Linux experience."
*) Note that the name meerkat coincidentally was the same as Ubuntu 10.10 codename "Maverick Meerkat".
Oryx Pro by Beta News
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This review is also written by Brian. Oryx Pro is a gaming model of System76 laptops. It is an i7 32GB 256GB-SSD with NVIDIA 980M and preinstalled with Ubuntu 15.10 "Wily Werewolf". The author stated the battery life is about 2 hours. He concluded "if you crave raw power and beautiful design -- portability be damned -- this is the Linux laptop for you. Very much recommended."
2016
Lemur by Wired
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This review is written by Scott Gilbertson. Lemur is a portable workstation model (low-end) of System76 laptops (however, it is still very configurable). It was an i7 8GB 120GB-SSD with Intel 520 Graphics. The author stated that the battery life was almost 5 hours. He concluded "Despite the dismal battery life, the Lemur is a solid laptop, [...] it's plenty powerful enough for the average Linux user."
This review is also written by Scott Gilbertson (he wrote for both Wired and Ars Technica, see above). Oryx Pro is the powerful model of System76 laptops. It was an i7 32GB-RAM 256GB-SSD with NVIDIA GTX 1060 GPU preinstalled with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus". The author did not state clearly about battery life in general, but specifically stated "about 1.5 hours" when running a video editor.vHe concluded that "Excellent hardware support for Linux" but "It's big and it's heavy".
Oryx Pro
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This review is written by Swapnil Bhartiya. It was an i7 8GB (he didn't state the SSD capacity) with NVIDIA 970M. He stated it was preinstalled with Ubuntu but unfortunately the photos were already lost. He concluded "This is a perfect laptop for those who want a powerhouse computer []...at home, office or in a small businesses without having to deal with a bulky and messy desktop.[] Oryx Pro comes with Ubuntu, [...] If you are looking for a decent laptop that has desktop grade power then Oryx Pro is a great contender. "
2017
Galago Pro by Ars Technica
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This review is written by Scott Gilbertson again. Galago Pro is a lightweight powerful model of System76 laptops with similarity to MacBook Pro. It was an i7 8GB 250GB-SSD with Intel HD Graphics 620 preinstalled with 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus". He stated the battery life was about 3.5 hours. He concluded "Trouble-free Linux on good, lightweight hardware" but "Battery life could be better, much better".
Galago Pro by TechRadar
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This article is written by Chris Thornett. The same Galago Pro here was an i7 8GB 250GB-SSD with Intel HD Graphics 620 preinstalled with Ubuntu 17.04 "Zesty Zapus". He confirmed the battery life was about 3:58 hours. He concluded "A high-end laptop that offers a stylish all-aluminium design, lots of processing power [...] Battery life is disappointing".
Galago Pro by CIO
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This article is written by Swapnil too. The same Galago Pro here was an i7 8GB 250GB-SSD (NVMe) with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus". The author once again didn't specify any battery life. He concluded "Galago Pro is a great option for a wide range of users [...] also a great choice for IT shops that offer Linux laptops to their developers".
This article is written by Brian Fagioli. The same Galago pro here was an i7 8GB 250GB-SSD (NVMe) with Intel HD Graphics 620 but the author didn't state clearly which version of Ubuntu preinstalled in it. He stated the battery life was 5 hours "between charges". He concluded "Ultimately, the System76 Galago Pro is an excellent portable computer that Ubuntu Linux users will love" but "this is not a gaming machine" and "truly is the MacBook Pro alternative that the Linux community has been waiting for."
2018
Oryx Pro by Memin
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This review is Part 1 written by Memin.tk (it is still incomplete, with no Part 2 available until today). In this part, he reviewed about the physical aspects of the laptop. It was an i7 32GB 500GB-SSD (NVMe) with Pop!_Os 18.04 LTS. The author provided several photos comparing Oryx Pro with MacBook Pro and Dell Latitute physically. He did not state about the battery life, but initially conclude "It’s a supreme computer even by only its hardware and probably one of the best choice if you are looking for a GNU/Linux laptop.".Oryx Pro by Linux Journal
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Galago Pro by Josh Tronic
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Galago Pro by Linux Attorney
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Wild Dog Pro (PC) by Home Tech Hacker
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Serval WS by Adventures in Open Source
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2019
Thelio (PC)
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Darter Pro by OpenSource.com
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You've reached the end of this big list 2015-2019. Look forward for the next collection lists here at Ubuntu Buzz. We hope this big list will help everybody choose the best laptop preinstalled with Free Libre Open Source Software (FOSS). Happy reading!