Review: System76 Lemur

Linux workstations are like recumbent bicycles. Most people agree they're the most efficient and ideal solution, but the only people you ever see using them are tinkerers and bearded wizards.

At this point we can assume Linux will never evolve into the mainstream desktop operating system it advocates once promised it would be. But even though it's a niche OS in the world of desktop computing, fans of free software are getting increasingly impressive hardware tailored to their needs. Linux-devoted hardware makers like ZaReason, Purism, and System76 sell excellent machines with Linux pre-installed.

Why would even the biggest of Linux fans need dedicated Linux hardware? Well, aside from getting rid of that pesky Windows key, the big draw is that your hardware arrives in the box pre-configured. You just boot it up and start cooking. There's no need to wrestle with obscure drivers, risk switching to an unsupported screen resolution, or face any of the other problems Linux users face when re-purposing Windows machines.

I've been using System76's recently revamped Lemur laptop for more than a month now. I am happy to report that yes, it is rather nice to not ever have to think about drivers or hardware at all. In fact, it reminds me of what Apple hardware was like seven years ago: everything just works. All of my day-to-day applications and tasks ran perfectly—except for Skype, but that's not surprising given its current owner (and my problems appear to have been the result of a bug in Ubuntu, not System76 hardware).

The Lemur is ostensibly System76's low-end laptop. It's certainly the cheapest at the base configuration, but that's not really the whole story, as the Lemur is highly configurable. The machine starts at $649, which gets you an Intel i3 chip at 2.3GHz, along with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB spinning 7,200rpm drive. From there, you can run all the way up to $2,250, for a i7-6500Ui processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB M.2 SSD and another 2TB SSD.

All models feature a very nice 14.1-inch 1920×1080 matte IPS display, Intel 520 graphics card, multitouch touchpad, a chiclet-style keyboard, HDMI and (ugh) VGA ports, a 720p webcam and a removable four-cell battery. Yes, a removable battery—so you can buy a few extras to swap in and out. All of that comes in metal-framed, understated gray plastic package that weighs 3.6 pounds.

The particular model System76 sent me features the i7 processor, 8 GB RAM and 120GB M.2 SSD, putting it pretty squarely in the middle of the Lemur lineup. My test machine retails for $927.

Like all System76 machines it came preloaded with the latest version of Ubuntu Linux (and features the Ubuntu logo on the "Windows" key). If you're already a Linux user, this is familiar territory. If Ubuntu is not to your liking, System76 machines work just fine with all the version of Linux I loaded up (Mint, Debian and Fedora). Official support is limited to Ubuntu, but unofficially the System76 folks I talked to said they would always do what they could to provide guidance for users who opt for a different distro.

And this is precisely the advantage of System76 machines over, say, Dell's Precision and Latitude models, which are optimized for Ubuntu. In a word: support. While Dell's support has been, in my experience with the first round of XPS 13 Developer Edition laptops, hit or miss, System76's support has been nothing short of amazing. It might help that System76's Linux support isn't a goodwill effort for a small group of developers. It is in fact core to the company's business, and it won't disappear on you. That said, everything in my test machine worked really well, so you may not even need the support.

The Lemur is not the company's most powerful rig. If you want something beefier, check out System76's Oryx Pro, which can pack in up to 64GB of RAM and 5 terabytes of solid-state storage. But even the middleweight Lemur was able to handle everything I do on a regular basis. It didn't have too much trouble with the hardcore stuff like editing a reasonably large 30,000-image photo library in Darktable and editing 4K video using Kdenlive. Rendering video did take quite a while, but that's true with my 2012 Macbook Pro as well.

Where the Lemur falls on its face is battery life. System76 claims the battery will last through a cross-country flight. That's an interestingly vague metric, but assuming it means four and a half hours, I'd agree.

I was able to get almost five hours of battery life when I stuck to basic Web browsing and text editing. That's OK for a $700 laptop, but pretty bad if you spend $2,000 or more on one of the higher-end Lemur models. On the plus side, we are talking about a removable battery, so you can always pick up a spare. In fact, I suggest you definitely do that if your work keeps you away from a power source all day.

Despite the dismal battery life, the Lemur is a solid laptop, the first I've tested that I wish I could keep. The design is simple and well thought out, the hardware works flawlessly with Linux, and at the mid-to-upper end of the configuration spectrum, it's plenty powerful enough for the average Linux user.