Review: System76 Pangolin

Linux may not have evolved (yet!) into the mainstream desktop operating system its advocates had hoped for, but fans of free software have never had it so good. Dell, Lenovo, HP, Purism, and System76 all sell excellent Linux-based hardware. Time-travel back to 2012 to shout the good news and you'll have trouble convincing even the Linux faithful that the future is even brighter than they're dreaming.

Yet here we are. For the past six weeks, I've been working on a System76 Pangolin laptop without ever giving a thought to the fact that I am not using Windows. Everything just works. The operating system is integrated with the hardware. The hardware is outstanding (more on that below), and I am hard-pressed to find anything to complain about.

Photograph: System76

System76 has been making Linux laptops longer than most of the big names it now competes against, and in most respects, it's way ahead. The Pangolin line launched two years ago as the company's first AMD laptop, and the latest iteration features a Ryzen 7 6800U processor, with 32 gigabytes of RAM and up to 16 terabytes of SSD storage. 

The 16-terabyte model does not come cheap. The base Pangolin is a reasonable $1,299, which gets you a single 250-gigabyte SSD (with a slot for a second). Fully decked out at 16 terabytes, you're looking at $4,213. Most people don't need that much storage, but I especially like having two drive slots, which gives you the flexibility to upgrade down the road.

The 15-inch screen is my least favorite part of this laptop—it's just too big for me—but if you love a huge screen and a 10-key number pad, the Pangolin delivers. This laptop gets some major bonus points for the matte display, as it reduces the amount of glare, making it easier to read. The screen has a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution and a 144-Hz refresh rate, which is nice for gaming too. Unlike some of System76's other laptops, there is no 4K option for the Pangolin, which is a shame.

The size makes the Pangolin on the heavy side at just shy of 4 pounds. That's not overly heavy for a 15-inch laptop, but it definitely feels large coming from a 2.5-pound 13-inch laptop. The build quality is great. It's not quite ThinkPad-level great, but it's as close as you're going to get without buying a ThinkPad.

This Pangolin remains impressively thin at under an inch, despite the plethora of ports that System76 has packed in. There's Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port (with DisplayPort support, but not Thunderbolt), three USB-A ports, a 3.5-mm headphone/microphone combo jack, and a full-size SD card reader (which can be used to boot as well). I can't tell you how much I miss full-size SD card readers. Also note that, unlike the previous model, this laptop can charge over USB-C. System76 provides a barrel-style charge cord, but I primarily charged it using my own USB-C charger (this Satechi).

System76 has included a physical webcam kill switch for privacy. I was curious how this works, and after a bit of tinkering, I discovered that it does indeed completely cut off power to the camera. It's a nice little feature for those that want it—saves you some electrical tape.

I really like the Pangolin's keyboard. The keys have a pleasant bounciness to them with a nice return. The keys seem ever so slightly larger than what I am used to on my Lenovo, which took a minute to adjust to, but once I was comfortable I much preferred the System76 keyboard. However, I am not a fan of number pads and how they make the rest of the keyboard (and trackpad) off-center. It didn't bother me enough to be a deal-breaker, but I'd love to see an option not to have a number pad, I have no problem with dead space to the side of my keyboard. I should also mention that I am a key pounder, and everyone in my family commented on how quiet the Pangolin keyboard was compared to, apparently, every other laptop I type on.

The AMD Ryzen 7 6800U chip delivers impressive performance. Sysbench scores were well above any other Linux laptops I've tested recently (I got 4,786 events per second on a single core). It doesn't have a dedicated graphics card, but I found that the integrated graphics performed very well compared to previous-generation AMD graphics. Also, open source purists should note that AMD still doesn't work with Coreboot, so the Pangolin does not use open firmware.

If you're looking for a full-time gaming rig, this isn't going to cut it, but for the casual gamer, the Pangolin will be able to hold its own. The bottom line is that this is a plenty powerful machine for most people. The main limitation for some will be the 32 gigabytes of RAM, which is not upgradeable, but it should be plenty for most people.

Battery life in Linux is often … not great. I am happy to report that the Pangolin managed 8.5 hours of battery life in our standard battery drain test, which involves playing a 1080p video at 75 percent brightness with networking turned off. That's actually quite good for a screen this size, and the better news is that in real-world use, I almost always got through a full workday without needing a charger. (If you want to pair it with a portable battery, be sure to get something capable of delivering 65 watts.)

Photograph: System76

As with all of System76’s Linux-powered laptops, the all-new Pangolin comes with System76’s custom-built Pop!_OS Linux distribution installed. As I said when I reviewed HP's Dev One laptop, which also ran Pop!_OS, this is the best user experience I've seen on a Linux desktop. It manages to be easy enough for Linux newcomers to find their way around, while still offering a good amount of power-user features. Want tiling windows? Just toggle a switch in a toolbar menu. There are loads of (customizable) keyboard shortcuts for developers who eschew the mouse, and there are plenty of trackpad gestures to control workspaces, window focus, and more.

I might be biased as a long-time Linux user, but to my mind, the user experience of Pop!_OS is better than what you'll get on MacOS or Windows. If you do have an issue, this is one of the easiest systems to get help for. At the bottom of the Settings menu, there's a Support panel. From there you can get to online documentation and community support chat (which often includes System76 engineers), and, if all else fails, you can submit a support ticket, complete with log files for System76's support staff to help you out. If you're a seasoned Linux user with your own preferred distro, you can wipe Pop!_OS and install your favorite. I tested Arch Linux and it installed and worked without any special effort on my end.

One last thing—every time I review a System76 laptop, someone shows up in the comments like Comic Store guy from The Simpsons and says, “Ahem, excuse me, these are actually just rebranded Clevo laptops.” So let's get this out of the way: Not really. System76 works with upstream manufacturers like Clevo to spec out systems with hardware components that work with Linux and then writes its own drivers where needed to make sure that the finished product is a seamless experience. Naturally, Clevo also offers up a similar-looking chassis for sale, but there's none of the custom firmware or drivers that make it works so well. 

Is the Pangolin for you? Set aside Linux for a minute. You'd be hard-pressed to find another laptop with these specs for $1,300, regardless of what operating system it uses. If you're a Linux user looking for a 15-inch laptop with all the bells and whistles, then I would call the Pangolin one of the best values on the market.