14 DAY TRIAL // The Linux world has just received another monster laptop from System76, and the most notable tidbit concerns the processor that powers the whole thing.
While you’d normally expect one of the best Linux laptops out there to come with the latest-generation Intel chip, nope, this isn’t the case of the System76 Serval WS.
This laptop/workstation promises nothing more than insane performance, so contrary to everyone’s expectations, it’s not powered by Ryzen mobile chips, but by desktop-optimized 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen processors.
The workstation-class performance is offered by the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 3900, which comes with no less than 12 cores, being clocked at 3.1 GHz at normal speeds and 4.3 GHz in turbo mode.
“Having this kind of desktop-calibur power in a laptop body helps if you need to run complex simulations at your desk or quickly render 3D scenes while on the road. Another bonus: AMD CPUs are known for having the best price per performance out there,” System76 explains.
Price starting at $1,299
The 15.6-inch laptop is also equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti or an RTX 2070 and comes with a maximum of 64 GB of RAM.
“The Serval WS is the Miata of computers, combining the power of a desktop with the portability of a laptop together in a sleek chassis. It also features a large selection of performant components to choose from, such as NVIDIA GeForce GPUs and new 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen CPUs. There’s a lot to love about this laptop,” the company adds.
Now, don’t imagine this workhorse comes cheap. System76’s Serval WS starts at $1,299 for the base configuration, but it can obviously end up costing a lot more if you go for the top-of-the-range hardware. It runs either Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or Pop!_OS 20.04 LTS, and you’re allowed to choose the operating system when setting up the configuration.