System 76 Serval Review and truth about System 76 laptops

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  • Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
  • I review the System 76 Serval WS laptop after 1 year of ownership and do a deep dive into System 76’s open firmware. I discuss some of the downsides of System 76’s firmware and look at its performance.
    Join me as you get a real review from a real user with 1 years worth of experience with the laptop.

Комментарии • 23

  • @sherrilltechnology
    @sherrilltechnology 4 месяца назад +7

    I went to their factory last week and it was awesome to see the process of how they do everything, and a great group of people!!

  • @apilot22
    @apilot22 Месяц назад +3

    Thank you very much for your review of this laptop...I am considering coming off Windows and moving to a Linux/Unix-based system, I have years of end-user experience on MacOS and Windows but having control is my next step...thank you

  • @i_accept_all_cookies
    @i_accept_all_cookies 6 месяцев назад +1

    Thanks for the review, I also have a MacBook Pro (2019) and I'm considering this laptop. I noticed that many PRs are getting merged, so that's a good sign.

  • @ronnielane6903
    @ronnielane6903 3 месяца назад +1

    Posting this comment now from a brand new Serval WS laptop. The fans really do sound like a jet taking off at 5000-6000 rpms, but on the 'battery life' mode it's a lot more smooth. I might try the custom fan curve you suggested in your other video.

  • @zair1604
    @zair1604 7 месяцев назад

    Never got one but always wondered. A good detailed review

  • @Soundlesskitty
    @Soundlesskitty 7 месяцев назад +7

    2.5 hrs on the battery power profile / hybrid graphics with a dim screen? That's rough.. I'm seeing similar life on my Thinkpad X1 Carbon Extreme Gen 4 with ~83% battery health (i9-11950H, RTX 3080, also on Pop!_OS 22.04 - `upower` reports 74.97 Wh available out of 90.09 on the battery) and the same power profile / hybrid mode with ~30% brightness. Was hoping to see that the models from System76 might be a bit better power-calibrated or something.
    Love the OS, but man I want a machine that can deliver great performance (both CPU and GPU) with good efficiency and without getting extremely hot / requiring loud fans with significant ventilation. Seems like Macbook Pros are the only real option these days if you want that stuff. But I'm with you on MacOS lol

  • @dbtech4562
    @dbtech4562 2 месяца назад +1

    After hearing that fan, I think I'll get the System76 desktop.

  • @joshuawalls8697
    @joshuawalls8697 3 месяца назад +1

    The Darter Pro 9 seems to get good reviews and you can get up to 96gb of ram as well as 8TB of storage.

  • @ultraboykj
    @ultraboykj 8 месяцев назад +1

    I am looking at getting the 2048 version of this laptop. Appreciate the review. Thank you.

  • @mustafayazlmc3973
    @mustafayazlmc3973 Месяц назад

    Keep it up ilike your review i need to learn how to use linux laptop effectively ❤

  • @ronnielane6903
    @ronnielane6903 4 месяца назад

    Thanks for the review. I am very close to buying one. I am just so fed up with Windows, the way they use their products to aggressively shove politics and ads in your face, and it seems like all Windows systems and software are designed to lock the user out of any customization or automation. What a mess.

  • @Michael-dl6nr
    @Michael-dl6nr 14 дней назад

    First of all that's... OEM laptop, it's made by Clevo and given the logo the company tells to put and a slightly redesigned fan/power control software for Windows (even in windows the software kinda doesn't even try to hide the fact of OEM). Google gigabyte g5/ardor gaming (russian but still a point)/zxc they are all the same, and you kinda see the similarities: same keyboard, same monitor, same design, same loudness, same problems, same motherboard...

    • @LikeFury
      @LikeFury  13 дней назад +1

      Yeah, you are right. The MAC address of the network card even comes back as a Clevo as well. The only System76 bits here is the Coreboot firmware and their PopOS distro which is probably why they are leaning hard into their PopOS work rather than their hardware. Tuxedo computers could be the same as well.

  • @NotOrdinaryInGames
    @NotOrdinaryInGames 5 месяцев назад

    Fans can only be too loud if:
    >they are not very good period
    >fan management is poor
    I see you solved the issue partly (eventually), but........ are the fans simply less than great?

    • @LikeFury
      @LikeFury  5 месяцев назад +2

      The fan management could definitely be better from factory. But fundamentally this is a work station grade laptop and the power limits are high, this is a 200W+ laptop. Laptop fans can only do so much when you have that much power in a small form factor. The price you pay for mobility + performance is noise.

    • @NotOrdinaryInGames
      @NotOrdinaryInGames 5 месяцев назад +1

      @@LikeFury A 3rd problem is perhaps CPU going overtime when used for something as small as web browsing. Merely using the browser should be easy for a powerful CPU. Point is, a powerful machine should not overheat when doing something easy.

  • @CrescentRollCarl
    @CrescentRollCarl 6 месяцев назад

    Are you using any CPU freq scaling? That battery life is really bad. Arch doesn't install one automatically. On my system 76 pangolin I went from about 2.5 hours to 8 hours.

  • @BobDoe_69
    @BobDoe_69 5 месяцев назад

    ty

  • @washitech
    @washitech Месяц назад

    Eu queria que tivesse no Brasil😔

  • @Todeskulte_enttarnt
    @Todeskulte_enttarnt 6 месяцев назад

    Offenes Bios, IME abschaltbar usw. wußte ich nicht, toll. Danke.
    Gibts noch n anderen Hersteller, der das kann?

  • @Yudikab
    @Yudikab 6 месяцев назад

    i like this laptop too man.

  • @umayerreza
    @umayerreza 7 месяцев назад +7

    The horrible sound quality!!