I have 2 Dell Inspiron 1525 from 2008, still kicking bottoms as DAW under Manjaro.
I used to have a a Dell Latitude d630 from 2007 running Debian fine in 2018 but I gave it away.
Compared to my 2008 macbook pro, that cost me 1400€ at the time, and suddenly died on me 4 years later for no obvious reason (this series was subject to a recall campaign due to its nvidia 8600 gpu, but I missed the elegibility window by a few months).
TBH though, my dad uses a 2009 macbookpro with W10 and it runs just fine with an SSD. All in all, you never know, YMMV .
Likes it
I use a Dell Latitude D630 as my primary/only machine. It has a dual-core 2.4GHz Intel, with 4GB of memory. Serves my needs well - which include a lot of Chrome tabs open (around 30), development in
Eclipse with some decent size projects. I also develop using vim/gcc, but that's generally lighter-weight relative to Eclipse. I like having only one system to do all my work. I don't have to sync across multiple machines. I do take backups every week and use external keyboard/monitor to round it off ergonomically.
Likes it
I have a D630 and I agree; it is a laptop and does all the right laptop things. However: I got my wife a Dell E4300 and had many problems. Other colleagues have got other E series Dells have have had basic problems like not being able to suspend/resume under Windows and being forced to run a single core to get basic reliable operation. See, for example: http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19245498.aspx?PageInde... http://www.datapoohbah.com/tech/2008/12/16/dell-e4300-is-bit... I don't know if things have improved, but based on my experience the D630 was the last good laptop from Dell.
Doesn’t like it
You joke, but... my work laptop (Dell D630) has some low-end intel video card, and it can't even drive dual monitors. The redraw when I switch between workspaces -- which I do a lot, especially when on the built-in screen -- is painful :(
Recommends it
After my Thinkpad T30 got increasingly flaky (the memory slot failure issue hit me, then a MB flex issue (picking up the laptop on one specific corner causes the unit to freeze) as well as a cracked screw requiring a full disassembly to retrieve the loose metal), I did some extensive research online for a solid laptop which is not the newest model (so that bug reports can filter in). I also ended up with a Dell Latitude D630. It's built like a tank, much more solid than my T30, easier to disassemble as well. I could not find any widely reported problems with this laptop. Note that because this is a business laptop, it only has a mono speaker buried under the keyboard, it's my only complaint.