TechRadar Verdict
The Darter Pro by System76 stands out in the Linux laptop market.
It offers impressive performance, open-source firmware, and a user-friendly experience.
It’s well-packaged, secure, and straightforward.
The laptop is constructed from alloy and plastic, giving it a sturdy yet lightweight feel.
The lid and bottom panels are made of magnesium, while the bezel and palm rest are plastic.
Setting up the Darter Pro is straightforward, with options to configure the system upon the first boot.
Users can opt to set up full-disk encryption and select their preferred language and keyboard layout.
For more options, check out our review of thebest Linux distro.
It’s made of a magnesium alloy and plastic combination, which balances weight and durability well.
However, users should be cautious with the hinges.
It’s a bit heavy but easy to toss in a backpack and take wherever you go.
The 14-inch variant weighs around 3.5 lbs and the 16-inch variant around 4.25 lbs.
Regardless, it appeals to professional users with the sleek look many laptop manufacturers seek.
This laptop will fit right in with the other available options.
The overall UI is responsive and fast, programs load quickly, and multitasking is a breeze.
My Darter Pro has 32GB of RAM, an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, and 500GB of Storage.
I am still looking for the limits of what this workhorse can do.
I’ve run my daily tasks here, and I am barely even breathing under the load.
I’ve run tests through Basemark, and it scored 1017.69.
I experienced around 8.5-9 hours of battery life under light to moderate usage.
However, high-performance tasks might reduce this significantly, especially if you push the RAM more than I am.
The keyboard is responsive, though some might find the minor right shift key inconvenient.
Typing all day on this keyboard is comfortable.
The trackpad is functional but may require some getting used to.
I am pressing through the trackpad to click, but the tapping functionality works seamlessly.
The Darter Pro has a USB-A, headphone jack, and microSD slot on the left side.
On the back, System76 included an HDMI and a online grid port.
If you wanted one of thebest business laptopsrunning Linux, this is worth consideration.
For more Linux hardware, we tested out thebest Linux PC
