Alienware Aurora support for Linux

Its not on the certified list. None of the Gaming systems are. Dell only provides linux support IF you buy with Linux pre installed.  Linux is nothing but a UNIX os which was written Linus Torvalds from scratch with the help of some engineers across the globe. Unix and Unix-like operating systems are a family of computer operating systems that derive from the original Unix System from Bell Labs which can be traced back to 1965. AT&T system 5 Unix and Bell Labs Unix go back to the first mainframe machines from the 60s and 70s

https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/overview/cp/linuxsystems

https://certification.ubuntu.com/hardware/201912-27649

If you need Linux and a modern system buy a Precision 3640 with Ubuntu Pre installed by Dell. It comes with 1000W power supply option as well as Redhat and Ubuntu and other linux Distro support if you buy it from dell with linux pre installed.  Installing dual boot is relatively easy with this model.

Do not buy a G5 or 8940 as they are not upgrade able or maintainable due to proprietary power supply that does not have an 850W or 1000W option EVER .

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Unix_history-simple.svg

For over 20 years Dell has offered Linux-based workstations and laptops for businesses, engineers and scientists. A few years ago via Project Sputnik our portfolio expanded to include developer-targeted laptops and mobile workstations. These systems come with Ubuntu preloaded and are certified for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

With Canonical and Red Hat certification, Dell validation, and factory install options, you can be assured that your system just works.

Precursor note:

• I don't work for Dell Services Federal Government anymore and I'm by no means a Dell employee anymore.
• I've had this Dell G5-5587 Gaming laptop since 2018/2019, and hands down I would still buy another Dell system running Ubuntu Linux by default. 

Just an FYI in hopes this will help people:

I am currently running Ubuntu 20.04LTS on a Dell G5-5587 Gaming Laptop. I started out running Ubuntu 18.04LTS though. I changed out the laptop's default M2 128GB SSD for a 512GB Samsung 970 NVMe, removed the SATA drive (which shaves off some weight of the laptop) and changed out the laptop system to have 32GB of RAM over the 16GB RAM (SK Hynix RAM modules) the laptop came with by default.

You will need find the workarounds for the issue related to the Nvidia Video card and the on-board Intel Video card switching issue by installing the nVidia Video Drivers along with disabling a few Kernel Flags after the installation for the laptop to be forced to use either or video cards. You will have to use the nvidia-settings to change between video cards (which would allow the laptop to output 4k through the HDMI). But overall the laptop works flawlessly and was my replacement for my 15" 2012 MacBook Pro Retina.

The WiFi is NOT perfect though but it still works very well. Every so often it has issues and you have to disconnect and re-connect the WiFi.

I'm posting this from an Aurora R12 with an RTX 3090 running Ubuntu 21.04. Ubuntu 20.04 wasn't able to find the wired ethernet (wireless worked), so I switched to 21.04 and it worked fine.

I originally tried installing on the second (spinning rust) hard drive, and IO performance was dreadful. I then switched to installing on the main SSD and it's been fine since then.

Hey NotASnark, just wondering if Ubuntu on Aurora R12 is proving to be a stable and if the secondary drive works OK?