- GB5 CPU Single-threaded: 1656
- GB5 CPU Multi-threaded: 5704
- GB5 dGPU Compute (CUDA): 45138
- GB5 dGPU Compute (OpenCL): 44401
- GB5 iGPU Compute (OpenCL): 13295
- CPU: 19-29fps
- iGPU: 19-21fps
- dGPU: 20fps
https://system76.com/laptops/galago
My goal was to best my 2015 rMBP dGPU with an iGPU build and aside from the lack of VRAM (and support from DaVinci Resolve for Intel iGPU), it's a success. With the dGPU, it's a blow out. Simply put, it performs well in comparison to all computers and performs excellently when compared to thin and light laptops. The ethernet (1Gbps) and USB ports (5Gbps and 10GBps) all perform at practical limits while the SDXC card reader is pretty fast (80MB/s) though doesn't seem to support UHS-II.
Nice and light at just over 3lbs, 14" screen might be the sweet spot (if not a touch too small given the scaling).
I've contacted System76 dozens of times (pre-sales, during assembly, technical support) and I've had pleasant experiences. Questions answered sufficiently, problems either solved or clarified and my first galp5 return accepted painlessly. Additionally, my interactions with engineers on chat and GitHub have been fantastic. I've never touched Rust (language), but there's a channel on chat just for learning Rust and with a couple of pointers I was able to submit a pull request
While I haven't tested this thoroughly, looks like 3-4 hours of casual browser use.
When in standby (clamshell shut), expect ~2%/hour or about 48 hours of total standby time. I'll look into implementing hiberation myself if it becomes a bother. System76 recommends shutting down rather than standby, doesn't sound like they're working on improving standby time. UPDATE: I've enabled suspend-then-hibernate using this as a rough guide. Laptop will now hibernate after 2 hours of suspend. Unfortunately, on Pop!_OS 20.10, resuming from hibernation only works with "integrated graphics" mode seleceted, likely some NVIDIA driver bug or incompatibility.
16:9 1080p and sRGB gamut :/ Not a deal breaker thus far.
Truly, the low point of this package. Doesn't matter much to me thankfully.
Not as smooth as Apple and the clicking becomes "harder" towards the top of the trackpad. I've adjusted by now, but I wasn't sure that I would initially.
While I've updated firmware to make the fan curve and smoothness of adjustment to my liking, it's true that the fan noise is a bit high-pitched. It's taken me a long while to realize, but the high-pitch fan noise on my machine is not the fan itself but the air that's being pushed out. With the galp5 on my lap, I can tilt and move the laptop around and modify that sound. So it's actually something of a whistle noise that is less a problem when on a desk.
If you're in the US, I'd say you should be confident that actual defects will be handled by S76, but you'll likely be out of a laptop while they handle it. For example, my first galp5 had a bad Thunderbolt 4 port. Within the first 30 days, I was able to return the machine for a full refund and return shipping covered. S76 was unable to offer me advance or cross shipment of a replacement (or perhaps my addition of a dGPU configuration made that impossible, can't remember) and instead I purchased a replacement (out of pocket), waited for it to arrive, and then returned the old one so that I wasn't without laptop for any length of time.
Later, the top cover of the chassis (what surrounds the keyboard) developed a crack. I decided to have it repaired at no cost during the 12 month warranty period, but this time I'd be without a laptop for a month or so. I picked up a Frame.work DIY edition with no RAM or storage and just migrated those from my galp5 before I sent the galp5 off for repair. So while S76 took care of these two issues, you should be aware of these details. On the other hand, they are eager to hold your hand through any repairs that can be done by an end user. Supposing you had bad memory or storage, I believe they'd ship those to you rather than you shipping them your machine. Ask S76 directly though, I had so many tickets open before making a purchase.
Yes, I'm happy with the purchase. It's money well spent. I have a DIY i5 framework on order right now and I'd say that's worth looking into to as well.