System76 · 2025
System76 Darter Pro (darp11)
A serviceable 16-inch Meteor Lake from System76 with a 165 Hz QHD+ panel, slotted RAM, a replaceable battery and a flawless Linux story out of the box. Build feel and an 8-hour battery are the compromises. For a no-surprises Linux daily, it earns its place.
Compiled from public sources and community data, not hands-on tested. What that means.
Best on popos. Confidence: high
Scores
Specs
| CPU | Intel Core Ultra 7 155H |
|---|---|
| GPU | Intel Arc Graphics (integrated) |
| RAM | 32 GB (slotted) |
| Storage | 1000 GB |
| Screen | 16" 2560x1600 @ 165Hz |
| Weight | 1.6 kg |
| Battery (real) | ~8 h |
Linux compatibility
- popos Out of the box
- Wi-Fi
- works
- Bluetooth
- works
- Fingerprint
- unknown
- Webcam
- works
- Audio
- works
- Suspend
- works
- fedora Out of the box
- Wi-Fi
- works
- Bluetooth
- works
- Fingerprint
- unknown
- Webcam
- works
- Audio
- works
- Suspend
- works
popos: Meteor Lake (Core Ultra 7 155H) in a System76 chassis with System76 Open Firmware (coreboot plus the System76 EC), so the firmware-level annoyances that hit generic Meteor Lake laptops are handled by the vendor. Ships Pop!_OS or Ubuntu. No fingerprint reader by design. Slotted SO-DIMM DDR5, replaceable NVMe and battery, genuinely serviceable. 16-inch 2560x1600 165 Hz panel. The trade is a thick plastic-ish chassis and a 73 Wh battery doing about 8 hours, not record-setting for a Meteor Lake-H. System76: Darter Pro product and Linux support →
fedora: Fedora 40 or newer installs clean; you lose the Pop!_OS power-profile integration polish but the hardware itself is standard Meteor Lake and clean on kernel 6.8.