Stuck choosing between ext4 and ext3 for the file system

Asking "Will ext4 work with my harddisk" is similar to asking "Will this font work with my paper?". Any normal harddisk (or SSD) is essentially a very large blank sleet. Ext3 and ext4 are ways in which Linux divides that large blank sheet in smaller parts, for individual files. Like fonts, within reasonable bounds you can use any file system with any harddisk. Sure, you can't use a 1000 point font on a business card, or Ext1 on a modern harddisk, but Linux is offering reasonable defaults here.

Check out my post from a while back. ext4 is a great filesystem and I definately recommend you use it for your laptop.

After extensive tests, Google had decided to switch from ext2 to ext4, skipping ext3, because of its advancements such as speed, reliability... They're probably the largest datacenter in the world and they know what's better. Now you know what to choose for your own.

• Google switching to EXT4 filesystem
• Google To Switch To EXT4, Hires Ted To Code