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I recently bought a gen4 ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Despite a couple of issues first getting started with Linux (I've been using OS X for years aside from running Ubun

I recently bought a gen4 ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Despite a couple of issues first getting started with Linux (I've been using OS X for years aside from running Ubuntu on my web servers) I'm now happily on Fedora 23. There was a kernel bug that I think is being patched atm, requiring booting with intel_pstate=no_hwp but no problems with Fedora other than that. When discussing this on the ThinkPad subreddit a Red Hat employee mentioned that their standard issue work laptops are ThinkPads with Red Hat Enterprise installed, but most engineers then switch to Fedora. As a result Fedora tends to run very well on ThinkPads (according to him and in my so far limited experience), as they have many Red Hat engineers working on that OS every day.

Ao7bei3s 11y ago
The X1 Carbon has a Skylake CPU, so the problem that Linux doesn't have support for the higher C-states resulting in reduced battery life and reduced total CPU lifetime should apply to you, right?? Previous HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11492070 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11492070 (I have tested the predecessor (gen3) and liked it. I'm waiting for the 16GB gen4 X1 Carbon to become available here in Germany, drop enough in price to be affordable, and for Linux to support all the C-states.)
- drakonka 11y ago
  I think an upcoming patch is meant to greatly improve this, at least judging by this, aside from solving the boot parameter requirement issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/4c6q6w/fixing_intel_pstateno_hwp_issue_on_fedora_23_guide/ https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/4c6q6w/fixing_int... > I have finally compiled a patched kernel myself and couldn't be happier with results. Not only battery life increased (~1 additional hour), but what's more important, performance on battery improved significantly. (Note: I have not tried this myself yet...maybe this weekend) Some other possibly useful links I just came across related to this patch: - https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/4d6qj5/psa_linux_46rc2_contains_the_patch_needed_for/ https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/4d6qj5/psa_linux_... - https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/RawhideKernelNodebug https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/RawhideKernelNodebug
  - nja4 11y ago
    So, after this, my skylake xps 13 will be a better candidate for Ubuntu?
    - jpetso 11y ago
      Looking at the patch, it doesn't appear to tackle the sleep state coordination issues that mjg59 was talking about. Which doesn't mean that the impact of this patch on power savings isn't still nice to have. I figure it'll take them a while longer to get sleep states working as intended.
nxzero 11y ago
>> "Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel, who uses Fedora on all of his computers." Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_(operating_system) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_(operating_system) Be interesting to know what hardware Linus use, though given security is a low priorty for him, not sure what this would mean. Personally, I would like to know if the gen4 ThinkPad X1 Carbon (hardware, bios, firmware, drivers, etc) have any know exploits or notable security measures. Anyone know? EDIT: As a result of the comment below, as of 2012, Linus says, "I love my MacBook Air!" - source: http://www.cultofmac.com/162823/linux-creator-linus-torvalds-i-love-my-macbook-air/ http://www.cultofmac.com/162823/linux-creator-linus-torvalds...
- dnissley 11y ago
  Macbook Air 11": http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/skitched-20120424-122922.jpg http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/skitched...
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - ericlee4 11y ago
    More recently a Sony Vaio Pro according to this interview. http://www.businessinsider.com/linus-torvalds-qa-2014-6 http://www.businessinsider.com/linus-torvalds-qa-2014-6
    - AdmiralAsshat 11y ago
      He had a Chromebook Pixel before the Vaio. Wonder what made him switch.
      - lake99 11y ago
        I bet people give him tons of stuff for free.
- INTPenis 11y ago
ymse 11y ago
The high-end Thinkpads are generally safe choices. I've been really happy with my Broadwell X250, although there were similar kernel issues when it was flunking new. Still does ~20 hours with extended battery after more than a year of heavy usage. And they're some of the most robust portables available.

Ao7bei3s 11y ago

The X1 Carbon has a Skylake CPU, so the problem that Linux doesn't have support for the higher C-states resulting in reduced battery life and reduced total CPU lifetime should apply to you, right?? Previous HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11492070 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11492070 (I have tested the predecessor (gen3) and liked it. I'm waiting for the 16GB gen4 X1 Carbon to become available here in Germany, drop enough in price to be affordable, and for Linux to support all the C-states.)

drakonka 11y ago
I think an upcoming patch is meant to greatly improve this, at least judging by this, aside from solving the boot parameter requirement issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/4c6q6w/fixing_intel_pstateno_hwp_issue_on_fedora_23_guide/ https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/4c6q6w/fixing_int... > I have finally compiled a patched kernel myself and couldn't be happier with results. Not only battery life increased (~1 additional hour), but what's more important, performance on battery improved significantly. (Note: I have not tried this myself yet...maybe this weekend) Some other possibly useful links I just came across related to this patch: - https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/4d6qj5/psa_linux_46rc2_contains_the_patch_needed_for/ https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/4d6qj5/psa_linux_... - https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/RawhideKernelNodebug https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/RawhideKernelNodebug
- nja4 11y ago
  So, after this, my skylake xps 13 will be a better candidate for Ubuntu?
  - jpetso 11y ago
    Looking at the patch, it doesn't appear to tackle the sleep state coordination issues that mjg59 was talking about. Which doesn't mean that the impact of this patch on power savings isn't still nice to have. I figure it'll take them a while longer to get sleep states working as intended.

nxzero 11y ago

>> "Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel, who uses Fedora on all of his computers." Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_(operating_system) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_(operating_system) Be interesting to know what hardware Linus use, though given security is a low priorty for him, not sure what this would mean. Personally, I would like to know if the gen4 ThinkPad X1 Carbon (hardware, bios, firmware, drivers, etc) have any know exploits or notable security measures. Anyone know? EDIT: As a result of the comment below, as of 2012, Linus says, "I love my MacBook Air!" - source: http://www.cultofmac.com/162823/linux-creator-linus-torvalds-i-love-my-macbook-air/ http://www.cultofmac.com/162823/linux-creator-linus-torvalds...

dnissley 11y ago
Macbook Air 11": http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/skitched-20120424-122922.jpg http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/skitched...
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- ericlee4 11y ago
  More recently a Sony Vaio Pro according to this interview. http://www.businessinsider.com/linus-torvalds-qa-2014-6 http://www.businessinsider.com/linus-torvalds-qa-2014-6
  - AdmiralAsshat 11y ago
    He had a Chromebook Pixel before the Vaio. Wonder what made him switch.
    - lake99 11y ago
      I bet people give him tons of stuff for free.
INTPenis 11y ago

ymse 11y ago

The high-end Thinkpads are generally safe choices. I've been really happy with my Broadwell X250, although there were similar kernel issues when it was flunking new. Still does ~20 hours with extended battery after more than a year of heavy usage. And they're some of the most robust portables available.