5 ms·

Ubuntu 18.04 is pretty buggy on my Thinkpad P50, too (graphics problems, trackpad issues, poor battery life, no backlight adjustment, etc). And Gnome is just ri

Ubuntu 18.04 is pretty buggy on my Thinkpad P50, too (graphics problems, trackpad issues, poor battery life, no backlight adjustment, etc). And Gnome is just ridiculously slow compared to Windows and macOS. I’m still not sure there is a Linux laptop out there that just works.

richjdsmith 8y ago
That is unfortunate to hear :/ I was seriously considering ditching MacOS on my next laptop and pick up a thinkpad carbon x1 with Ubuntu 18.04. Really hoping this improves.
- symfoniq 8y ago
  Be aware that Lenovo has removed an ACPI sleep state from the 6th generation Carbon X1 that is causing sleep issues on Linux. There is a workaround but it looks pretty gnarly.
  - sofaofthedamned 8y ago
    AFAIK this is mandated by Microsoft for Windows compatibility. To support the latest s0i3 (hybrid sleep, like a smartphone) the machine is not allowed to support S3 (normal sleep) TBF Linux does support s0i3,but not as well as Windows. On my X1 Carbon (2018) I had to disable a whole lot of stuff as well as do some kernel command-line fiddling. Once I did this, however, it was better than Windows. I do boot into Windows on this laptop every month or so 'cos Windows Update. Each time the fans go crazy - I will say I never see the fans go like this in Linux. It's unbelievable that in 2018 just logging into a Windows box will make it go batshit insane and require multiple reboots before it settles down. It's these times I really appreciate apt/dnf/yum etc.
    - dmm 8y ago
      It's a standard ACPI feature to provide different tables for different operating systems. Computer makers could have enabled S3 for anything not microsoft.
      - sofaofthedamned 8y ago
        Yeah agreed it's a weak excuse, but from memory it's the one Lenovo used on their forum when asked about the issue.
- richdougherty 8y ago
  I think that the 18.04 release (being a Long-Term Support release) might have more conservative drivers than 17.10 has or 18.10 will have. So if you're on a laptop, you might get a better experience with one of the more "unstable" releases. At least this has been what I've observed for Dell XPS 15 support.
  - sofaofthedamned 8y ago
    Exactly. Newer processors require stuff that isn't generally backported quickly. I'm running Fedora 28, Rawhide kernel and a couple of tweaks on my X1 Carbon 2018 and it is awesome.
- srazzaque 8y ago
  If buying a ThinkPad, definitely consider Fedora Workstation. I used Ubuntu for a few years before getting frustrated with some hardware+docking wake up issues, switched to Fedora and have not looked back. Also I hear a lot of the Fedora devs themselves use ThinkPads, so there's that too.
  - clircle 8y ago
    Using Debian Mate on a T460 and I have to say I'm quite pleased. Sure Debian is stale, but as long as I can get a recent Firefox and Emacs, that's all the bleeding edge that I want. If I had a new Thinkpad T480, I would probably choose Fedora. Unfortunately, as a home Linux user, I find that the best strategy is to avoid new hardware.
  - freedomben 8y ago
    This is my current setup. Thinkpad T580 With Fedora Workstation. It is the most flawless and "just works" experience I've ever had (yes, more than my macbook(s) which had annoying problems such as crashing when plugging in external monitors (even tho the monitors were made by Apple as well), crazy backlight bugs that would cause the laptop screen to suddenly go full brightness, which was physically painful when the room was pitch black, and many more).
  - lykr0n 8y ago
    I wish people wouldn't just default to Ubuntu 18.04. Fedora Workstation (28) runs laps around Ubuntu in terms of features and divers.
- locusm 8y ago
  Been using Pop_OS on a T480S for a few months now and its been flawless.
- jdboyd 8y ago
  I think that Ubuntu switching from the Unity Desktop to the Gnome Desktop in 17.10 is a real set back to its quality as a desktop and especially laptop OS and it will probably take until 20.04 at a minimum to really resolve this. I won't argue about whether the change was right or wrong. What I will argue is that is was a poor choice to make the change so close to a new LTS release and they should have made the change over the first release after an LTS instead of last release before the LTS.
ficklepickle 8y ago
You can install tlp[1] to improve battery life significantly. It even supports setting the battery charge threshold on thinkpads. [1] https://linrunner.de/en/tlp/docs/tlp-linux-advanced-power-management.html https://linrunner.de/en/tlp/docs/tlp-linux-advanced-power-ma...
- flylikeabanana 8y ago
  The battery charge threshold is in the kernel now as of 4.17. TLP is still very much worth it though
  - ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
    >The battery charge threshold is in the kernel now as of 4.17 Interesting. I missed reading about this in the change log. I have 4.17 on Linux Mint and it's doing a pretty decent job (minus nvidia GPU)

richjdsmith 8y ago

That is unfortunate to hear :/ I was seriously considering ditching MacOS on my next laptop and pick up a thinkpad carbon x1 with Ubuntu 18.04. Really hoping this improves.

symfoniq 8y ago
Be aware that Lenovo has removed an ACPI sleep state from the 6th generation Carbon X1 that is causing sleep issues on Linux. There is a workaround but it looks pretty gnarly.
- sofaofthedamned 8y ago
  AFAIK this is mandated by Microsoft for Windows compatibility. To support the latest s0i3 (hybrid sleep, like a smartphone) the machine is not allowed to support S3 (normal sleep) TBF Linux does support s0i3,but not as well as Windows. On my X1 Carbon (2018) I had to disable a whole lot of stuff as well as do some kernel command-line fiddling. Once I did this, however, it was better than Windows. I do boot into Windows on this laptop every month or so 'cos Windows Update. Each time the fans go crazy - I will say I never see the fans go like this in Linux. It's unbelievable that in 2018 just logging into a Windows box will make it go batshit insane and require multiple reboots before it settles down. It's these times I really appreciate apt/dnf/yum etc.
  - dmm 8y ago
    It's a standard ACPI feature to provide different tables for different operating systems. Computer makers could have enabled S3 for anything not microsoft.
    - sofaofthedamned 8y ago
      Yeah agreed it's a weak excuse, but from memory it's the one Lenovo used on their forum when asked about the issue.
richdougherty 8y ago
I think that the 18.04 release (being a Long-Term Support release) might have more conservative drivers than 17.10 has or 18.10 will have. So if you're on a laptop, you might get a better experience with one of the more "unstable" releases. At least this has been what I've observed for Dell XPS 15 support.
- sofaofthedamned 8y ago
  Exactly. Newer processors require stuff that isn't generally backported quickly. I'm running Fedora 28, Rawhide kernel and a couple of tweaks on my X1 Carbon 2018 and it is awesome.
srazzaque 8y ago
If buying a ThinkPad, definitely consider Fedora Workstation. I used Ubuntu for a few years before getting frustrated with some hardware+docking wake up issues, switched to Fedora and have not looked back. Also I hear a lot of the Fedora devs themselves use ThinkPads, so there's that too.
- clircle 8y ago
  Using Debian Mate on a T460 and I have to say I'm quite pleased. Sure Debian is stale, but as long as I can get a recent Firefox and Emacs, that's all the bleeding edge that I want. If I had a new Thinkpad T480, I would probably choose Fedora. Unfortunately, as a home Linux user, I find that the best strategy is to avoid new hardware.
- freedomben 8y ago
  This is my current setup. Thinkpad T580 With Fedora Workstation. It is the most flawless and "just works" experience I've ever had (yes, more than my macbook(s) which had annoying problems such as crashing when plugging in external monitors (even tho the monitors were made by Apple as well), crazy backlight bugs that would cause the laptop screen to suddenly go full brightness, which was physically painful when the room was pitch black, and many more).
- lykr0n 8y ago
  I wish people wouldn't just default to Ubuntu 18.04. Fedora Workstation (28) runs laps around Ubuntu in terms of features and divers.
locusm 8y ago
Been using Pop_OS on a T480S for a few months now and its been flawless.
jdboyd 8y ago
I think that Ubuntu switching from the Unity Desktop to the Gnome Desktop in 17.10 is a real set back to its quality as a desktop and especially laptop OS and it will probably take until 20.04 at a minimum to really resolve this. I won't argue about whether the change was right or wrong. What I will argue is that is was a poor choice to make the change so close to a new LTS release and they should have made the change over the first release after an LTS instead of last release before the LTS.

ficklepickle 8y ago

You can install tlp[1] to improve battery life significantly. It even supports setting the battery charge threshold on thinkpads. [1] https://linrunner.de/en/tlp/docs/tlp-linux-advanced-power-management.html https://linrunner.de/en/tlp/docs/tlp-linux-advanced-power-ma...

flylikeabanana 8y ago
The battery charge threshold is in the kernel now as of 4.17. TLP is still very much worth it though
- ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
  >The battery charge threshold is in the kernel now as of 4.17 Interesting. I missed reading about this in the change log. I have 4.17 on Linux Mint and it's doing a pretty decent job (minus nvidia GPU)