3 ms·

How well do these ports handle power? Part of the magic of the macs is the OS/hardware integration...and part of the power management is really deeply embedded

How well do these ports handle power? Part of the magic of the macs is the OS/hardware integration...and part of the power management is really deeply embedded between applications, the OS, and the hardware.

mikae1 4y ago
I'd love to know about this as well. Reports I found around the web are from the pre GPU driver era.
- nextos 4y ago
  It seems like the parent post was asking something slightly different, but regarding energy usage Linux can get really close to macOS on m1 machines. I have tested this myself quite extensively. The keyword is can. No distribution ships with most optimizations enabled by default. Powertop can be a good starting point to see what you need to turn on. If you run stock settings, power usage is going to be disappointing. Powersaving is not turned on by default because lots of hardware, e.g. some audio cards and keyboards, misbehave on powersaving states. macOS has the advantage of dealing with tightly controlled hardware, and might use powersaving blacklists for peripherals. The distinguishing feature of Macs in terms of powersaving is IMHO Safari, which is an energy efficiency marvel, especially if you play videos. I don't play videos often, so Firefox is not that bad for me. Aside from this, my Linux desktop has a lot less services than macOS, so it compensates the difference. Someone should start a serious Firefox energy saving initiative. By simply tweaking compilation parameters, I am sure some significant savings can be accomplished.
  - mikae1 4y ago
    > It seems like the parent post was asking something slightly different, but regarding energy usage Linux can get really close to macOS on m1 machines. I have tested this myself quite extensively. The keyword is can. No distribution ships with most optimizations enabled by default. Powertop can be a good starting point to see what you need to turn on. If you run stock settings, power usage is going to be disappointing. Thanks! Perhaps you should write a guide with your findings and optimizations. It's sorely missing.
ingenieroariel 4y ago
On my usage the battery lasts about half the time. (Apple MacBook Air M1, 16GB). NixOS on the other side and a lot of compilation. Sleep works. (edit) I misunderstood your question. I have charged my iPhone in a port and have also used an external audio card that drew power from it. Not sure it behaves as well as OSX but it works.
- Damogran6 4y ago
  Sorry (and it's a bit late), but I meant port as in code, not port as in USB-C
gigatexal 4y ago
it's probably not as good but we know it will get better over time, i'd take 25% the battery life to run pure linux over macos at this point
- Takennickname 4y ago
  Why even get a macbook at that point?
  - Teever 4y ago
    Because m1 macbook's are cheap as borscht on the used market, they're still the best or some of the best hardware out there, and the battery life situation is only going to improve.
    - gigatexal 4y ago
      this. the hardware is second to none. it's amazing. I just want the freedom to run the m1 without the limitations of macos. no shade to macos just it's not for me.

mikae1 4y ago

I'd love to know about this as well. Reports I found around the web are from the pre GPU driver era.

nextos 4y ago
It seems like the parent post was asking something slightly different, but regarding energy usage Linux can get really close to macOS on m1 machines. I have tested this myself quite extensively. The keyword is can. No distribution ships with most optimizations enabled by default. Powertop can be a good starting point to see what you need to turn on. If you run stock settings, power usage is going to be disappointing. Powersaving is not turned on by default because lots of hardware, e.g. some audio cards and keyboards, misbehave on powersaving states. macOS has the advantage of dealing with tightly controlled hardware, and might use powersaving blacklists for peripherals. The distinguishing feature of Macs in terms of powersaving is IMHO Safari, which is an energy efficiency marvel, especially if you play videos. I don't play videos often, so Firefox is not that bad for me. Aside from this, my Linux desktop has a lot less services than macOS, so it compensates the difference. Someone should start a serious Firefox energy saving initiative. By simply tweaking compilation parameters, I am sure some significant savings can be accomplished.
- mikae1 4y ago
  > It seems like the parent post was asking something slightly different, but regarding energy usage Linux can get really close to macOS on m1 machines. I have tested this myself quite extensively. The keyword is can. No distribution ships with most optimizations enabled by default. Powertop can be a good starting point to see what you need to turn on. If you run stock settings, power usage is going to be disappointing. Thanks! Perhaps you should write a guide with your findings and optimizations. It's sorely missing.

ingenieroariel 4y ago

On my usage the battery lasts about half the time. (Apple MacBook Air M1, 16GB). NixOS on the other side and a lot of compilation. Sleep works. (edit) I misunderstood your question. I have charged my iPhone in a port and have also used an external audio card that drew power from it. Not sure it behaves as well as OSX but it works.

Damogran6 4y ago
Sorry (and it's a bit late), but I meant port as in code, not port as in USB-C

gigatexal 4y ago

it's probably not as good but we know it will get better over time, i'd take 25% the battery life to run pure linux over macos at this point

Takennickname 4y ago
Why even get a macbook at that point?
- Teever 4y ago
  Because m1 macbook's are cheap as borscht on the used market, they're still the best or some of the best hardware out there, and the battery life situation is only going to improve.
  - gigatexal 4y ago
    this. the hardware is second to none. it's amazing. I just want the freedom to run the m1 without the limitations of macos. no shade to macos just it's not for me.