No problem. So is that a kernel update that would have to be distributed to all of the distros? Because I know that Ubuntu, at least, never uses the latest kernel until the next release out.Originally Posted by jdos2
Dark Roasted Ubuntu
No problem. So is that a kernel update that would have to be distributed to all of the distros? Because I know that Ubuntu, at least, never uses the latest kernel until the next release out.
Just Give Me the Beans!
Or you'd build your own.
Right now, the current kernel against which the patch works has "other issues" before it'll be part of Ubuntu (2.6.33-rc1), but things are moving right along. Since kernel builds take about 15 minutes on an Envy, it's not very hard to test things!
Spilled the Beans
Anybody build their own kernel with this patch yet? Would love to know if it fixes the ACPI issues and makes this a usable machine. I'm pretty close to getting one, but want to know it'll work well soon... running Win7 for work is a non-starter.
Thanks!
Just Give Me the Beans!
With a modern Ubuntu build (2.6.33-020633rc2-generic), no ACPI errors.
I don't think the Clickpad patch is applied to this particular kernel, but ACPI is working.
Still have graphics corruption for the darkening overlays. That's another issue altogether.
Spilled the Beans
Cool, good to hear it. How do you like that machine overall? Looks like some people think it's too hot, but the one I played with at BestBuy was warm, not too bad. Maybe some extra cooling fins on the underside or something would help
Just Give Me the Beans!
Mine came with the "slice" battery, which provides a buffer . When I was very cold at the GF's house I took the slice off and used the heat from the bottom of the laptop to help warm my legs.
Idling, it's as warm as my MacBook Pro playing WoW. According to powertop, it's consuming around 45-55 watts at idle (when it deign provide ACPI information). Thankfully, even when it's working hard (playing Eve- "105-110%" CPU) it doesn't get warmer on the legs- just more warm air flung from the sides of the unit.
I hope that BIOS patches, OS work, &c. help bring the power consumption down to something reasonable. I read somewhere someone was bragging about seven hours battery with the thing. Neither Linux or Windows 7 are capable of performing to THAT standard on this machine!
You asked how I like the machine- and I neglected to answer until the first edit:
I do like the machine. It's a substantial laptop, with a fair bit of weight. To be fair, it's really more of a desktop replacement than a laptop- made evident by the low screen angle: the back-bend on the screen is limited to being "just comfortable" on the lap- being better on a desk.
Linux isn't completely comfortable on the machine just yet. Audio is fine, and everything works fast enough with the very modern kernels, but driver problems persist- the touchpad is... A Real Pain, there's no dragging with it so far as I can get to work (though there is a careful right click- modern kernels again). Video is not great with the Open Source drivers- as there's corruption in certain circumstances (VLC menus suffer badly) and the pallet is completely wrong when waking from sleep (which does work fine, by the way). The CLOSED source drivers were freakin' outstanding, but Ubuntu fixed that when they mid-stream updated X to a version incompatible with them. Audio still takes a bit of a massage, but nothing terrible.
I like the keyboard. I was one to deride the Chicklet-style keyboard on IBM's PC jr. a while back (ahem) but Apple really did it well on their PowerBooks, and this is even better- there's simply more room on the Envy 15. When I GOT the laptop, I had to take the '/' key out because there was a wee screw underneath it that was... "Extra" (never found to where it was supposed to go!).
Fit is okay- kinda plastic, and the case of the laptop scratches far easier than I'd like (PowerBook has been overseas, on long motorcycle trips, &c- no scratches. This has been to work with me a couple times during the "Freeze" and it's got scratches)
It's fast. Really fast. Kernel compilation in 20 minutes (with MY lag included) at -j8.
If I use the Apple mouse I carry around to use with it, about 1/2 of my complaints go away. If ATI could get the closed source video working again, I'd be "almost there." (or makes a serious effort at the open sourced drivers- for 3D too) Someone figures out the power problems (powertop reports a "USB device on 100%") and gets the Clickpad (tm, I'm sure) working right, and it'll be Poifect for what I want to do with it- and if all THAT comes about, I'll probably dump Windows 7 on it and go with a much simpler solution for partitioning, &c.
Oh! The instant on software is fun.
Last edited by jdos2; December 31st, 2009 at 05:41 AM.
Way Too Much Ubuntu
Can someone please comment on whether the "Turbo Boost" functionality is usable with the latest Kernels? Thanks!
Just Give Me the Beans!
Yup. See the flag for "ida" right in the /proc/cpuinfo.
Way Too Much Ubuntu
Thanks jdos2. Do you see the realtime turbo frequency when you issue cat /proc/cpuinfo? If not, how do you determine if turbo mode has kicked in? Have you verified it using [1]?
[1] http://code.google.com/p/i7z/
Just Give Me the Beans!
One won't see the increase in /proc/cpuinfo- for several reasons- but I will say that Hercules performs quite nearly identically between Windows 7 and Linux- the MIPS's are reported number-for-number slightly higher on Linux, and at the time, the Intel monitor on Windows is reporting the appropriate single-core 110% speed.
So far as implementing a monitor on Linux, feel free.
There's not much for the OS to do with the IDA. It's something that's done by the processor.
http://www.lesswatts.org/projects/pr...celeration.php (<- That's Intel)
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