How is Clevo's Linux Support ?

Looking into buying a Clevo P150 (or some reseller model based on it). I need to code Linux-only tools on this machine so a Linux compatibility problem can be critical. How well does the Clevo do when it comes to this? I don't mind if I need to do a bit of hacking to get everything working, but is there anything that simply don't work or is extremely difficult to hack?

In case distro matters, I test my code on Debian/Ubuntu, RHEL/Fedora and openSUSE, so basically whatever experience you have with a major distro would help.

 

I haven't personally tested the units in Linux but from what I understand everything works pretty well except for GPU switching. That causes a lot of trouble.

 

Most resellers and Clevo system builders don't really support Linux as far as technical assistance goes. It's partly because Microsoft is the primary OS choice of a lot of people, but it also has to do with the lack of a lot of good technicians with Linux experience.

You will also have issues with the Optimus switching graphics. nVidia did not work with the Linux community at all when programming Optimus and did not release any source code to the Linux community. This is why Linus Torvalds went off on nVidia in a speech months ago, it was posted on youtube.com and many of the tech news sites.

Because of the above, you MIGHT have a chance with AMD 7970M; however, please be aware that even AMD is having some issues at this time with GPU utilization. I have heard that Linux users can get the Enduro or AMD card to work with Linux, but I can not confirm that.

 

Thanks for replies.

Not very worried about switching graphics if it's a Nvidia. Have been setting up Bumblebee switcher on several different models, haven't run into any problem yet. For AMD, I would need to do more work as I don't have any experience on this.

Is there any other problem that I may run into with a Clevo?

 

Everything else should already be worked through in the community. Just a little research with your specific components should lend you a working machine under Linux.

 

Nothing that I am aware of outside the switching graphics issues.
Some of our customers that have installed Linux on these systems haven't had any reported issues outside of the Optimus switching graphics.

 

Great news for me. Thanks.

 

First of all keep in mind that I'm almost a complete newbie with Linux and that I'm keeping Ubuntu installed as an emergency OS to save my stuff should Windows fail completely and unrepairably. I've only worked with Fedora a bit (mosty for some C for a class) on a virtual machine prior to installing Ubuntu on my Clevo. Anyway...

Ubuntu seems pretty stable since I've recently updated the kernel 2-3 weeks ago (can't tell you the exact version as I'm dual booting with Win 7 and am writing from my Windows right now, just tell me if you need it). Before that I was getting random complete freezes (needed hard resets, nothing else worked), but I've read it was a common problem not only on Clevos.
I haven't really tested any GPU intensive applications on Ubuntu but the fan seems to spin pretty fast even when just browsing the web. Don't really know which GPU is on...
Other thing you might have problems with is the Hotkey utility as I don't know if there's a Linux version for it. This limits the functionality of the backlit keyboard for example but it still works (just only on the default setting).

I'll be happy to run some tests for you (for example which GPU is on and the temps) but it will probably take some time cause I'm kinda busy at the moment changing country and university...

Sorry for the somewhat chaotic reply and I hope it helps a bit Ubuntu is definitely working on a Clevo considering I've done an almost completely default installation without changing anything.

 

I've been running arch gnu/linux on my p150hm for months and no issues. I just had to install packages for networking and open source drivers for AMD 6990m. For some reason however it was running at 715mhz constantly, which puts it at about 78 degrees C. I did a little work with the drivers and kernel to steady it at 300mhz and jump to 715mhz on demand. This leaves it at a (relatively) cool 40-45 degrees C.

There are even some open sourced software for the fingerprint reader if you are into that. Not as robust as the windows programs, but it gets the job done. You can use it when using sudo as well. I didn't find much use for it so I removed it.

Everything works very well once you configure it. However, this was with arch gnu/linux. I installed Ubuntu 12.04 prior and pretty much everything worked properly out the box. The official AMD catalyst drivers seem to work better than the open sourced onces for the purpose on demand performance, but I don't game so no need for that. So if your distro choice comes with a desktop environment by default (ubuntu, fedora, mint, etc) expect it to also come with great driver support out the box with minimal tinkering from the user. I tried the three mentioned and all work nicely. I just find that arch gnu/linux fits my needs much more as it is very lightweight, I only install packages I need. This makes my system faster, but there is a bit of work to get it going 100%. Another plus for arch is the transition to systemd services management system, however I found the older initscripts in arch was much more contained than in Debian based distributions.

Anyways, you will find great support for GNU/Linux on your machine. If you need any guidance or help, feel free to ask

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

I'm using Ubuntu 12.04 for a week now on my P150HM and it works nice. Everything (except the fingerprint reader) worked out of the box, and the proprietary drivers for HD6990M were easily installed. I updated to 3.4 kernel and I couldn't change my brightness anymore, so I rolled back to 3.37 and it's working fine.