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- Update screenshot of dwm-flexipatch setup
- Add solution I found for system freezing on oryp7
- Replace "customizability" with "ArchWiki" in reasons for using Arch
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Sravan Balaji
2021-12-07 14:49:58 -05:00
parent 2973477f69
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src/blog_oryx_pro_review.html
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@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
<h1>System76 Oryx Pro 7 Review</h1>
<!-- Author & Date/Time -->
<p class="lead">Updated on August 27, 2021</p>
<p class="lead">Updated on December 7, 2021</p>
<!-- Preview Image -->
<div class="blog-cover">
@@ -160,8 +160,8 @@
target="_blank"
>btrfs</a
>
rather than the default (ext4 I think) so I could take snapshots and
backup my data with
rather than the default (ext4) so I could take snapshots and backup
my data with
<a href="https://github.com/teejee2008/timeshift" target="_blank"
>Timeshift</a
>.
@@ -191,18 +191,25 @@
href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/system76-power/"
target="_blank"
>system76-power AUR package</a
>, now works. I eventually decided on Garuda because it implements a
lot of the customizations I usually do in my vanilla Arch installs
anyways (e.g. btrfs, zen kernel, chaotic-aur, backups w/ timeshift,
easy options to enable gaming tweaks, etc.). The
>), now works. I eventually decided on Garuda because it implements
a lot of the customizations I usually do in my vanilla Arch installs
anyways (e.g., btrfs, zen kernel, chaotic-aur, backups w/ timeshift,
easy options to enable gaming tweaks, etc.).
</p>
<p>
I started with the
<a href="https://www.gnome.org/" target="_blank">GNOME</a>
edition immediately ran into crashing and system break issues, so I
tried the KDE Dragonized edition. It looks pretty nice and uses
edition since I was used to it from Pop!_OS. Unfortunately, I
immediately ran into crashing and system break issues. This led me
to try the KDE Dragonized edition because it looks pretty nice and
uses
<a href="https://kde.org/plasma-desktop/" target="_blank"
>KDE plasma</a
>
instead of GNOME. After still encountered freezing issues, I
switched to the
instead of GNOME. After running KDE for a while, I felt like I
wanted something that is more easily customizable and lightweight. I
decided to dive into the realm of standalone window managers with
the
<a href="https://i3wm.org/" target="_blank">i3</a>
edition, but replaced i3 with
<a href="https://xmonad.org/" target="_blank">Xmonad</a>
@@ -211,8 +218,50 @@
replaced it with
<a href="https://github.com/bakkeby/dwm-flexipatch" target="_blank"
>dwm-flexipatch</a
>. Now, performance is amazing and I haven't encountered the major
freezing issues that I had with GNOME and KDE.
>. Now, performance is amazing and I absolutely love the keyboard
based workflow I have configured.
</p>
<hr />
<h2>
<a name="reducing-fan-noise-and-application-freezing"
>Reducing Fan Noise & Application Freezing</a
>
</h2>
<p>
One major complaint I had with the laptop was the loud fan noise and
random application freezing. After some experimentation and
searching, I finally found a solution. Switching to the performance
profile using
<a href="https://github.com/pop-os/system76-power" target="_blank"
>system76-power</a
>
immediately resolved both issues. Just run
<code> sudo system76-power profile performance </code> in a terminal
or use
<a
href="https://github.com/pop-os/gnome-shell-extension-system76-power"
target="_blank"
>gnome-shell-extension-system76-power</a
>
if you are running GNOME.
</p>
<p>
I also found that using a custom kernel improved general system
performance and thermals. I'm currently using the
<a
href="https://github.com/Frogging-Family/linux-tkg"
target="_blank"
>linux-tkg</a
>
kernel with PDS scheduler which is available as a pre-compiled
binary in the
<a href="https://aur.chaotic.cx/" target="_blank">chaotic-aur</a>
package
<a href="https://pkgs.org/download/linux-tkg-pds" target="_blank"
>linux-tkg-pds</a
>.
</p>
<hr />
@@ -239,11 +288,10 @@
>.
</li>
<li>
Gaming performance is amazing! Recently got Yakuza: Like a Dragon
on Steam. It runs at around 70 to 80 fps with all the settings
turned up to the max. I love that I can use my favorite operating
system without having to compromise too much on gaming
performance.
Gaming performance is amazing! I can run Yakuza: Like a Dragon at
around 70 or 80 fps with all the settings turned up to the max. I
love that I can use my favorite operating system without having to
compromise too much on gaming performance.
</li>
<li>
Love the keyboard backlighting and color changing on the fly.
@@ -297,25 +345,14 @@
Battery life is really bad when the discrete graphics card is on
(as expected). Maybe a little more than an hour a time, sometimes
more depending on how willing I am to lower CPU frequency and
stuff. As a desktop replacement, that is to be expected through.
stuff. As a desktop replacement type laptop, that is to be
expected through.
</li>
<li>
Mouse click buttons are not great. Regularly left click on
something in GNOME and nothing happens. "Tapping" with the
mousepad works very reliably though.
</li>
<li>
Fans can get really loud at times, especially when gaming. I often
have to turn up my speakers or wear noise cancelling headphones.
This is an understandable limitation with gaming laptops though.
Using a custom kernel solved a lot of my complaints with the
thermals and fan noise though. Now the fans don't turn on as
often. When they do, they don't ramp up to the maximum speed, so
noise is kept to a reasonable level.
</li>
<li>
Random freezing is kind of an issue, but is generally resolved by
using a custom kernel.
Fans can get really loud at times, especially when pushing the GPU
in games. I often have to turn up my speakers or wear noise
cancelling headphones. This is an understandable physical
limitation of thin and light gaming laptops though.
</li>
<li>
While the display itself is great, I really wish the hinge would
@@ -330,16 +367,16 @@
<h2><a name="conclusions">Conclusions</a></h2>
<p>
It may seem that the cons outweigh the pros, but this is only in
number and because I am really nitpicking. The things this laptop
get right (e.g. gaming, refresh rate, switchable graphics, general
performance) are much more important to me than the other things.
Regarding price, you are definitely paying a premium for first-class
linux support, but it is well worth it in my opinion. I do not want
to use Windows anymore and I am happy to pay extra if it means
supporting a company that promotes and sells Linux computers and
having a device that can be easily upgraded down the line. Overall,
I am very happy with my purchase.
It may seem that the cons outweigh the pros, but this is only
because I am really nitpicking. The things this laptop gets right
(e.g., gaming, refresh rate, switchable graphics, general
performance) are much more important to me than the other things
(e.g., mic / webcam quality). Regarding price, you are definitely
paying a premium for first-class linux support, but it is well worth
it in my opinion. I do not want to use Windows anymore and I am
happy to pay extra if it means supporting a company that promotes
and sells Linux computers and having a device that can be easily
upgraded down the line. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase.
</p>
<hr />

48
src/blog_windows_to_linux.html
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@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
<h1>Switching from Windows to Linux</h1>
<!-- Author & Date/Time -->
<p class="lead">Updated on August 27, 2021</p>
<p class="lead">Updated on December 7, 2021</p>
<!-- Preview Image -->
<div class="blog-cover">
@@ -136,16 +136,15 @@
like the best option because I could literally build my OS from the
ground up. I essentially have complete control over which packages
get installed on my system. This means there is a steep learning
curve and things can break if you are not careful, but the
<a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org" target="_blank">ArchWiki</a>
is possibly the greatest Linux resource I have ever seen. The main
reasons I decided on Arch are:
curve and things can break if you are not careful. If you can get
over the initial difficulties, you will find an amazing Linux
desktop experience. The main reasons I decided on Arch are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<b>Rolling Release</b>: I don't have to re-install my OS every 6
months. My system and the kernel get updated through my package
manager.
months. My system and the kernel get updated through a simple
package manager command.
</li>
<li>
<b>Package Management</b>: Pacman and AUR helpers (e.g.
@@ -164,21 +163,30 @@
<a href="https://snapcraft.io" target="_blank">snap</a>,
<a href="flathub" target="_blank">flatpak</a>, or
<a href="https://appimage.org" target="_blank">AppImage</a>. While
these are great in that they can run on any Linux distro, they
don't integrate into the system as well as I would like. AppImages
have to be updated manually and don't integrate well with the
desktop experience by default. Flatpaks are sandboxed
applications, which means they require manual intervention to
access certain parts of the OS. The main issue I found here was
with theming. For lots of open source applications, they may not
have a snap, flatpak, or AppImage package, but they almost always
have an AUR package. This means it is extremely rare to have to
manually install any application or program on my system.
these universal package formats are great in that they can run on
any Linux distro, they don't integrate into the system as well as
I would like. AppImages have to be updated manually and don't
integrate well with the desktop experience by default. Flatpaks
are sandboxed applications, which means they require manual
intervention to access certain parts of the OS. The main issue I
found here was with theming. For lots of open source applications,
they may not have a snap, flatpak, or AppImage package, but they
almost always have an AUR package. This means it is extremely rare
to have to manually install any application or program on my
system.
</li>
<li>
<b>Customizability</b>: Everything on my system was either
installed by me or a dependency for something I installed. There
is little to no bloatware.
<b>ArchWiki</b>: The
<a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/" target="_blank">ArchWiki</a>
is by far the best source of linux documentation I have found on
the internet. It has clear and well written information on pretty
much any topic you may be interested in and any issue you may
encounter. On other distros, you generally have to resolve issues
yourself or search for solutions on random message boards without
really understanding what the different components of your OS do.
By reading the ArchWiki, I feel like I have gained a much better
understanding of how my computer works and how to approach
resolving any issues I may have.
</li>
</ul>
<p>